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.