*Meant to post this last night after I left the hospital, but I fell
asleep when I got home instead!

Sayla Grace continues to thrive. She now weighs 2lbs 4.2ozs and is
growing more every day. They have increased her feedings to 9cc's an
hour. She is also getting some extra help in the calorie department.

They have added "Human Milk Fortifier" to my milk, and it adds 28
calories to each feeding. That may not seem like a lot to me and you,
but for her tiny body it is. The "Fortifier" just adds the extra
calories, along with some important nutrients that my milk might be
missing. Apparently the milk from the mother of a preemie is different
than that of a term baby.

She will finish her "preventative" IV meds tomorrow, and hopefully her
IV's will be removed. They've had to move them around a couple of
times (from head to arms, back to head) because they weren't flushing
well.

Today during my visit she was being very unladylike and tooting a lot!
It was actually kind of cute to see someone so dainty and cute
tooting. (Or hear it rather). Fortunately it didn't smell!

Then this evening she finished it off with a big nasty diaper. We
determined that her meals today must have been from the other night
when I had mexican for dinner. No more of that!!! At least her bowels
work!!

On to more pleasant topics...

Pretty much every other weekend, mom (aka Mimi) and I go to get our
nails done. We've done this for as long as I can remember. I can't
wait for the day when we can take Sayla Grace.

Actually I should say I "couldn't" wait! I noticed her tiny nails
were growing like crazy, and I've seen a few random scratches from
where she's accidentally scratched herself. So I brought the nail
salon to her, got her a baby nail file, and gave her a manicure
tonight!

I was kind of nervous about it, but "like mother like daughter" I
guess. She slept right through the whole pampering session. Which is
good news for when she gets home and really needs them filed or cut.
And now I know how to do it without bothering her.

So all in all she's doing well! Thank you for your continued prayers!

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I'm very sorry for the lack of updates in the past few days. First let me tell you that everything is going well...we've just been busy getting settled back in the pods. I'll fill you in on where we've been...

Sayla Grace has come out of isolation with no signs of Whooping Cough. In fact, there is a distinct possibility that she never actually had it, but I can't get anyone to confirm for sure. Sometimes I'm not sure if they really don't know the answers to my questions, or if they don't want to tell me. I've yet to figure them out!

Anywho...when all this Whooping Cough business started, they did a "rapid" test to see if she had it. A rapid test is just a nose swab - kind of like a rapid strep test where they swab your throat - and it tells them "rapidly" if she's got Whooping Cough. And as you know, it was positive.

Well, then they sent off a blood culture, which came back negative. But no one I asked could explain that. So we did a little reconnaissance work and found out that the rapid test has a very high false positive rate. I can't remember how much exactly, but it's more than 50% I think. Don't hold me to that. But it's high.

So since the culture came back negative, we think she didn't have it. Again, getting conflicting info from every nurse I ask, so I'm not sure. But they treated her like she did have it, so I guess that's good.

But she got to come out of isolation Thursday, and we've been getting her settled in her new pod. She's now across the hall from where she was. It's a quieter pod, and I like that.

But when she got back into the pod, she started to act up. Having like 7 Brady's in 4 hours...and increased apnea spells as well. She was acting up so much that they did a CBC (Complete Blood Count) and culture to be sure she doesn't have an infection. So far the culture has come back negative, but it still has a few more days to "grow" something.

As such, they are treating her with antibiotics - they are all about preventative medicine. I don't necessarily like that, because she's just getting fed meds, but at the same time, I don't want them to wait the 3 days for the culture to grow, and her have an infection growing inside her. It's a catch 22, and I guess the best option is the medicine.

The CBC did should that her hematocrit level was low at 28. 40 is where it needs to be, and 35 is the threshold for getting blood. Babies her age/size cannot produce their own blood yet, and every time they take her blood for tests, they deplete her supply. And her body uses the cells up on its own. So every once and a while, her "crit" level will be low and she will need a blood transfusion. This was her 5th transfusion. (Don't worry, she'll grow out of this and begin to produce her own blood soon).

So she received 18cc's of her Aunt Amanda's blood yesterday. And today she's doing much better. Her "crit" level is up to 41, and her A&B episodes have slowed down to a normal rate.

She's also had some "eye goopies" in her left eye, and it was really bothering me. For a couple of days it was so bad she couldn't open her left eye, so I grabbed a piece of gauze, wet it and got the goopies out myself.

