Eleanor's Story

Eleanor has had a productive week, to say the least. She began a course of antibiotics on Monday post pneumonia diagnosis. Initially, she was given Cefepime and Vancomycin (both bacteria-killing antibiotics), until her blood cultures and urine cultures came back negative and she was switched from the Vancomycin (too much of this antibiotic can cause toxicity and must be monitored) to Ampicillin. She has responded very well to the antibiotics and has weaned back to her original pressure settings and sits comfortably at 30% oxygen all day. She is not allowed to wean below 30%, even if her pulse ox level suggests she should be bumped down. The doctors want to keep her comfortable and not force her to work hard. She did, however, need to have a midline IV inserted, as her teeny uncooperative veins kept blowing through regular IVs (I think she was on her third one come Wednesday morning...a mere three days into her antibiotics). This is a soft catheter that is placed in the vein. It is much...

Eleanor has been growing like a weed! She has officially outgrown preemie clothes and is spending more time awake and social.  She loves listening to mom and dad talking to her. and reading her books. She calms right down when mom sings her the "Eleanor song," and loves pats on the butt and tummy rubs. She is a poopin' machine and it is astounding she gains weight with how much she poops! Eleanor had a top notch Easter weekend. She was so spoiled with three Easter baskets and a fancy new Easter dress that she looked oh so adorable in. Mom and Dad got to give her a bath on Saturday (after she pooped and puked all over the place...clean sheet included). She was happy as can be! And then Monday reared its ugly head. We couldn’t get through to Eleanor’s nurse this morning and after trying several times, we knew something was up.  The NP called us back around 6 to explain that Eleanor had been waaaay up in her O2 (90%...horribly high) and they did a blood gas and were w...

Eleanor has been slowly tolerating her new tube. She initially got annoyed and dropped her sats and heart rate when she moved, stretched, pooped, or wiggled, which was all of the time. She would bring it back up on her own, but it shouldn't have been happening as frequently. To combat this and to make her more comfortable, the doctors have advised the nurses to leave her oxygen at 30%, not try to wean her, even when her oxygen saturation is high. This was slightly concerning, as excessive oxygen is a known factor of increasing the signs of ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). Eleanor had already been diagnosed stage 2, and we don't want her to have to have corrective action. We were assured that she is beyond the point where increased oxygen levels would have any effect on her eyes. Her eye exam Monday even showed that the ROP looked to be heading toward clearing on its own and next week's exam should show signs of improvement. The plan is to keep Eleanor comfy and let h...

Saturday was Eleanor’s shower. Family and friends gathered and we had a wonderful time and were blessed with such amazing, generous gifts. We are so thankful for all of the love for our little lady. When we got to the hospital afterward, Eleanor’s favorite nurse Megan had decorated her room and outfitted Eleanor in a pretty pink tutu ensemble for the occasion. Such an all around blessed day. Eleanor, however, was a cranky little thing and was not having it. She didn’t even calm down fully when Mom and Dad held her. Sunday was a little of the same. Something wasn’t quite right about Eleanor, but we all thought it was normal baby stuff (HA! "normal"!). She did have a few more heart rate dips, but the doctors determined she had just outgrown her dose of caffeine (provided to her to help her tiny brain remember to breathe) and needed more. The nurses even changed her linens to a coffee pattern for the occasion. She still had continued drops after her increased dosage, but the...