Skip to main content

Everything's Coming Up Eleanor

Today was a great day to be an Eleanor!

Mom got to hold her and love on her for TWO hours today and it was a very emotional experience, and Dad got lots of hands on time today.

Eleanor is looking and doing so good, as evidenced by the amount of space in her room...there are fewer machines! She is currently on a setting on her breathing tube that lets her control the pressure on her lungs. She now dictates how much help she gets with breathing, and her lungs will continue to soften the more she progresses. Baby's food has been upped, and we're hoping she poops sometime this evening (her tummy is soft still, so who knows).

I noted that she has no umbilical lines now (hasn't for a couple days, I believe), and Kim started explaining the different colors of the tubes she's left with...she's got an orange and a green, and I already forget the difference between them and what they do, so I'll try to be more detailed about that in the future. It's hard to keep everything straight!

Among other routine tests, Eleanor had an x-ray today to check the water seal on her chest tube (Kim said they water sealed it yesterday). The tube is not currently sucking air anymore, and if tomorrow's x-ray shows there aren't any bubbles in her lung (she's been clear for two days now!), they will remove the chest tube. This will green light her for kangaroo time (she will be able to sit on Mom's chest, which is vital for bonding), and she'll be able to sleep on her tummy! We can't believe the amazing progress this little babe has made in such a short time.

El had lots of visitors today. When we were in the room this evening, her oxygen saturation level started to dip a bit, and it turned out she just wanted her mom! Kim put her hands on Eleanor's head and legs, and the number steadily rose right back up...it was sort of incredible to watch.

Keep rooting for this little champion!

-Pam

Editor's note: I just read this back and I'm sorry, but it's really difficult not to end every sentence with an exclamation!





Comments

  1. Love this! So glad we were able to visit for a bit today. Her progress this past week is amazing ❤️

    ReplyDelete
  2. So happy to hear good things!! Xoxo.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Keep fighting Eleanor. You are such a miracle. Love you bunches. I always end the grandkids card with LOVE, HUGS, AND KISSES> So that is how this message ends LOVE, HUGS AND KISSES From Grandma Rose

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Nine-Pound Peanut

It’s been a while since the last update! This is the start of (I believe) week 4 of Eleanor’s steroid regimen. The steroids are doing their job and Eleanor is weaning her support settings well. The little lady hit NINE POUNDS today and, as always, is looking adorable as all get-out in all her onesies and holiday-themed outfits and gigantic head bows. The past several visits have all been so rewarding. I got to hold my niece for the first time Friday afternoon! Her Grandpa Bob held her on Monday morning. Eleanor is alert (and looking like brown-eyed girl more and more every day!!), expressive (so fun seeing her responses), and it’s a whole different experience getting to hear her (helps, not having a tube down your throat, I’d reckon). Also want to note how amazing a four-day weekend probably was for Kim and Alex. A happy Memorial Day weekend it was, indeed. This weekend, Eleanor also got upgraded to a larger crib (more room for activities!) and is really set up in the toy dep...

First 48

Hi friends and family of Kim, Alex, and baby Eleanor Sutara, After talking with Kim and Alex, it seemed easiest to send updates to everyone through a blog post. We are grateful and appreciative of everyone's concern, support, and well wishes as Eleanor begins her long journey in Akron Children's. Eleanor is a PPROM baby, meaning that Kim experienced a preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM), showing little to no amniotic fluid in utero, and was subsequently hospitalized long-term for monitoring at 24 weeks following a large bleeding episode, with the hopes that the baby would be able to hang in to 34 weeks. I will let Kim elaborate if she wants on the pre-birth details, but for now I'm just slapping some hard and fast details together from what I can immediately recall. Heart monitoring of the baby beginning on Saturday, 19 January revealed some variability, and Kim was taken to the labor and delivery ward as a precaution. By Tuesday morning, Kim's doct...

The Last Hurdle Before Home

My has the time flown (but at the same time crawled)! Eleanor is now 5 months old and this morning weighed in at 10lbs, 13oz! She officially is too big for newborn clothes as well as the tiny baby socks. She poops on her ensemble approximately once a day and still enjoys playing and being held. She is doing very well post-steroid regimen. Her last dose of the big guns was on Friday morning. She has since switched to hydrocortisone so that her adrenal gland knows to kick it back into gear and her body doesn’t go into a shock of sorts without the steroid boost. She will have to have an ACTH test in two weeks when she is finished with this round of steroids. ACTH is a hormone injected into the shoulder muscle. They draw blood before and after to measure how well the adrenal gland responds. Eleanor has also been learning bottles. She started off pretty well, initially taking bottles with understanding the general concept of suck, swallow, breathe, but she oftentimes just wants to...