3 Weeks

Day of Life - 21
Corrected Age - 27 Weeks 4 Days

That is how they start rounds every morning when they talk about Natalie. I find "Day of Life" both poetic and sterile at the same time, but I have gotten used to their language. The "Corrected Age" is what her gestational age is. It is also the term they will use while she is an infant to describe her age. So when she is 6 months old, her corrected age will be 2 months old. Even though she was born January 20th, she will developmentally and size wise follow along the path of a baby born in the beginning of May. I am learning so much through all of this!

Anyways, today (Tuesday) Natalie is 3 weeks old. I cannot tell you if the time has gone fast or slow, because it varies by day and sometimes by hour. On occasion, I still turn to Jimmy and go "so, we have a kid?" It is all so crazy. From talking to friends and family members, I know that is normal, especially with the first child, that it is almost unbelievable, but it is still a surprising feeling.

Natalie has been doing very well. We just talked to her night nurse (she is weighed at night) and her current weight is 2 lbs 2 ozs. They upped her feedings to 21 mls and they are very happy with her weight gain. She has been desatting and bradying more the past few days, but they said it is nothing to be concerned about (they say that a lot, but they promise they would tell me if it was otherwise).

One of the ways they keep her from having the desaturations and bradycardia dips is to keep her mouth shut. Since the CPAP goes through her nose, if her mouth is open, then a lot of that air is going straight out instead of into her lungs. However, at so young she really does not have the strength to keep her mouth shut, especially when there is air trying to escape (not to mention the 2 tubes they have going through her mouth as well). They tried a pacifier, but she has long since figured out how to wiggle away from that. So they often resort to a chin strap. Which is a nice way of saying, they take a piece of cloth and tie it around her head to keep her mouth shut (picture old fashion toothache care with the fabric tied around their heads).

When I came in yesterday (Monday) morning, her nurse mentioned that she had 6 bradys the night before, but they still left her chin strap off. See, a lot of people do not like the chin strap, they feel bad for the infant and I know nurses try to keep it off. One of the nurses even called it barbaric (she was joking, mostly).

So, I said "just keep her chin strap on, it keeps her numbers better, so she rests more. She has been alive for 3 weeks and has had one on for most of the time. She does not know it isn't normal, so I am not concerned about her not liking it".

The respiratory therapist and nurse both laughed real hard. The therapist pointed at me and said, "I'm going to like this one. Apparently, she's not going to take any crap".

So I asked if this was something mothers often complained about. They said this is easily something that would be complained about, and that I couldn't even imagine the things parents complain about with their babies. I should not have been surprised, people complain about the most ridiculous things, but really, if it is something that makes my baby progress and grow better, than why would I be against it? I am sorry if it causes some discomfort, but she really does not seem to notice. I mean her whole body has wires and tubes and a mask with prongs up her nostrils, I do not think this is doing any long term emotional damage to her.

Needless to say, they put her chin strap back on. But don't worry they do give her breaks without it.

Anyways, I caught her sucking on her pacifier today and see why Jimmy got so excited, it was adorable. Seeing her do such a 'normal' infant trait that she has been unable to do is extremely satisfying. She also looks gigantic, well in comparison to a few weeks ago, and I cannot believe how big she will get before she comes home.

As for Jimmy and myself? We are trucking along. Some days are better than others, and some days are amazing. I still burst into tears occasionally (something any person sleeping on a newborn schedule can relate to), but I think we have awhile before that goes away and honestly, I find those moments pretty cathartic.

That is the brief update on her day. Sorry if it is a little boring, but boring is exactly what we are going for right now.

And of course, your daily dose of Natalie Rose -

Here is a link to the little video of her opening up her eyes (she can only open them a tiny bit):

Natalie Opening Her Eyes Video

Sweet Natty Bear (see the white chin strap her mean Mommy lets the nurses put on her)