So we begin our NICU journey....

Wow what a wonderful supply you are generating :D

Wow I am so happy you have been able to have so many cuddles :dance: it is amazing to watch their sats settle when they are getting cuddles :hug: such special moments awwwwwwww.....

Oh no Poor DH and DS :( How long does it last for? I wish them a smooth and quick recovery, they had a breakout at our Daycare centre a week or two ago, lucky DD didn't get it.

Is the hospital giving you the containers to store your milk? If not the avent one's with the blue lids are great, I have some of the bags too, but cheaper to buy them on EBAY.

Take care hun and thinking of you all xxooo

Wow, you're doing so great! The both of you I mean.
Sorry to hear about your DH & DS - hope they're better soon.
You must be exhausted - I hope you are able to take a little time out each day to just breathe :hug:

wtg on the expressing! that is a pretty impressive amount!

and *mwah* on the cuddles!!!!!! they must be the BEST moments!

hope your DH and DS are holding up ok. heard that it is quite ouchy. it was rife through DDs kindy last year.

Well I'm pleased to say that DP and DS are all better, DP is down at the hossy tonight seeing Heidi for the first time in about a week. Beema - apparently they're infectious for 3-5 days or until the blisters heal up. Its been really tearing him up not being able to see her but he was so paranoid about going in sick. I *thought* I was coming down with something too but appear to have fought it off with a bit more rest. Marcellus, you're spot on, I am exhausted but I'm too scared to stop right now in case I don't get going again LOL! This week is going to be tough as DP is back at work 4 full days so it will be a juggling act with DS and I just have to accept I can't be at the hospital quite as much each day. Very hard. Thankfully DS has been his cheery happy self this last week after getting over teeth, constipation and HF&M. He also started walking during the week so do you think he's proud of himself much! Its so much easier for me emotionally now that he's back to his resilient self.

Beema the hossy supply us with little Medela containers that are compatible with their pumps as well as mine at home. So its really easy. I just take the milk in each day and pop it into their fridges and the milk room nurses take care of freezing and storing it and preparing the feeds for all the bubs each day. I'm really impressed with their set up, it would be so much more stressful if I was having to manage all that myself here at home. One less thing to worry about. And I'm also really happy that they're so supportive of the importance of breast milk and breast feeding, as they should be of course.

DD continues to do well, she's been shifted into a new cot, still enclosed in heat but a little step forward. I got there a few days ago after they'd changed her over and had to take 5 minutes to adjust - you get so used to their set-up and something changes and it messes with you a bit! More impressive weight gains too - they weigh every 48 hours - so 2 days ago she went from 830gms to 815gms but she was weighed on different scales so a bit hard to know if it was a true loss. Then last night she went from 815gms to 905gms! A huge 80g gain which is amazing. I think we'll have a party when she hits the 1kg mark LOL! She is tolerating a tiny bit more milk now and her poos have changed so we think her gut might be responding a bit better.

Every day is full of new information and challenges. Today she had her heart ECG done again. The docs and nurses keep thinking they can hear a little heart murmur, but it appears one day and then it will be gone the next. So they repeated the ECG and confirmed that her heart is fine. They're concerned that the little ducts in her heart haven't closed over (which they normally do at birth when a baby takes its first breath). Often in premmies that same process doesn't occur. So far so good with that. At 6 weeks she'll have an eye exam to see if her eyes are developing normally - sometimes if the little vessels around the eye start to deviate as they grow they need some laser surgery but its highly unlikely that will be the case. There is truly so much along the way we'll learn that we never even would have considered before.

The poor little chicken still has one little eye that the bruising hasn't resolved. She was so swollen and bruised at birth, but almost all of that has resolved apart from her left eye. She looks like she's been in a fight! Hopefully another week or so and that will be gone. Its kind of like her birth battle wounds in a way! We have also brought some visitors in during the week to meet her. My sister came through one night and then Heidi got to meet both her nanna's last night. We weren't ready for visitors early on, even family, and they've been very understanding about that. But boy were they chuffed to see her. She's got so many people that love her and are cheering her on, its really heartening for us.

Night all xx

So wonderful to hear your updates. I'm glad your DH and DS are better now.
Get all the rest you can hon :hug:

Woohoo - over 900 gms!!! :cheer:

Glad to hear DP and DS are all better and thank goodness you haven't succumbed. :hug: and I hope you get some rest.

Im glad to hear things are going smoothly and WELL DONE on the weight gaining!
she is in a fight and she is winning her fight, what a true miracle, i hope things continue to improve

I truly have tears hun, you are doing so well, as is your little girl :hug: What a mammoth effort with her weight gain!!!!! And how beautiful that some of your family have met her, I bet you were as proud as punch to show her off, and I'm sure they were simply over the moon to see her.

