Another Ring shot!

First the ring hit on her arm and then four fingers and now only 3 fingers. She is really getting big.

Look at how big her foot is

I took this shot on her 11th day. The bottom shot is from today (45th day).

It is just amazing how big she is getting.





I just wanted to share this with you so you too can see the difference. WOW!!!

Are those my hands?

Brinson has been working on finding her hands the last week or so.....well she finally found them.
Watch her play away!


Thanks again to Meme for another cute little hat!

Skin to Skin....I mean Hair

Well my skin is a little different than Mommy's. HAIR!!!!













Look at those eyes checking out Mommy!





Here is me relaxing with my daughter. You can also see Agnes in the background. She is another one of Brin's primary nurses. She, like Auntie Tiffani, really talks to Brinson. She also gives us alot of interaction with her. Thank you Agnes!
Something to note about holding skin to skin, you can feel her, but you cannot see her. I depend on these pictures/videos as much as you do. I can tell you it is a really cool experience. She did really well on her temp and oxygen during the holding. As long as she does well we can continue to hold her daily however we like.

No IV!!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention yesterday they removed her PIC line from her right leg. She has had this line for ~5 weeks. Everything will now be given via her feeding tube. So no pump pole, iv pump.....they only thing she has is one pump to deliver the milk over 2 hours.

Brinson still has no residuals from the milk feedings and she is at MAX feeding for her weight. The doctor told Lisa that she is doing quite well and when we get her bigger the lungs will get better as well.

We hope to get the results of the bone density x-ray they performed yesterday based on some not so good blood results. It is pretty common for preemies to lack calcium because really Brin is supposed to be in Mommy's tummy still.

Also her direct bilirubin is still elevated. They think probably this is all related to the proteins (TPN) she was getting. Those levels will come down after a month and if they don't start trailing off next week they will begin giving her formula with more fortification to ensure she is getting a balanced diet.

BTW aren't they just the cutest girls.....

Grin...Smile.....you decide

Here is Brinson flexing her muscles. You decide whether it is a smile or a grin.
Look at the eyes and mouth.

Family Photo!

What a happy family. This whole process really reminds you how delicate we all are and that every moment is so precious.

Skin to Skin

So what is skin to skin. Well let me show you. Lets start with Lisa pulling Brinson out of her isolette. If you listen closely you can tell how nervous Mommy is.


Now that is skin to skin. Brinson was alittle wiggly but she loved it.



This was totally a spontaneous photo. My 2 favorite girls..... All I can say is WOW! Words are hard to describe it.


Here is Lisa putting Brinson away.

Today is 30weeks

So every Wednesday is a new week outside (6 weeks 1 day already) and every Thursday is another week of complete life. We are still counting the later because that gives an idea of where zero is. Day Zero for Brinson is 40 weeks or June 26th.

So today there are no new orders. The ultrasound of her kidneys (follow up) was normal. She still has 2 tests coming up on April 21 and 22nd. One is for her head and the other is for her eyes. Yes eyes....they have to check for ROP. Her eyes started really seeing stuff before they are ready and her vision could be affected by the early stimulation. This could mean surgery, and wearing glasses.

Last night she had some residuals with milk, so today no changes.

We got her weight this morning and not much has changed....meaning only .7 oz heavier. So we will have to find out what that means. I suspect that since all the proteins and fats have been removed and she is only on milk....that she is not getting enough yet. I know other babies in the unit have grown in spurts so we are not worried.

Look at the new trick...

In previous videos you may have seen her turn her head.....well not like this. She almost has enough strength to extubate (remove her tube) her self.

Well earlier this evening she did just that. The nurse taking care of her was cleaning her up (she spit up some milk) and had changed her feeding tube. And while they (respiratory tech and the nurse) were trying to fix the tape....she turned her head....just like in the video above.

She was fine...nothing happened. They fixed her up.

BTW Brinson is up on her feeds and they doubled her caloric intake (2 pack to a 4 pack). Her feeds are at 22cc over 2 hours or 176cc per day.

Fingernails....

It seems Brinson is growing fingernails. If you look closely at her fingernails you can see the white tips.

This morning she is doing fine. She only had .2 cc of milk residuals all night and she is doing pretty good with oxygen only needing 40% at 95% saturation.

New pix and vids

Hey Folks, Brinson is doing quite well. Oh yeah, they took out the stent holding the stoma. And the milk is now fortified. She has already done 1 19cc feed with no residual. So the feeding is going well.

Look at the brow.....she does this sometimes when the feeding begins....don't know why...but it is sure cute.






Here is me holding her yesterday.




Eyes wide open....saying hi to Mommy!!!



Yesterday evening, Brinson starting lifting and trying hard to turn her head. She is gonna give Mommy a panic attack. Watch below as she tries to turn her head.


Here I am today holding her. I was lucky enough to hold Brinson for over 1 hour. It was AWESOME. I told her all about my day while Mommy was downstairs pumping.


If you did not notice already from some of the above pix/vids......Brinson has a new hat. Meme sent a few new things for her. I think she got the hat from PreemiesRus
Thanks Meme!!!

Brinson fine....

Brinson is doing fine. Daddy will post many new videos and pictures.

I will tell you she is upto 19cc on her feeds and they stopped the proteins (tpn). They will start fortifying mom's milk to increase her caloric intake per cc.

Her lungs are stable....which is good. As she gets bigger they will improve.

I held her for over an hour tonite and that was after Lisa held her for 20 mins. And we loved every moment of it.

Evening update

They knocked off the lipids completely and went down on the TPN. Brinson is now up to 128cc a day or 16cc per feeding. So far she has been tolerating the milk pretty well. There was some concern about her belly getting larger, but she is still pooping soooo upward and onward with the feeds.

The lungs.....well she is back about 1 week with 35bpm and the PeeP is back to 6 (pressure of the air). Her O2 setting has been fluctuating between 38 and 51 percent of O2. The oxygen is raised or lowered based on how well she is saturating.

They still think if they get her fat and happy, the lungs will get better. So bring on the the MILK!!!!

Sucking

Here is Brinson practicing sucking. Lisa laughs every time she starts. It seems to happen right after she starts getting fed. The nurses say the preemies figure out that it helps them digest when they suck.....so every time she gets fed, the suck fest begins. Last night I watched her suck 48 times in a row before taking a breather.

Tipping the scales at....

After the bath Brinson gets weighed.

Her weight is right on schedule at 1050 grams or 2lbs 5oz.
Her length is 14 5/8 inches.

She is getting huge!!! :>

Brinson gets her hair wet!

Mommy got to give a bath. And Brinson did not like it during...but afterwards was calm and relaxed.....just like we would have a hot shower or bath.

BTW The soap does not need to be rinsed. So it was a bit easier on Brin.

Here she is getting wiped down.





Look at her hair afterwards. Getting kind of furry!
Here she is sleeping away.

Nana holds Brinson

Yesterday evening Nana got to hold Brinson....finally. I think she really enjoyed it. Just look at Nana's face.


I know Brinson enjoyed it as well..