A Feeding WHAT???

On Thursday, Tammy, Joe, and I were still getting used to being the primary care takers of Mira. In the other room, you were hard-pressed to be able to do anything that involved taking care of her, but in this room, the parents do most of the care taking. We are on a three hour schedule.
3, 6, 9, 12, repeat. Every three hours Mira gets catheterized and fed. The difference now is that with each feeding, I'm nursing her and then encouraging her to eat more from a bottle while she tries to get used to the breast.
The day seemed pretty uneventful. Physical therapy stopped by to let us know that splinting isn't really an option for her clubbed foot because of the severity and location of the curve. Since the curve occurs mid-foot, a splint would most likely cause damage to her skin instead of helping her bones. Orthopedics also stopped by to consult on whether or not they would start casting her now to prepare her foot for corrective surgery. They also decided against casting because of the potential skin damage it could cause. They think it would be best to wait until all of her current incisions and surgeries are recovered from before they start another surgical plan.
As the night came to a close, and we all thought there was a possibility of us being discharged tomorrow, Friday, we were informed otherwise, and it caught us off guard.
Joe and I went to the nurse's station to deliver more breast milk that needed refrigerated. Mira's nurse informed us that Mira's weight has consistently been dropping, that she needs to be eating at least 55 cc's per feeding, that she's only eating about 30, and that if she doesn't meet the 55 cc's per feeding requirement in the next two feedings, she will be put on a feeding tube. Not only was this a scary thing to hear, but with how amazing she has done through everything she has faced, this would obviously be a step in the opposite direction.
I rushed back into Mira's room to repeat word for word what was said to me to Tammy and Joe. Tammy and I both hopped on Facebook and started asking for prayers! The next three feedings, Mira ate SEVENTY cc's!!! That's right, 70!!! The power of prayer, the resiliency of a little one, and a baby's sheer will power should never be underestimated!
Talk of a feeding tube went out the window, and we couldn't have been more proud of our little trooper!

One Week Old!

On Wednesday, April 24th, Mira turned one week old! When I got to her room in the morning, I was supposed to call Georgia, the spina bifida clinic representative, to come meet us so we could continue with our training on how to care for and handle Mira, as we had been training all week. However, as soon as I got to her room, the nurse told me that I could hold Mira for the first time! Everything else went out the window and I completely forgot about any other responsibility I had. I just held her! It was the most beautiful gift!
She has to be held a certain way as to not put pressure on her back at all, or on her shunt, or on any of her incisions; and she has a lot of cords and tubes attached to her that have to be compensated for. While this is tricky, it only made getting to hold her that much more miraculous! Finally getting to cradle her, and feel her weight, and bond with her through physical contact and close proximity... it was amazing! I can't express how relieving it was to finally hold my own child after a week of seeing her confined to an incubator on her belly with minimal human contact. I wonder if she felt loved more than she previously had. It was also amazing because she laid one side of her head against my chest and kept her eyes open as she intently listened to me talk. I would imagine that this was the first time she felt something really familiar and comforting because she would have, for the first time since birth, been hearing my voice in the same way she would have experienced while in the womb. I hope that she took great comfort in that, and from how content she was, I truly believe that she did!
Like an hour later, Tammy reminded me that we needed to call Georgia. As she was arriving to our room, the nurses informed us that we were being "demoted".
Here, being demoted is a great thing! It means we were moved to a different part of the hospital because she was doing so well that she no longer needed to be under constant supervision of critical care. We're still considered to be in the NICU, but in an area that means she's doing much better, and almost ready to go home. At this point they were talking about possibly releasing us on Friday.
Once we got into our new room, Georgia went over a few things and then told us that we had graduated from our training, and as far as she was concerned, we were ready to go home! Mira also got a VCUG on this day, which is a test that reveals whether or not her bladder is refluxing urine back up into her kidneys. If this happens, it means not only is cathing not working, but that her kidneys will start to get damaged. Thank God the VCUG revealed that no urine refluxing is happening, and that her kidneys look perfectly healthy! Yay, Mira!
When she came back from her VCUG, I got to nurse her for the first time! It was wonderful! She was definitely having some difficulty with it, as she was definitely nipple confused. Considering that she's only been bottle-fed since she was born, I could imagine that a breast was a bit overwhelming! We continued to work on it for the rest of the night, and allowed her to also eat from a bottle after each nursing session.
Oh, and Joe's grandparents visited us this day, so Nana got to actually hold her unexpectedly when they arrived! And Mira started wearing clothes on this day, as well! Cute little shirts that button up the front, and blankets that can actually be swaddled around her! That's my big girl; regulating her own temperature!
This was definitely a great day! One week old, and being demoted in the best kind of way! Getting to hold her and nurse her for the first time! Having Georgia tell us that we're ready to care for her! It was lovely! So very lovely!