35 Weeks

If Caroline were still inside me she would have been 35 weeks today; we'd still have 5 weeks together before her due date. When I think about this I sort of feel like I got ripped off, and I definitely feel like Caroline got ripped off. I'd love to be able to put her back inside to continue growing in silence and darkness for a while... (And it really bothers me now to hear women say that they wish their baby would come early... no way would I ever wish this!) Now that we aren't in constant crisis mode I need to help Caroline get those 10 awful days back and help her recover from the chaos. In all of my reading about preemies the one thing I keep thinking about is how her brain is still developing and how she needs to have a womb-like atmosphere in order to have continued growth. I have requested that the lights be turned down or off and that her eyes be covered (with a lovey) when they are on. I've also told the nurses to keep her snuggled up because when she gets loose she begins to act frantic. I wonder what impact, if any, all of the over-stimulation and trauma from last week will have on her in the long run? We are working with a developmental specialist who says that we can help her to forget all of the pain she has experienced so far in her short little life.There is also a fantastic book called Preemies that I bought when I had the pre-term labor at 28 weeks. If you are interested in reading up on what is going on with Caroline or with any preemie this is a must-read.

Today I was able to give Caroline her first manicure. Her nails had gotten pretty long and needed to be filed:

Snug as a Bug

Auntie Katie came to help Mommy out (Thanks sister!)

First manicure (while sleeping)

Another snuggly pic

More Bunny Room Shenanigans!

Today Caroline started getting 5ml of milk around 3PM (she'll get milk every 3 hours). They will gradually increase this amount until she can handle full feeds and can be taken off the $1,000/day "Babyaid" and lipids. She did get a blood transfusion today because her red blood cell count was on the low side, but since they are reducing the number of times they have to take blood (and urine) she shouldn't need anymore transfusions. I asked the doc about getting rid of her catheter as well (it had to be replaced AGAIN yesterday) and it looks like that could happen as soon as tomorrow. As she continues to grow this week she may be able to get off the caffeine (it stays in her system for a week so the 7 day Apnea and Brady-free countdown can't begin until after she has been off caffeine for a week) and the oxygen too. It's funny to think that right after we had Caroline (before we knew there would be any problems) we had hoped to transfer back to North Country at 35 weeks - now there is no way we would want to leave Dartmouth... and I wouldn't mind moving to the area permanently one day! (We will be here A LOT for follow-up appointments...)

Just as a heads up I will be password protecting the blog soon to try to maintain some level of privacy for Caroline... when I do you'll have to request permission to view the blog.