Kayley! Nice Little Girls Aren't Supposed To Do That

Well. I'm victim number two. Kayley pooped on me. I must say, it was perfect timing on her part. Right as I lifted her legs a bit to slide a new diaper underneath, she let it go. I was hit. The bedding was hit. Even the plastic surroundings of the isolette got some. I guess it's our fault for wanting her to poop so bad. She really showed us.

Other than that, Kayley had another good day. Megan and I are both working now so it's a little harder. I worked a full day and Megan worked most of the day too. She's saving that time off for when Kayley gets to go home. So, we don't know a whole bunch but I also don't think a lot went on today in the NICU. That's always a good thing.

Kayley's feedings went up to 19 cc's. She's handling them like a champ. She is also receiving oral caffeine (not Red Bull, I asked) instead of the IV caffeine. I asked why they are changing it and the nurse said it's to get her use to it. Right now, Kayley receives lipids, TPN (total parenteral nutrition), and caffeine through the IV. Once they determine that Kayley is having no trouble with the fortified breast milk, she will not need the lipids and TPN any longer. That leaves the caffeine and they don't leave an IV in just for that since she can have it orally. So hopefully, the IV (also known as the PCVC) will be out soon. One more tube gone.

Kayley's weight went up again tonight. It is now 1370 grams ( still 3 lbs). She was 1360 grams last night. I asked the nurse what they want to see for weight gains each day. She said they like to see an average of 1 oz (30 grams) per day. If Kayley really starts packing on the weight, they start to watch her more closely. It could mean that she has swelling somewhere and is retaining fluid. They don't want that. And, the extra weight makes her lungs work harder. At this point, we don't want them to work any harder than they have to. So, 1 ounce is a good weight to gain per day. Doing the math, if Kayley stays in until she is 37 weeks gestation (not saying we are shooting for 37 weeks...it could very well be longer) and does gain that 1 ounce a day, we will take her home at just over 6 lbs.

The last update of the day is actually what we have planned for tomorrow. They are going to try to extubate Kayley again. We're hoping the extra week and a half on the ventilator gave Kayley the needed maturity and growth to pull it off this time. It would be really nice to have that tube out of her mouth and lungs. I'm sure we'll have updates tomorrow night if not during the day. This big of a step may warrant an extra mid-day posting. We'll see. Anyway, keep Kayley in your thoughts tomorrow as we try to reach this huge milestone.