Appointments, appointmetns, appointments...

(Sleeping with bunny while getting an overnight feed)

Hello! We had 2 appointments yesterday. One with the nutritionist and one with the surgeon who put in Alexandria's Mic-Key button. Our nutritionist was out yesterday because she spent all night in an emergency room with her daughter...so we saw her co-worker Sara. As of yesterday Alex weighs 18 lbs and is 28.5 inches long! I am told this is excellent growth! As for the Mic-Key button - it is looking good. Alex still has some granulation but that is to be expected. They had to add some water to the balloon that's holding the button in place (something I can do at home). If the button is too loose it spins around too much and leaks causing the granulation and skin irritation to be worse. I was told that Alex would get a new Mic-Key button yesterday but apparently I was misinformed. The motto is "if it's not broken don't fix it", in this case, don't change it. I was happy to hear this as I am sure a button change over is not the most pleasant experience. Tomorrow we go to get the MRU test done. We had some issues having to do with Alexandria metal clamp from the PDA surgery she had while in the NICU. This is because certain metals can heat up and burn the insides during the MRI and so they needed to find out exactly what the clamp is made out of. I think we are clear. Alexandria's clamp is made out of titanium which is safe. They just needed to have this in writing from the surgeon. This will be an "issue" for the rest of Alexandria's life -she will need documentation saying what the clap is made out of before any MRI testing. I am going to contact that surgeon today asking him to send something to me that I can have and Alex can carry around with her when she is older. Tomorrow will be a long day. We have to be at CHOP at 8:00 am and will be there for about 5 hours. We have to change the baby's feed from formula to Pedialyte at 3:00 am. She can have Pedialyte till 6:00 am but nothing else after that. And then we'll be leaving the house at 6:30 to be on time for our appointment at 8:00 am. It's been a challenging week in many ways and it continues to be. Your prayers are much appreciated. Thank you!

Oh, by the way, little Kyren is hanging in there. He had his PDA surgery on Monday and is recovering from it well. Mom and Dad are taking everything in one day at a time and adjusting to the reality of having a preemie in the NICU. Thank you for praying for them!