One of the nurses finally noticed it, and cultured her eye goopies too. Just to be sure it's not infected since it's only in her left eye. Again, preventative medicine...rather than wait for the culture to come back, she's getting antibiotic eye ointment put on her eyes (both of them) a few times a day. Since that started, the goopies have disappeared.

And on to happier news...Wednesday was Sayla Grace's 4 week birthday!! Technically she's not a full month old until tomorrow (the 29th), but 4 weeks is a big mark!! I cannot believe she's been in our lives for a full month. When I think of the amazing things God has done during this month, I am completely in awe of his power.

A month and a half ago, I was lying in a hospital bed wrestling with so many emotions, trying to keep her from being born. But God helped me through those emotions. And even though she's tiny, and we have struggles through this journey, I wouldn't change what happened for the world. God has a plan for her.

She is the greatest blessing Owen and I could ever ask for. She has brought us closer together...closer than we already were. She has solidified our faith and strengthened it. She has shown others the miracles of God, through her tiny smile.

Wednesday I got to hold her for the first time. It was the most surreal, precious moment of my life. To hold this sweet creation of God in my arms. To have her look into my eyes with the sweetest glance. She held me as much as I held her. Again I sang to her, she looked into my eyes when I started singing her favorite song, I let her know everything is going to be alright...

And she smiled.

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We had a party in SGP's crib tonight! She has reached 2 pounds!!!

She's still doing well. Has some gunk in her throat tonight while I
was visiting, so the nurse had to "suction catheter" her. Basically
took a long skinny suction tube up her nose and down her throat to
clear her out. I couldn't watch. She hated it, and so did I. But she
needed it.

Afterwards she sneezed 8 times! It was the cutest thing E-VER!! I
wish I had it on video so I could share it with you guys. She gets so
worked up and takes a bunch of quick deep breaths, and then let's out
the most tiny sneeze you have ever seen. Think of a full term baby
sneezing and divide it by a thousand. Tiny!! But the gunk was gone,
so she felt better.

The gunk was just a result of the 2 feeding tubes in her throat and
her inability to clear saliva from her throat at this age.

Still showing no signs of Whooping Cough (WC). Her "iso-neighbor" will
be leaving tomorrow, and the other 2 in iso have finished their meds
and will be joining the other pod-mates in the next day or so. That
means SGP will be all by her lonesome. As a result (and mainly due to
staffing), they will probably move her back to the pod. Her meds
finish on Tuesday, so she is protected. Plus since the 4 babies that
caught WC are better, it should be gone.

But let's pray 2 prayers: One, that the WC is gone, and there are no
other illnesses out there; and two, that she gets to stay in isolation
for a bit longer, so she can put some meat on her bones and build up
her immune system a bit more before being reintroduced into the pods.

I know these are selfish prayers, but we're so on edge about her
contracting something else, and beating this current "yucky" that our
nerves are getting the best of us. We don't do well on the downhill
section of the roller coaster, but our faith is getting us through.

Tonight I read to her from The Complete Works of Winnie the Pooh. She
enjoyed hearing about Pooh's trials in attempting to get the "hunny"
from the tree.

Tomorrow we'll see if Pooh was successful...

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Today has been a better day so far. Sayla Grace is settled in isolation, and is acting like her normal self. Here's what we know so far...

On Friday while I was visiting, things were eerily quite around the NICU. It was lunch time for most nurses, and all of the parents (except for those of 2 babies) happened to be visiting.

I started noticing some doctors and nurses come in that I had not seen before. I knew they didn't belong in the NICU. And to top it off, they were wearing surgical masks. I thought it was odd, but thought maybe one of them was coming ill, and wanted to be careful. Little did I know what was about to happen.

Suddenly all of the nurses were huddled outside of our pod at the nurses station. Chatting about something important.

My mom is a nurse (though no longer practicing), and used to work in a hospital with one of my friend's mom's. When we were little, and they would work the night shift, we would sometimes go with them...roam the halls and sleep in an empty room. At that age it was fun. But I learned that when things get quiet andblasé around a hospital, you should be very worried! And when nurses huddle...you should be even more worried!

Something was not right.

Then one of the nurses came around and handed everyone a surgical mask to wear. She simply said...very calmly I might add..."One of the parent's in another pod brought in Whooping Cough. Please wear this mask every time you visit." I half expected her to finish by saying "and thank you for flyingNICU airlines." That's how calm and almost fake cheerful she was.

