Sunday, May 15, 2011

Aubrey's Fairfax Adventure

Aubrey had an eye exam a few weeks ago. The doctor was quite concerned about some abnormal growth that he saw in the blood vessels in her eyes. If the abnormal growth isn't stopped it can detach her retinas and cause blindness. So we wanted to make sure to get it taken care of.




On April 27th she took a ride in an ambulance and went to a bigger hospital called Fairfax so she could have the surgery. Since she came from another hospital they put her in isolation to make sure she didn't bring any germs with her. So we got our own room for a couple of days and it was quite nice.



So she got her surgery. The doctor used a laser to treat the areas around the abnormal vessels and stop the growth. The surgery went very well and the doctor couldn't have been happier. While we were waiting for the doctor's report we ran into a woman whose son was Aubrey's neighbor at Alexandria hospital. We thought they had gone home, but it turned out they transferred to Fairfax for surgery as well.  

The doctor who did the surgery wanted to monitor her recovery so Aubrey stayed for about two weeks.  She made a lot of progress while she was there. She got out of her isolette and into an open crib. She got off of her oxygen support. And she did great work with a speech therapist working on her bottle feeding.


  

John and I got to give her a bath for the first time.




The pictures are red because we were working under a heat lamp. She's really got that pout down. We keep warning her that it's not going to work on us, but sometimes I doubt our ability to resist. 

On May 11th she transferred back to Alexandria hospital. It was really fun to come back after two weeks. Aubrey had made so much progress and changed so much. All the nurses were exclaiming over how big she is and how they didn't recognize her. She's doing very well. She just needs to get strong enough to get all her feedings by mouth. Slowly, but surely, she is getting there. We are very glad that she is back at Alexandria so we can be with her for more of her feedings. We're all practicing and learning together.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Aubrey-girl in the NICU

Aubrey has been in the NICU for 57 days, her whole little life.  I wanted to share some pictures and record some things about life in the NICU.

Meeting Dad for the first time:


Meeting Mom for the first time:


This is what her very first diapers looked like:

Diaper beside a quarter.  Go ahead.  Pull out a quarter and see how small that diaper really is.  
This is the first time I got to hold her:



Her first time accessorizing:


Aubrey's set up in the NICU:  

This screen shows her heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation. 
Changing her diaper.
Daily Weigh-In.
We bring in blankets from home to cover and decorate her isolette.
Aubrey letting us know what she thinks of getting her picture taken:


Just kidding - that's her fourth finger, not her middle!  She does smile sometimes.  I don't really care if it's not on purpose!  She's getting much cuter:



She is working really hard on learning how to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing so she can eat from a bottle and come home to us.  This is a picture of her practicing while her meal is pumped into her stomach via a tube through her nose down to her stomach:


She's getting big and working on all the things she needs to learn.  We love you, baby girl!