38 weeks gestation!

In by 9am this morning for Jazzies breastfeed.  Changed her bum, cleaned her up and put her on.
She got a big let down and passed out drunk!  Was on low flow in 0.08.  o2 on high flow between 26-30%

Has a very sore looking bottom, I had been putting sorbolene on it, but it was getting worse so I asked Rosemary if there was something else we could use, she got me some icthamol in zinc.  (today, 2 yrs down the track. I can safely say icthamol in zinc is amazing stuff and if a pharmacist was smart they'd make it and sell it over the counter, they'd make a fortune!!!  Its the only positive of Jazzies admissions since she came home!!!)

Dr Tan is happy with Jazz and has upped her low flow to 4hrs twice a day .  She was a good girl all day and at 2pm we weighed and bathed her.  She lost 4g, but thats ok, she's working more now that she's having some breastfeeds.
When i put her in the bath she started carrying on and sucking on her hand, she thought she was starved!!!  When I washed her face she tried to suck the face washer!  Got her dried and dressed and popped her on the breast, she went nuts!!!  Got a big feed, 2 huge let downs and had both sides! Passed out VERY drunk!!

8pm- Lyn said she woke with a very sore bum at 5pm, she plastered her with icthamol.  She had a cluster of desats with her feed, Lyn thinks its the reflux.
I asked why she doesnt get the reflux with a breast feed, she reckons its 'cos Jazz controls the breastfeed and is able to take her time too, whereas the EBM, fortifier and thickener are just pushed into her tummy relatively quickly.

Low flow 9pm-1am.  o2 on high flow 28%, still on a flow of 4

38+1
Jazz was waiting for her feed when i got there, wide awake and looking for her booby!
She latched on and sucked like a champion straight away!  Her nurse Jenny, said she'd never seen a prem do so well on the breast!!  She says she acts just like any full term newborn!!  Well, I guess she's almost a newborn!! 2 more weeks 'til shes 'due'
She fed for 45 minutes and wanted more!!!  Had to stop her'cos she got 4 let downs!  She certainly didnt want to stop.

Dr Tan thinks shes doing great!  He's upping her feeds to 3 hourly and she's back on 6 hrs low flow twice a day.  All day she was on 0.06 on low flow, yesterday she was on 0.07

Got to cuddle her most of the day today, it was awesome!  When she's on high flow, she's on 26-28% o2.
Aunty Dawn and Jodie came to see her.  They both saw her when she was about 2 weeks old and I didnt find out until only recently, that Jodie was a bit traumatised when she saw Jazz.  Seeing a baby so tiny and see through can be a very confronting experience and some people really do struggle with it.  So they were amazed by how big she had gotten! and they both had a lovely cuddle.

i was overdue to express, again, by 3pm and Jazz got a couple of massive let downs, she passed out drunk very quickly!  The nurses thought she was gorgeous!

8pm- Doing wonderfully!!!!  Low flow is down to 0.05, tolerating feeds, good temperature. 

38+2
Jazz is still absolutely amazing!!! 
She was awake from 1am 'til 8am 'cos the poor bugger desperately wanted a suck feed!!  The nurses couldnt accomodate her though because they didnt have my permission to give her a bottle!!  But they do now.  So, azz was thoroughly exhausted after her hard night and too tired for her 9am breastfeed, but did manage a bit of a suck.  Dr Tan said she can now have 3-4 suck feeds a day!!  So far tolerating them 3 hrly.
And she is doing 6hrs twice a day on low flow, so far, so good.

According to Doreen, when she's on low flow and having 4 suck feeds a day, she might be sent off to Dandenong or Casey, although a lot of the longer term bubs do come home from Monash......I hope she comes home from Monash.

7.40pm- Been great!!  o2 is on 28%, sats in the low 90's.  Starting her 6 hrs of low flow.
No nurses available for Bay 6 tomorrow so she'll be moved somewhere else for a bit.

