Today was another positive day for little Emma. The poor little girl has been getting poked and prodded because they've had to keep moving her IV so that they can deliver nutrients to her other than what comes from her milk. Well this morning they finally got a central line put in. The way it was explained to us is that they go in through a vein in her arm and feed a catheter up to near her heart. This is a very efficient way to get the IV fluids to her and the best part is it is a permanent line in that they will not have to keep moving it like they had to move her IV. She will have this line until she starts getting bigger feeds and they can remove the line altogether. We don't know how long that will be, and from the sounds of it the doctors and nurses don't know either. It all goes back to kids developing at different paces. Even the little ones are like that. They go at their own pace. As the head doctor in charge of the NICU, Dr. Price, told us, Emma is in charge. They will listen to her and do what she tells them she needs.
She got a visit today from her big sister again. Little Eden was excited to see her! The other day when Eden visited, Emma was laying on a bilirubin blanket that was a neon green colored blanket. Well, yet another positive development is that her jaundice has gone away, so the blanket has also disappeared. So Eden's first question today was "Where's the green Emma?" Eden got to spend about 30 minutes with her little sister before she got a little tired and hungry so we had to leave.
Emma's Mommy stayed behind and visited with her a little longer and she held her again today for the second time. Instead of skin to skin contact they swaddled Emma and Brit held her in her arms. Her little body isn't ready to regulate its own temperature though so they had to put her back into her incubator, or as they call it, an isolette. Her isolette is one designed to create humidity so that she won't lose as much fluid. She doesn't have a lot of weight to lose, so anything they can do to help her avoid it, they're going to do.
So all in all, this was a pretty positive weekend for Emma. Here's hoping she starts packing on some pounds pretty soon, or at least a few ounces! Just like full term kids, it's normal for preemies to lose weight in the first week or so of life. On Tuesday she'll be a week old so we're hoping that she'll start to turn it around in the next few days. So keep the prayers coming folks! Emma's a fighter but she can use all the help she can get!
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