6 Weeks in the Blink of an Eye - Jan 31

How is it possible that it has already been 6 weeks?? Today I'm thankful for windows and good nurses - they make the days much better!

Since Baby Girl's surgery, with the exception of maybe three days, we've had the same two nurses during the day and they are amazing! They take the time to explain things to me, to answer questions, to interpret what the doctors say so that I can pass it along in English (although my medical vocabulary is increasing tremendously), and just to make sure that I know what's going on and what is happening with my baby. Today's nurse - not so much. So thank you Nurse K and Nurse T for your awesomeness. 

They also moved us again to a spot in one of the interior hallways of the unit...away from the windows. When the weather hasn't been just spectacular the last couple of weeks, looking out at the clouds is still better than a wall. By 10:30 this morning I thought I might go insane staring at nothingness. It's also further away from the doctors station so I can't hear everything they're saying about all the babies I was keeping track of :(

Anyway, the part you all came here to read: the nasal cannula has been reduced to 2.5! We'll start working with the bottle on Monday pending the results of the study and if she holds her own over the weekend. They had her receiving her breathing treatments every 12 hours but have bumped that back to every eight to finish getting rid of the last bit of gunk that's still in her lungs.

More info on the study - it's not the same thing as they did last time; this one will be done bedside. The ENT will place a small scope camera through her nose into the top of her throat so they can record everything. Then goal is to see how all of the structures in the throat function as she swallows, to make sure there was no nerve damage from the intubation and that everything is working correctly so that we can begin bottle work again. A little more serious than I originally thought, but needs to happen. They'll also get a good look at her vocal chords - she's trying to make some noises (especially when she's upset) and you can hear some squeaks and squawks coming out, they just want to make sure there isn't any damage there and that it's just inflammation that's still keeping them sore and not working 100%.

So we'll have a couple days to relax and then hit the ground running Monday morning!

This isn't the best picture because there's not much light at our new bed space and I didn't want to blind her with the flash but here it is anyway :)