Kaitlyn is off the CPAP and doing great!

11/18/05

Kaitlyn is off the CPAP! When her nurse came in yesterday morning, Kaitlyn was so distressed by the CPAP that she was feisty and upset as she kept trying to pull it off. So the nurse asked the doc if she could be switched to the high-flow oxygen nasal cannula, as she was on levels around 24% (room air is 21%).

So she was switched over, and has been doing very well. When I got to the hospital yesterday, she was even wearing a little t-shirt! It swam on her, but she looked like a real baby! (instead of a little peanut). My heart just sang. It was less “work” to prepare her for holding, as she didn’t have to have a respiratory therapist come change her from the CPAP, but there are still monitors attached so I still need assistance, besides the fact that she is still so small and fragile.

I’ve held her every day now, and Brian got to Kangaroo Kaitlyn today. Brian went back to work yesterday, so he stopped by when he got off this morning, (so I wasn’t there to take pictures), but he said she did great, was alert and trying to look at him the whole time, and was holding on to his chest hair! Boy I wish I had a picture of that!

The doc told Brian that he’s ecstatic with how well Kaitlyn is doing! What fabulous news. He feels that at this point, she now has only a 20% chance of her coming home on oxygen! This is really the first good long term news that we’ve heard yet! I feel a big sense of relief and joy at this point.

When I go in later today, I get to help give her a bath! Her first bath! The nurse said about 50% of babies love it and 50% of babies hate it. We’ll see what Kaitlyn thinks.

She is up to 17 cc’s of milk every 2 hours, and is continuing to tolerate it really well. That’s over ½ an ounce!

Yesterday was a “big birthday” in the McCarthy household, Kailyn, as opposed to Kaitlyn, turned 12! Kailyn is our dog. Brian was at work, so just Kailyn and I celebrated the big event, she got a lot of dog treats.