So I put on my mask, got a bit claustrophobic, and went back to visiting with SGP. Her nurse came over and swabbed the inside of Sayla Grace's nose with a q-tip looking thing. Said they were testing all of the babies as a precaution, even though it started in another pod. A quick swab and a whimper from MissPriss (as she's come to be known by the staff), and she was done.

A short time later, another nurse came around...this one in a white lab coat that was not a NICU nurse. I'm still not sure what area of the hospital she's from. Infectious disease maybe?

Anywho...she came around giving all the parents a handout with info about "Pertussis" (aka Whooping Cough). I was the 3rd parent she came to. The first two just went about their business after talking to her, attending to their babies.

She handed me the sheet, and again told me that a parent brought it into another pod. That they had tested the babies in that pod, and at least 2 tested positive so far and were moved to isolation. That they were testing all of the babies. She told me there are two strains of the disease, and that they think they are dealing with the lesser strain, but they are treating it like they have the more severe one.

She told me that they had tested SGP, and that she tested positive.

I lost it. Started hysterically crying behind my mask. She hugged me. She explained they would move her into isolation, treat her with a 5 day course of antibiotics, as well as me, Owen and anyone who had visited within the last 7 days. I began writing down the names of the visitors through my tears.

Visiting hours were over at that moment, and I had to leave for 2 hours. In between sobs, I sang You Are My Sunshine to her again, as she rested quietly. They would move her into isolation during those 2 hours, and I would be back at 4p that evening.

I visited from 4-6p, went to dinner with Owen and mom, and Owen and I went back from 8-10p. We had a good visit. Sayla Grace seemed very comfy. She had 2 excellent nurses taking care of her, I got to wash her face during her bath, and sang to her while she slept.

Today she was doing great when I visited this morning. So far she has not showed any symptoms. At this stage, the symptoms are not actually coughing - cause she can't physically cough yet - it's more that her Brady episodes will increase, and she'll have more mucus secretions.

But so far so good. No increased Brady's, and she's been on her Nasal Cannula non-stop since Thursday. She's up to 6cc's on her feedings again, and she weighs 1lb 14.8oz. She's just resting quietly in her new room. It's quieter in there, and she's got a cute little neighbor that I'm assuming has Whooping Cough too, but I haven't met her parents yet.

Because it's quieter, she opens her eyes more, checking out her new digs. I actually do get to touch her still, but I limit myself just so she can rest.

She will stay in isolation for the 5 day course of antibiotics, and will then be tested again. Prayerfully she will be well. Although I'd kind of like for her to stay in isolation, because of the fear of her getting sick again.

Please continue to pray. Your prayers are felt every day. Today I felt that peace come over me again as I watched her sleep. And I know it is because of your prayers that it was caught early, and she is doing so well. We could never repay you for the good work you've done to help our daughter, but the Good Lord will one day.

Here are some pictures from today's visit...those big things on her cheeks are little pads to hold the Nasal Cannula in place. In this first one, she has learned how to pick up her head and turn to the other side. She's hugging a wash cloth that was folded in half...

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A parent of another baby brought Whooping Cough into the pod next to
us. There are 4 pods with 10 beds each in them. The pod next to us
has been cleared out and sterilized. 2 babies in that pod tested
positive.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the
respiratory system. It is very dangerous for preemies, and extremely
dangerous for micro-preemies.

They tested all the babies and nurses in the entire unit.

Sayla Grace tested positive. She has been moved to isolation, and will
be treated with a 5 day course of antibiotics. They think they caught
it early, as she has not displayed any signs of being sick. Her temp
is normal, and they are feeding her again. But she is not out of the
woods.

Please drop to your knees and ask the Great Physician to heal every
cell in her tiny body. We need you to be in constant prayer. Pray
for her healing. Pray for the doctors and nurses-that they stay well.
Pray that Owen and I stay well (we'll be tested tonight). Pray that
she gets the rest she needs while in isolation.

We can still visit her in isolation. Please pray for me, as I will
probably not be able to touch her, and the thought of that is very
difficult for me. I know she needs her mother's touch, and right now I
know it's best not to touch her.

This afternoon she was very fussy, so I started singing to her and she
calmed down right away.

You Are My Sunshine is her favorite song.

Please pray for her.

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