Survival Mode: ON

Anastasia's growth this week: 

Weight: 2356 Grams!! (Was 2322Grams)
Length: 45 Centimeters  (Was 44.5)
Age: 11 weeks old (Should be 39 weeks gestation)









The Weekend
Sorry, this weekend kind of blurred together. (I have a feeling that will happen over the next few months). Char went to the store alone because we can't take Anastasia out in public for 3 months minimum (except for doctors appointments). Which translates to no church, errands, or gatherings for Anastasia and me. We're basically under house arrest. But visitors are more then welcome to come by. I could use human contact. Just ignore the messy house.  

I'm so sleep deprived basic tasks are hard to do. Last night I only got an hours sleep at a time, then was up for nearly an hour. I can't think far enough ahead to dinner. I'm trying to learn (quickly) but apart from doctor appointments, I can't think to far into the future. I guess every post NICU mom is like this, living in survival mode. I know it won't be like this for long, I just have to make it through this. 

Monday 
There was a Monday?!?


Tuesday 
Today was crazy! It started with three hours of sleep the night before. Then I got up at 4:45 for a doctor appointment at 7:00 am. So I get Anastasia ready (but couldn't feed her), pack up the "small" O2 tank, monitor, and diaper bag stuff into an old hiking bag of Char's. Then the two of us headed out at around 5:15 am.

I'll skip the drive (side note almost hit a bunny) and pick up at the hospital. We check into the NICU and Anastasia got a dose of medication to help dilate her pupils. I needed to get her blood work done which should have taken 10 minutes turned into a 70 minute wild goose chase. The whole time, NICU nurses are checking to see if her eyes need more medication (which they did). Finally, we got the blood work done. 

I meet with Anastasia's dietitian real quick while I waited for the neonatal ophthalmologist (premature baby eye doctor). Apparently, Anastasia isn't growing like she should be. In fact she's stalled a little. The plan is to feed her 2 ounces every 4 hours. This will be pushing it, but she needs to gain weight. 

Then we had the eye doctor come in and examine her. Even though Anastasia was strapped in her car seat she still put up a fight when it came time for the doctor to look at her dilated eyes with the bright light. It took 2 nurses to help him out. Sadly, she has ROP still with Plus Disease added as well. The way the doctor explained Plus Disease to me like this: Imagine a stick of Pull Apart Twizzlers, they are plied on top of each other and intertwine. Now imagine that is happening to the blood vessels around her eyes. We're watching it for now, but it could take laser surgery. 

By this point Anastasia had let her hunger and general frustration be well known. But the eye drops can make infants dizzy so she couldn't eat for at least 30 minutes. I was given a choice of waiting in the nice, quite, dim room then feeding Anastasia or take my chances on the road. I picked option 1. Once she could eat, she sucked down the food quickly. I knew I had made the right choice.  

I drove home where after school I took Heidi Anne for swimming assessments. Then we went to the store to try to find preemie diapers. Found lots of other things but not those tiny diapers.I guess Char will have to try Smith's tomorrow.  


Wednesday 
I've never had a baby who loves to be swaddled. With Anastasia the tighter the better she sleeps or relaxes. Char is great at wrapping her. I say her wraps her like a sushi roll. Nice, tight, and everything stays in. See? All cozy, even after 4 hours of sleep. 

Compare it to how it looks like when I swaddle her. It looks like a sloppy taco. Everything is out, in fact she's barely covered. Anastasia can wiggle loose. Everything is falling out. It'll take some more practice I know. I just hope I get it down before she hates being swaddled. (Which is what I bet will happen). 

Here is a picture of Rory. He's sad because he ran out of waffles. I thought it looked sweet. He has an expression of "Where did it all go?". Don't worry he got another waffle. 

Thursday
Today Char's sister Emily came to visit. She brought dinner with her as well (yeah no sandwiches tonight, we're living off sandwiches right now.) She's super busy with work and 2 little ones of her own. At family gatherings she's in high demand. It was nice to get some one on one time with her. After dinner she held tiny Anastasia for a bit then got rare Rory cuddles afterwards. (I think Rory was jealous of the special attention Anastasia got from Aunt Emily). 

It was nice to have a visitor. We can't take Anastasia out to any crowded areas (a crowd is 8 or more people), which means no church, family gatherings, or simple errands. So visitors are more than welcomed or you could text or chat me on Facebook. It gets a little lonesome sometimes. 

Friday  
Did I mention we got a concentrator? A concentrator takes the surrounding air, concentrates the oxygen, and pushes it through the tubing. This is safer and more portable then regular O2 tanks.  

It makes her easier to move but I'm still tied down by wires. Tonight she made a field trip to the living room without having to haul an O2 tank with us. It'll be nice when she's wire free and I can do things like cook and clean or hold her while tending to Rory. It's hard having your youngest being so ill, I bet it would be hard no matter which child is sick.