Bye Bye Bed!

Lily Anne had her little foot pricked (for the fourth day in a row) to check her bilirubin levels and they were down to 11 something so the doctor ordered her off the bili-bed for the day! We take her back in tomorrow for another check to see how her body is regulating the bilirubin without the aid of the phototherapy. Hopefully we are on the right track!

It was a very busy day for Miss Lily Anne. Grandma and Grandpa Pieczko and Grandpa Rex were in town. My friend MK visited and so did Uncle Nate and Aunt Mary. After two days on the bili-bed, I don't think our daughter has been put down all day :) It is so nice to be able to hold her.

Hopefully tomorrow brings more good news!

Tanning beds and babies do not mix!

Last night on the bili-bed was not fun! Lily Anne absolutely hates the bed, mostly because she cannot be swaddled while on it. We struggled to get her to sleep at all. My sweet husband camped out on the floor with her all night so I could sleep between feedings. He is already the best daddy!

We had to go back to the pediatrician today for another bilirubin blood test. Poor Lily Anne is so good while they prick her little feet. We finally got a call from the office around 6 pm and we were told her bilirubin level had increased slightly :( Fast forward to 8:15 and the doctor's office calls back. It seems that the lab had accidentally given us the wrong number. Her level was not 17.7 as they had told us earlier...her real number today is 13.4!!! They apologized profusely, but since it was good news, we are not holding it against them.

They still want her on the bili-bed through the evening and we will get her bilirubin levels tested again tomorrow (another heel prick). Hopefully we will have a better night than last night with sleeping and her levels tomorrow will be low enough to get her off the bed! In the meantime, here is another picture of our little girl getting her "tan on."

First Day at Home

This morning we met with the pediatrician (Dr. S) and Lily Anne had her first official checkup. In typical "Lily Anne fashion" she christened the scale at the doctor's office (for those of you who don't know, our daughter has managed to christen EVERY scale she has been weighed on so far). The good news is, she is up to 7 lbs 10 oz so she gained almost an ounce since yesterday morning. The doctor said her reflexes are great and she is doing all the things a newborn should do.

Unfortunately, her bilirubin level is not going down, so this evening got a bili-bed. Yep, our daughter is in a tanning bed. And, so far...she hates it. Not that I can blame her. It really doesn't look very fun. It is supposed to be better and more effective than a bili-blanket. We will go back to see Dr. S tomorrow afternoon for another bilirubin test. Let's hope it goes down!

Baxter is trying to get used to the new baby. He really doesn't know what to think about it and he is on high alert! Every little sound she makes, he rushes over to investigate. I can only imagine what he is thinking. He is definitely having sensory overload!!

With her being home, we finally get to use some of the wonderful toys we were given with Lily Anne. She seems to enjoy her bassinet, her pack in play, and her swing. In other words, she sleeps in all three places (allowing Justin and I a little bit of time). We hope these gadgets continue to have their magical powers.

And finally, one last picture for today. This is Lily Anne in her carseat yesterday for her first ride in a car. Add your own caption :)

Just two sweet words...

WE'RE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

One week ago today...

One week ago tonight at 11:15, this entire adventure began when my water broke. Yes, I was one of those lucky women who experienced your movie-style dramatic water breakage! Luckily it happened at home as I have no idea how my Kindergartners would have reacted had it happened in class. Let's just put it this way...I had a LOT of amniotic fluid!

In a weird way, this has been both the longest and the shortest week of our lives.

Today was another great day for Miss Lily Anne. As you know from our mini update this morning, she was not tube fed at all last night. That streak continued throughout the day as she ate 40+ mL at each feeding. I don't want to jinx us, but hopefully we will be discharged VERY soon with this success rate!

Justin and I are overwhelmed by all the wonderful messages, emails, etc. that we receive every day. They help us keep our spirits up and we cannot thank you enough for all the prayers and good thoughts! Today we received two prayer blankets in the mail from "Ashley B." and her prayer team at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. We hope to be able to wrap her in the blankets very soon!

Thank you all for including our little girl in your prayers.

A "Tubeless" Night

Lily Anne has not used a feeding tube in over 24 hours now! Last night she ate between 40-50 mL at each feeding. What a little porker!

Her bilirubin level is still above 13, but because she is a "term baby" (most of the babies in NICU are premies), the doctor has taken her off the biliblanket so Lily Anne no longer glows.

We will update more this evening!

Another step forward

Last night Lily Anne ate her 8:30 feeding all by bottle! She did have to have some of her night feedings done by the tube, but she did start off with the bottle. If I remember correctly, the nurse said she ate between 20-30 mL by bottle at each night feeding, but just tuckered out before she could finish.

Today, she ate all of her day feedings by bottle! She needs to be prompted a bit to finish up, but we did not have to use the feeding tube at all! Hopefully the night feedings will continue to improve and we can take her home soon.

Another positive note for today...Lily Anne passed her hearing test!

We still have a long road ahead of us Please continue to pray for Lily Anne. She is our little fighter!

