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Shake Your Booty

I am happy to report on another good day for Eleanor! She passed her second night in a row with no phone calls home.

She was very active today, and we saw her move around a lot (hence the title of this post...El doesn't quite have a tuchus, but she's getting there). She is quite the spunky baby, with strong opinions on what she likes and does not like. Kim was recounting to me that the doctors knew this right away in her first couple of days when she did NOT tolerate oscillation (a go-to for preterm babies to help level out their oxygen -- it simulates them being in the womb and they're generally very receptive to it). Today saw an additional decrease in nitric levels, down from 10 yesterday to 5, and baby is off dopamine completely.

Her nurses gave her medicine in response to her fidgetiness (that's a word now) to ensure she is comfortable, while keeping an eye her heart rate to ensure she doesn't get too stressed, with the option to give morphine if necessary. She still has a lot of tubes, so it's all about keeping her comfortable!

Eleanor had her eye mask back on today, so she wasn't able to "see" any of her visitors, but I'm sure she knows how loved she is by her adoring fans. We keep asking Kim if she feels overwhelmed by the number of visitors, but she says she loves that there are always people there to be with Eleanor. While the baby can't really wear anything but a diaper just yet, she now has some personalization with the cards and stuffed animals decorating her room, and her own little blanket covering her incubator.

Today saw many firsts for Kim - Mom got to change Eleanor's tiny diaper, and was able to syringe some food into Eleanor's tummy and swab her mouth with milk. After her feeding, Eleanor settled down a little (the food coma is very real, people).

Nurses began decreasing her insulin and will continue doing a blood glucose test every four hours instead of every hour. Eleanor was down to 179 as of 2:30pm this afternoon. Hooray, baby girl!

Fun fact: Eleanor is 11 & 3/4 inches long!

Thank you to Eleanor's support system of friends, family, and an amazing medical staff for keeping this baby's health on the upswing.


Respecting Mom and Dad's wishes, I'm not posting pictures of Eleanor to the Internet at this time, but here is a picture of a picture of a peacock drawn by a senior at Canton South High School (Dad's alma mater) that hangs in Eleanor's room.


Comments

  1. So active this evening!!! The nurse told me it was"a happy active, not an agitated active" with an added, "She's doing so good". Sugar continuing to drop and was at 157 . Thank you everyone for your continued prayers! Along with Eleanor being so. brave and feisty princess, it sure is working!! Love, G-ma


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  2. I am so glad Mom and I got to meet Eleanor today. She already has us wrapped around her finger. Total cuteness - 💖

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