Poor Sick Ellery

Well, this week has kind of been hard. Ellery somehow got an Upper Respiratory Infection (basically just a cold) and has been cranky, not eating well, and requiring a lot more oxygen than normal. I feel bad for her, because I can tell she doesn't feel that great. I was really worried about her eating, but our pediatrician said not to worry about it, she is gaining fabulously. Originally, when I took her in, we were all afraid that she could have been aspirating. The fear with that is, when she was in the NICU and aspirated, she ended up with pneumonia and we almost lost her. So naturally, anytime aspiration is even mentioned I get super scared. I am VERY paranoid about that; after every feeding I listen to her lungs and make sure I can't hear anything. Part of the reason I took her into the pediatrician was because every time she finished eating, I could hear her lungs rattling around. He said it sounds like she is trying to aspirate, but her body is  not letting her.

We had X-Rays done to see if aspiration was the cause. When I went to the place to have the X-Ray's done, they asked me if she had ever had an X-Ray before. She's had probably 100s. At one point, she was getting one every day. So they told me, "Oh, you must be familiar with the machine we use to place the baby". Well, in the NICU they did the X-Rays while she was laying in her isolette. But here, holy shit, it was like a torture machine. They put her arms up over her head and strapped her in this little plastic case. She can't hold her head up, so her head was flopping forward and cutting off her airway. I had to leave while they took the actual X-Rays. The funny thing is, they want the baby to be crying as they take the X-Ray, so they can get a clearer picture. Ellery was SCREAMING right up until they went to take the X-Ray, then dead silence. I was on the other side of the door, and I could hear the techs saying, "Come on sweetheart, we need you to cry!" Finally they got her to cry, and she had to stay in that damn contraption till they made sure the films turned out. At one point, I did start to panic, because her saturation levels dropped pretty low and she was gasping for breath. I kept asking "Can we PLEASE get her out of here!!" Finally, once we took her out, I loved on her for a bit to get her calmed down. I could tell they needed me to leave the room for the next person, but there was no way I was putting her in the car-seat that upset. Her saturation drops when she gets real upset, so I'd rather have her satting good before I left.

I made Rick call the pediatrician yesterday, after a google search had me panicked that Ellery could be dehydrated. Her soft spot felt a little sunken in, so of course I googled what that could mean, and all these horrible stories about dehydration came up. I started panicking, because she has been eating maybe 2 ounces per feeding, and she gets 7 bottles a day. It's been HOT here, so I thought she was for sure dehydrated. After I panicked a little, Rick called our pediatrician's nurse, and she said if she is still peeing a lot, she's not dehydrated. That preemies just have funny soft spots, and it could feel sunken in for some other reason. She wasn't worried. Ellery pees like 12 times or more a day, so we're good there. Moral of the story: DON'T GOOGLE THINGS!!!

Today she had her Occupational Therapy. It went pretty well, although the therapist did say her back is not as strong as he would like it to be. We really need to work on strengthening her back. He showed me some exercises to work on the rest of the week to hopefully get those muscles stronger. Her head control is getting better, but she is still a little floppy. We are also going to work on weaning down the rice cereal, which we have been adding to her bottle due to her severe reflux. We used to use a thickening agent, called Simply Thick, but it was causing Necrotizing  Entercolitis in preemie babies, which can lead to death, so we stopped using that and switched to the Rice Cereal. I will be happy to get her off the thickened feeds! I feel like she will eat more, and not be so constipated! (LOL)

She has generally been a happier baby lately. Lots more smiles, lots of talking. Little more playful. She still doesn't have much interest in toys or objects, but we are working on that. She is doing most of what a 2 month old baby should be, which is her adjusted age. It's weird to think she is almost 6 months. In a way, its a bittersweet feeling. I'm sad that she is nowhere near where a 6 month old would be, but I'm happy she has come so far. I'm sad we missed out on a lot of the "normal" baby things. I'm sad we can't travel with her; can't really leave the house with her. It's definitely hard having a preemie. I don't think anyone can ever prepare you for how much work it really is. But of course, I wouldn't change it for the world. She is the light of my life!

I just finished reading "The Help". It was pretty good, I really enjoyed it. I'd like to see the movie next. I might read "To Kill a Mockingbird" next, because "the Help" references it a few times, and it's been soooo long since I've read that book, I don't remember a lot of it. I also have the second to last Sookie book sitting on my nightstand, I just haven't felt like reading it lately. Maybe I'll pop on down to the library and see if they have anything decent, if I can get Rick to watch Ellery for me. LOL I miss the book club we used to do. I'm always looking for a good book to read. So if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears!

Well, that's about all that's going on here. Sad that summer is almost over, I feel like we have missed out on a majority of it. Being home bound sucks. Hoping Ellery starts feeling better soon, and her appetite picks back up. Poor baby! Here are some recent pictures of her.

-Kailey

Happy Ellery

Whaaaaat?

Playing with Mom and Dad