more pictures of baby Lady Bug

Here she is with her eyes open a bit. She looked around for a bit and made her cute little baby noises for us.
She started nursing for the first time (and on the first try too).
So relaxed with mom...
... and with dad. Mom and dad were so happy to hold her again.

Lady Bug's journey

On Thursday, the team from Ogden came up to fly Lady Bug down in the helicopter. She was sedated for the flight and then secured in her bed. Rachel got to say good bye while I was away getting my bags packed to follow her down.

We finally got to hold her again. She was the most alert I have ever seen her (although she had her eyes closed here).

Lady Bug is sooo cute!

Rachel got to hold her first in Logan.

I was so excited to be holding my little girl for the first time.

Lady Bug (update 3)

Lady Bug is doing even better, she continues to make small improvements which makes us and the nurses happy. She was moved to a different ventalator yesterday, and was scheduled to be taken off yesterday evening. She had other plans though, and pulled the tube out around 2 pm. She was put on a canula with some oxygen and has been doing well since. She seems to be tolerating her tube feedings well, and was even able to nurse a little today.
We got to hold her today, I was so excited to be able to hold her again. It has been since Wednesday night since I got to hold her. When the nurse handed Lady Bug to Rachel, she woke up a bit and started looking around, checking out mom and dad. That was the most alert I have ever seen her.
They were able to take out most of the IV lines too. Now she only has one going in her arm (called a bolus). The other ones kept closing up on them. She still needs her oxygen, and her breathing rate is still somewhat irratic though it is more often in the right range than not. She will need to be completely off the oxygen and breathing comfortably on her own, nursing well on her own, and done with her antibiotics before she can go home. So we are looking at around Wednesday or Thursday before she gets to come home.
Rachel is recovering really well. She is feeling good and is walking around without trouble. The hospital has given us a room in Labor and Delivery to stay in. It is next door to the NICU so it makes visiting a bit easier. It's not the same as home, but it is nice to be so close to Lady Bug and see her as often as we can.
I tried to upload some pictures, but I think the hospital internet connection strips them off. I'll do what I can.

Lady Bug (update 2)

Hooray!!! Lady Bug seems to be making vast improvments. Her blood gases are looking good and she is breathing better. She is scheduled to be taken off of the ventalators all together this evening. She just needs to stay better now, and start feeding on her own and she can be released to come home. This is much faster than I had anticipated. When I go up to Ogden tonight I'll get pictures off of the camera; then as soon as I find internet access I'll load them up. Lady Bug is such a cute little girl, she has her mother's toes and fingers, and a decent head of hair too.

Lady Bug (update 1)

Rachel called me this morning to tell me that Lady Bug was being moved off of the high frequency oscilating ventalator to an intermediate one that will let her do more of the work of breathing. With the ventalator and antibiotics she has been slowly improving since she got there. They have been weaning her off of the oxygen all night and she has been doing fine. They are going to try tube feeding her breast milk today and see if she can tolerate it. With the move to the new ventalator, we should be able to hold Lady Bug again. That probably makes us the most happy right now.
Monday Rachel goes in to have her staples taken out. While we are making several trips back and forth anyway, I might take Lightening in to see Lady Bug. He is old enough that they will let him in for a few minutes to see her. That ought to make him happy. Spidey isn't old enough to go in, but he could look through the window. I don't know how much Spidey would appreciate it though.
We are extreamly greatful for everyone's thoughts and prayers for us and Lady Bug. It has made this much easier to deal with.

Lady Bug

(I will have more pictures soon.)
Lady Bug's lung problem turned out to be more serious than we thought. She was starting to make some progress on Wednesday, but Wednesday night the nurses saw that she was laboring really hard to breath. They inserted a breathing tube (and had to sedate her to keep her from fighting the tube) and started out with 100% oxygen. With the tube in she was able to relax more and eventually come down on the oxygen a bit.
Wednesday night they did an echo cardiogram (it was described as an ultrasound for the heart). It showed that the blood flow to the lungs was not obstructed, which had been a concern. It also showed, however, that the artery that shunts blood away from the lungs while baby is in the womb was still open (it usually closes at birth, the doctors called the condition PDA, and I can't remember what that stands for :) ),and that there is a hole between her atria. The doctor explained that both conditions are not unusual, and that they should take care of themselves with a little time. The doctor also decided to give her some surfactant, which helped a lot. To help with the blood draws, they inserted a small tube into the artery in her belly button. In addition to letting them draw blood without sticking her heel all the time, it also alows them to monitor blood pressure constantly.
Thursday she was stable, but she wasn't improving. The doctor didn't feel comfortable keeping her in Logan and recommended that she go to Ogden to McKay-Dee hospital. They have a more advanced NICU with neonatologists. She was flown in a helicopter at around 4 pm to Ogden. Rachel was able to get released a day early and she and I drove down to be with her. The hospital there allows you to stay in empty rooms in Labor and Delivery for free. Rachel is trying to get into a guest house that they run so that if Labor and Delivery gets busy, she won't be out of a room.
When we arrived at the NICU in Ogden, we got to talk to the respitory therapist who was helping Lady Bug's nurse. He said that while she would probably be in the NICU for several days, he didn't see any reason that she wouldn't be just fine. His confidence made a world of difference for Rachel and I.
While doing some blood work Thursday night they found some signs of infection. It sounds kind of backwards to say that that is a good thing, but at least now it explains why she wasn't improving as fast. She was on antibiotics while at Logan, and they are continuing with them here. She seems to be doing alittle better now. They were able to lower the pressure and amplitude on the resirator a little Friday morning. She won't be coming home for 5-7 days at least though, so she can finish her antibiotics and start doing all the normal baby things before going home.