38+3
Heart sunk this morning, Jazz got moved to Bay 8.  Although I know shes only there cos they were short staffed, its still not nice being back in the critical care bays.  Only thing is that I get to catch up and say Hi to a few Bay 8 friends a bit more.  On a brighter note, Jazz has hit 100 days old which is yet another milestone to celebrate!!  She had a 100 days old certificate made up and she recieved a beautiful '100 days quilt' to commemorate the occasion!!
Had a great breastfeed at 11am, fed for 40mins and didnt want to stop!! 
Amanda gave her her first bottle feed last night, she chugged it down really well!! What a legend!!  (even Dr David tells me she's a legend!! :))

Ken has put her on 8 hrs twice a day of low flow and if she copes she'll be trialled off high flow tomorrow!!  Yay!  Just incredible how far she's come and how fast she's improving just in the last two weeks, it amazing!!
She saw the opthalmologist, Marcell, today.  The doctors still hadnt been able to see the little white spot, but Marcell did.  He said its a congenital cataract.  He said its anterior and hopefully it shouldnt cause any vision problems but its something she'll need to be followed up on when shes 6 months old.  She has mild ROP now, but Marcell thinks it will rectify itself and will most likely be improved by her next eye test in 2 weeks time.
Got weighed today- 1935g!  Had her bath, and another  breast feed at 5pm.  She'll have one or two bottle feeds overnight.

Currently on low flow she's on 0.05, which will be less than she'll be on when she comes home!  If she copes with low flow, she'll move to bay 3 or 4, then in about 2 weeks odd they'll have an idea of whether she'll be likely to come home on oxygen.  And she'll probably also be moved to Dandenong, but more than likely will come home from Monash if shes coming home on o2.
All she needs now is to get big and take all suck feeds, and come off her meds.

11.20pm- Doing great on low flow, still 0.05.  Might just stay off high flow completely!!!  About to have her bottle, and if she's awake, another will be offered at 2am

38+4
Got in at 8am.  Jazz had a good night and had a bottle at 2am.  Amanda said she took it well.  She was moved back into Bay 5 this morning after her breastfeed, thank goodness were out of NICU again!!   Dr Tan has taken her off high flow, she's now on 0.04 on low flow!!
Cathy had her in Bay 5 today and was stunned, its the first time she's seen her since she was in NICU, she kept saying "she's a real little miracle!!!"  very loudly in a very asian accent, it was quite funny!!  And of course I was very proud!!!  Cathy just cant get over how well she's doing.  No one really expected her to get off the HFO!!
Cathy even had her o2 down to 0.02 for a couple of hours today! Incredible!!
Co2 results came back - 49!!!  Awesome!!

She settled very well back in Bay 5 and even attempted a feed at 11am- but really she just wanted to lick and grin!!
Saturating beautifully on the low flow!
We were interviewed and had lots of pics taken for an article in the leader newspaper, so Jazz will  be in there next week sometime!

Still doing great tonight!!!

38+5
In for a feed at 8am again.  We're back staying with Mum and Dad so they can get the kids to school while I go in and feed Jazz.  Jazz just wanted to sleep this morning though.

She had Gary today, he's really lovely and sings and talks all the time to the bubs.

Dr tan is so happy with Jazz that he is taking her off caffiene and said she'll have her first download next week!  A download is where they record all her oxygen and heart rate sats via the oximeter all night, then download and interpret that information to understand exactly how much oxygen is required.  He said it could even be possible for her to come home without oxygen!!  That is something I initially NEVER expected, I was under the impression that home oxygen was basically standard for a micro prem due to the severity of the chronic lung disease they cop!!! 
The nurses however, are pretty sure she'll come home with it, they said its very unusual for a 24 weeker to go home with no oxygen....for me, just that Dr Tan thinks its possible is testament to how well he believes she's doing!!!  Whether she has it or not, she's amazing and a true miracle!!!!!!

This afternoon around 1pm Jazz was transferred to Bay 3!!! Incredible!!!  She's just flying through those bays!!!  She'll be out the door in no time at this rate!
She was very tired after her move and her big day on low flow.
Dr Tan thinks she'll be really focussing on feeding within the next 2 weeks, she just needs to get bigger and take suck feeds now!!  I reckon she'll be home in July sometime!

8.30pm- She was having frequent desats to the low 80's and was put back up to 0.08, currently on 0.06 and back on caffiene.
Blood gas normal.

38+6
Things just keep getting brighter and better!!  Jasmine is ultra amazing! She had a great breastfeed this morning, hooked in like there was no tomorrow!
Docs were impressed with her, she has Flora now.  Flora hasnt seen her since the HFO!  She's keento do a download next week and Jazz is allowed 3 breastfeeds in a row and 1 bottle overnight! 
vernight she had the biggest, continuous poo the nurse has ever seen!! lol

Jan, the social worker, came to see me this afternoon, we are having "THE FAMILY MEETING" on Friday!!!!  The family meeting is when its close to home time!  I cried all the way home I was so happy!

Tonight she was doing very well.