August 28 to September 5

Stella has had yet another week in the life of a prem baby, complete with the usual ups and downs. She started off the week being transferred to Special Care Baby Unit 2 (SCBU2), also known as the fat farm, which is the last room before home. On Friday her oxygen sats were swinging all over the plce so her paediatrician Dr Headley ordered a blood transfusion. The poor little poppet had to fast for four hours before, during and after the transfusion, so by 9pm that night she was starving!

Because of the transfusion we were put back in SCBU1 for observation before moving back to SCBU2 on Sunday. Since the transfusion her oxygen sats are a lot better so now it's just a waiting game of watching her out on weight and continue to improve her breastfeeding skills.She noe weighs 1860g despite the fasting and has put on 180g since last week. She is so lovely and pink now and looked like a little glowworm in her cot on the Friday night! It's so nice seeing her so well and healthy.

On Friday night a group of us here at Ronald McDonald House went to a trivia night at West Torrens Football club (yes, a gay F L club!)to raise money for the house. Our table was so goog we even won - a wooden spoon encouragement award for coming last place, but hey at least it's something and we are still winners!

I can't wait for Thursday night when Dan and Harvey get here. I am moving into one of the new Ronald McDOnald House two bedroom self contained apartments on Wednesday which will give us plenty of room for when we are able to get Stella out on the Neonatal Early Discharge program (NEDS) where you can get them out at about 35 weeks gestation with a feeding tube still in and do a mixture of breast and gavage feeding in the comfort of your own home (or in my case at Ronnie's house!) until they are holding their own. A midwife from SCBU visits daily to see how it's all going so we are looking forward to that!

Praying for a week full of feeding and weight gain!
Love to all,
Lauren xoxo