The week of August 22-August 28

Some days here in the NICU go very quickly and there are no changes, good weight gain, increase in milk tolerated, breathing stable and then there are days when there are lots of desats and braddys, x-rays, scans, consultations with various specialist doctors, weight loss and alarms constantly going off. This week there have been both of these sorts in equal measure!

Her weight gain has been up and down from night to night but overall she has managed to put on 180 grams and she now weighs 1.63kg.

Her haemoglobin is low meaning she does need a blood transfusion, however in yet another catch 22, this is the week of gestation when babies start making their own red blood cells. This means if she is transfused her own cells may not kick in. So once again it is a matter of waiting and seeing whether they pick up on their own or not.

On the heart front the cardiology team are now involved in Stella's care and will call the shots in regards to her PDA ligation. An x-ray during the week showed that her heart is bigger than it should be due to it getting more blood pumping through it from the open PDA. Once again it's a wait and see process, but we have been told it will need to be fixed at some point or she runs the risk of haemorrage from the increased blood flow.

While these complications lay ahead of her, her immidiate condition is really good. She is off optiflow with just a whiff of oxygen going under her nose to help her a little, she is completely keeping her temperature and has been moved to an open cot and she is tolerating her feeds fine and is now on 11ml an hour through a perfusor. She has also been back to intensive care earlier in the week and moved back to special care as she became more stable. According to the neonatologists she is progressing beautifully.

We were lucky to be able to have Dan and Harvey here from Wednesday night to this morning and it was so good to see them, although to have them forever would still never be enough time! I miss them so so much and saying goodbye is the hardest thing in all of this. It is very weird to be a wife and a mummy of two and yet not have anyone with you. Harvey is getting so big now and is tlaking and doing more and more and each time I see him I just want to take him all in. He's such a good boy for his daddy and I am so very proud of how Dan is trying to keep everything together on the home front. I keep telling myself God only gave us these trials because he knows we can deal with them. But trust me some days its harder than others to remember this!

Praying continually that all the members in my little family stay happy and healthy and I can't wait for the day when I get to sleep under the same roof as my husband and babies.
Love to all,
Lauren xoxo