Slow And Steady Progress

Avigayil has Baruch Hashem (thank G-d) been stable for the last few days. Her oxygen is still too high, and so is her heart rate. However, the doctors now feel that her heart rate is due to morphine withdrawal and that it will slowly get better over time. She has had other problems from the withdrawal over the last few days but most of the discomfort seems to have subsided. It's hard as a parent to watch such a tiny baby go through so much. Thankfully, for the most part the only symptom she is still experiencing is the tachycardia. 

Although her progress in general seems to have slowed down greatly, we are happy that she is still making progress in general. The doctors say that it will probably be a long time before they can consider moving her out of intensive care and into a step down unit, but the fact that she is still progressing is encouraging.

She has started to take some feedings by mouth. She is still having trouble coordinating the sucking, swallowing, breathing motions but slowly getting better at it. We are hoping that she will be able to nurse eventually. It is hard for her to keep her oxygen saturation high enough when eating and between that and the physical strain; she generally falls asleep after attempting to eat for a while. The rest of her meal is then given through her NG tube. While this can, at times, be frustrating, it is a sign of improvement.

I have also noticed a good way to monitor the progress of a baby in the NICU. As the baby’s condition improves the amount of equipment surrounding her decreases. Every time they take away a piece of the equipment I know it is a step in the right direction. Here is a look at the unbelievable amount of equipment that has been keeping our baby girl alive. At one point I counted over 20 machines attached to her.

Thankfully, we have watched as slowly much of this has been taken away.  As each piece goes, I thank Hashem (G-d).

In other good news, Avigayil was switched to a new type of CPAP. This machine's nasal tube is much smaller and seems to be making her more comfortable.