Good luck this week, I know it will feel hard, but you will get there. Just keep remembering that she WILL be home with you in time. And in the meantime, please please please ask for help, and accept all offers. I honestly know how hard that is, but right now you just have to. People really want to help, please let them.

xoxo

Wow Infinity, so much has been happening. Congratulations on your DS's first steps. A big WOO HOO for the huge weight gains for little Heidi. All the medical tests are so necessary and good to find out but so stressful. Great news about the ECG. My DD had a heart duct that did not close and required an operation at 12 weeks old. Just adds extra stress that you don't need to know of further treatement.

Our hospital expressing containers are now used for spices LOL.
Hope your week goes well adjusting to your DH being back at work. It must feel good to be sharing Heidi with your family now. xx

I am so glad that DP and DS are all better :hug: I bet DH couldn't wait to get by her side :)

Woo Hoo for the walking too, what a clever little boy! :dance:

That's great, the WCH wasn't so great when we were there, we had all the equipment we used the Ameda pumps, but we used sample pots to put the milk in, we could store some on in post natal if you were still there or in NICU/SCBU fridges. NECH was much better as I had NUK bottles that hooked onto the pump and we could put the teats on them as DD had a mixture of NGT, Bottle and BF.

How exciting that she shifted into a new cot, it is a bit scary when they shift them around, especially when you walk up to where they were when you left them to find that they aren't there any more :shock:

What some fabulous gains, the 1 kg mark is coming up quickly all of a sudden, great to hear she seems to be coping with the extra milk and gut is coping, they are big steps for a little girl :D

Take care and enjoy showing her off, even if it is to just a couple of people ;) xxoo

Awesome update Infinity and wishing you all the best when you can't be in at the hospy as much as you like.
We always said how much harder it would be having a tiny premmie with another bigger kid at home, the juggling act that would have to go on :juggle:

Big big hugs for all of the ups and downs of life in the NICU, we think about you and little Heidi a lot and hope all is well. :hug: for the courage you are all showing in a really, really, really hard situation. Big hugs for your hubby who was too scared to see his little girl in case he made her sick, :hug: just because I remember how full on it all is

Enjoy showing her off, it makes a lot of difference when you bring her home and the important people can remember how small she started out and can appreciate how far she has come! I bet she is beautiful!

Thank you all for your encouragement & support.

Sal - I hope you guys get to take Archer home really soon. I gotta say it is SO SO tough doing this with a toddler in tow - talk about feeling torn to pieces. But we're coping.....just. DP is working 5 days in a row from tomorrow now, so I have my mum and the MIL lined up to be with DS for part of each day so I can get some time at the hospital with Heidi. At least if I can make it in for a few hours each day I think I'll be ok. We'll see.

Heidi's weight has remained stable, she dropped 5g down to 900g last night - at least stable is good. They're increasing her EBM feeds but are now perfusing them over an hour or so rather than giving it all to her at once. As she's gone up to 4 or 5mls each time she's started to get a bit refluxy and she's dropped her oxygen levels so they're hoping this is a gentler option to encourage things along.

I do have more to post but don't have the energy right now so I"ll come back in and let a few things out tomorrow I think. Its hard when you hit a wall and don't know where to go.

But I have to say a huge big thank you to the gorgeous Beema for giving me a contact to have some professional photos taken of Heidi while she's in NICU & still so tiny. We had a lovely lady come in this afternoon and take some shots of DP, DS & I as well as some photos of us having a kanga cuddle too. We felt really special and I'm so pleased we'll have the beautiful memories of her early weeks in photos too. She'll look back on this when she's older and not believe it all!

Good night xx

What a lovely thing to do! In a few years you will be showing Heidi the pics of her as a bub and explaining how little she was, and what a fighter she was, and how good those cuddles were!

Thanks for updating, hope you get a good sleep and re-energise.

take care,

kate

Good luck on your NICU journey, you are doing well with expressing! Its so so hard to get up at night to express, i suggest jump on the computer to pass time while your expressing! Worked for me, i also discharged myself after 24 hours, i felt bad for a couple of days but i would never sleep in them so i know where your coming from! Shes a little fighter, good luck darl!

The photos sound gorgeous, Infinity. I hope you are able to share them with us when you get them back. What a lovely idea! :hug: for today, it sounds like you're having a tough week.

big :hug: you guys are doing amazingly! and what a trooper with her weight gain! :dance:

LOVE the idea of the photos! how amazing to be able to look over them and share that with her.

I am so happy you will have some amazing photos of Heidi and your whole family of her early days in NICU and I would love to see them when you feel ready to share, the photographers are just beautiful, compassionate and caring people and their work is just amazing :hug:

900grams is a pretty amazing weight and she is doing really well, especially being stable after her big gain a few days earlier.

I hope you have had a chance to get in a little R and R and timeout, I second the laptop when expressing, I used to fall asleep infront of the tv and then spill milk :(
Take care xxoo

The photos sound beautiful!
Sleep well - all the best for the next 5 days.