DOL 4 (Days of Life)

Day 4:  We have had a very good and stable day. 

No major updates, all vitals are looking fairly good.  She has a good resting heart rate, breathing rate, and very good oxygen saturation levels. 
There are however a couple of issues at this point:
She has yet to have a bowel movement, we have been told that it is common.  There has been talk of a suppository.  As a result of this she is sometimes struggling to finish the breast milk she is given.  She is being fed 3mL every three hours.  The breast milk is being supplemented with an nutritious IV concoction.  Hopefully the bowel movement will come soon and the digestion will improve.

The other concern is that there her white blood cell count is a bit high and on the rise; an indication she may have an infection.  We are waiting for another CBC to see if they are still on the rise. 

We keep being told that being in the NICU is one step forward and one step back at times.  We keep feeling like we are only moving forward so the hardest part for us has been continually waiting for our fall back.  

Heather and I are just beginning to feel a little more rested and less zombie-like over the last two days.  Our adventure with little Ainsley Marie began on Wed, June 30th.  It has been a crazy ride.  We'll post later on the details of the experience.  It has been a roller coaster of emotions for us, but it has been so amazing to have each other to lean on.  I do not know how anyone could go through this experience without such an amazing partner.  We are truly blessed.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

Brandon, Heather and Ainsley