And of course, another picture of our angel (doesn't she have the cutest little yawn!?)

Big Progress Today!!

Justin and I arrived at the NICU around 9:30 this morning and immediately asked how Lily's 8:30 feeding went. You can imagine our surpise and delight when the nurse told us she ate 30 mL by bottle! Remember, yesterday she was only eating 15 mL by bottle at some feedings. That was the FIRST good thing of the day (yes...there are MORE!!!).

The Speech/Language Pathologist came for her 11:30 feeding to assess her suck technique. She gave us lots of great exercises to do with Lily Anne to "prepare" her to suck. During that feeding, she only ate about 20 mL by bottle, but we were not disappointed because we had all really messed with her during the feeding.

So, along comes our 2:30 feeding. Our little champion ate the ENTIRE 40 mL by bottle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our nurse, the nurse next to us, the doctor, and of course the VERY proud parents were all cheering. Lily Anne looked at us like we were all crazy, but it was a HUGE step.

As if it couldn't get better, she ate almost the entire bottle again by mouth at her 5:30 feeding. She got the hiccups pretty bad at the end, so she left a few mL, but not enough to give it to her through the feeding tube.

At this rate, we just hope and pray for more of the same tomorrow. We are very anxious to find out how her night feedings go tonight. Overall, she is gaining weight. She dropped from her birth weight of 7 lbs 12 oz to 7 lbs 7 oz when she was admitted to the NICU. As of this morning, she was up to 7 lbs 10 oz so we are moving in the right direction!

She also is off the antibiotics and had the iv line removed from her hand/arm today!

The only little snafu of the day was that her bilirubin level was up (making her a little jaundice) so she wore a "bili-blanket" today. She looks like a little glow worm as you can see.

We still have a long way to go, but today was a VERY good day! Please continue to pray for Lily Anne. She is our little fighter!

Learning to take life one little goal at a time

Since the "plate" in front of Lily Anne rivals that of a Thanksgiving feast, Justin and I are learning to look only as far ahead as one little goal at a time. Our current goal...get Lily Anne to eat by herself (without a feeding tube).

At this point in her short life, Lily Anne should be eating 40 mL per feeding (eating every three hours). As of yesterday, she was not eating anything by mouth so they put her in NICU and she was being fed by a feeding tube. Today she successfully ate 15 mL from a bottle 4 times. Hooray! Obviously, this is still short of her goal, but since we weren't even sure if she could suck and swallow, this is a major accomplishement. Feeding by mouth still seems to wear her out, but she is building her stamina. The rest of the feeding is still being done by the feeding tube.

The NICU doctor told us today that she needs to reach an ultimate goal of 60 mL by mouth every three hours. If she does not show progress, then they will teach us how to insert a feeding tube and we will take her home. If she continues to show oral feeding progress, they will keep her in the NICU until she reaches her goal. While we want her home with us so desperately, in this case, it is actually better if she stays in NICU a little longer (because that means she is eating and making progress).

On another note, Justin and I really appreciate all of your calls, emails, etc. They help us get through the days. We cannot use our cell phones in the NICU so please understand that we are letting all calls go to voicemail. We will do our best to get back to you, but our days in NICU are long and we are worn out (both emotionally and physically) when we get home. We will do our best to update our blog nightly to keep everyone up to date as to Lily Anne's progress.

As far as the other obstacles in our path, we cannot allow ourselves to think about them at this point because it is just too overwhelming. Just keep praying for Lily Anne. She has a long and bumpy road ahead.

I have no words...

Today has probably been one of the most difficult days in our entire lives. Lily Anne has been admitted to the NICU because she is not eating. There is more, but I just don't have the strength to write about it right now.

Just please pray for our little girl because she needs all the prayers she can get. And, if you don't mind, please pray for Justin and I as well because our hearts are in pain.

We are now a family of three!

Lily Anne Bannister made her grand entrance yesterday (February 15, 2009) at 9:15 pm. She weighs 7 pounds 12 ounces and is 20 inches long. She is doing great and is spending most of the day going between specialists getting lots of ultrasounds. Pictures and more updates will come soon :)

Justin and the Dr. are placing bets

Today's perinatologist appointment was pretty standard. We asked for an estimate on her size and we got 8 lbs 4 oz plus/minus 15 oz. It puts her in the 79th percentile. Ventricle size and kidney size have all remained the same.

Dr. A did say that I have fluid on the other side of the amniotic sac, so he thinks my water will probably break sooner than our due date. He said, "Maybe you'll have a Valentine's baby." UM...NO! She needs to wait. Sorry, but mommy puts her foot down. Justin and Dr. A are taking bets. Nice.

What is your opinion? Take the poll on the left side.

I guess we will find out soon enough!

We are boring

according to our perinatologist (Dr. A). Seriously, he actually said that today...and it was a GOOD thing! We had another ultrasound and nothing has changed. He told us he would see us next week "if your still pregnant." Ha...I better be! I have too much to do yet!