Skip to main content

insert catchy blog post title here

I know the title isn't really the point, but guys, it's HARD to come up with them. Here are some updates from Kim:

Eleanor has been having much better days since last week. The medical team adjusted her backup settings on her NAVA (the machine that breathes for her when she decides she doesn’t want to anymore) after Mom repeatedly stated that she always drops her heart rate when she is in backup (this is...not supposed to be a thing). She also required a little more pressure to keep her lungs open and slightly higher oxygen support.

She is gaining weight like mad, and today tipped the scales at a whopping 3 lbs. 12 oz.! She even gets to have more food now, which is exciting. 

Eleanor had her second eye exam today. Blood vessels look good, but she’s still too underdeveloped to tell if she will have any issues. The doctors check for ROP (eye disease), not her actual vision ("Better One, or Two?"). Babies this small don’t actually see how we see, only outlines and shadows. This is from what I’ve read, so who really knows. 

She also had two vials (baby-sized) of blood taken to test her thyroid for functionality. The thyroid is another late bloomer in the baby growing process, so this is standard procedure.

That about wraps up everything that is going on with the little munchkin. Mom and Dad are hoping and praying for a good week and continued progress.

Thank you all for all the love and support!

Comments

  1. Oldgirl48March 11, 2019 at 6:24 PM

    Keep hanging in there Elle,Alex,Kim n fam. We are rooting for her every day and thank you for updates. Go Eleanor go 😗

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 14, 2019 at 11:12 AM

    Yay for being 3lbs and 12oz and getting to eat more food!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
3 comments
Read more

The Little Peanut That Could

Eleanor has been growing like a weed! Using little to no energy to eat allows for all those calories to be stored, aside from the hundreds she burns kicking all day long.  Eleanor had a swallow study this week where it was determined she needed thicker milk. There are no thickeners for breast milk that are NICU approved so she, reluctantly, is now trying out formula. She gets to attempt one ounce via a bottle and the remainder through her ng-tube. The remainder is still breast milk, so we’re not completely throwing in the towel.  Thicker food has made a significant difference in the feeding process. What used to be terrifying and stressful, as Eleanor would choke and stop breathing, is now a wonderful experience. The only problem is Eleanor often just gums the bottle and isn’t actually drinking anything. But she’s still happy, so we’re okay with it.  This weekend she is to repeat her stim(ulation) test. Recall from the last post, this is the synthetic injected ...
3 comments
Read more

Aiming for September

Eleanor is thiiiiis close to weighing a whopping EIGHT pounds! She loves her food, even though her protein supplement gives her the most epic gas. And I do mean epic. She farts as loud as a grown adult; nurses down the hall can hear her. The plan for the little miss to get off of respiratory support has FINALLY commenced. Eleanor started an 8-week course of steroids on Tuesday. She will get two full weeks of the big kahuna dose and then taper down until she weans off at the end of the 8 weeks. Should she need more steroids closer to time to get off, they can increase the dose for a few days without causing negative effects. She is on the big kid steroid Orapred (similar to Predinisone, which I am sure many of you have heard of) which is an oral steroid she can take through her NG tube and doesn’t require an IV or any other new accessories. She will be a 'roid raging little pistol butt for the first two weeks and should calm down after her dose begins weaning. The plan is ...
Post a Comment
Read more