Avery Kate- April 7, 2009

Well Avery has been in the world 5 days now and seems to be taking to everything as well as can be expected.

I went to visit her this morning. Her lights were gone and she was resting peacefully in her little condo. Here is a picture of her condo. The incubator (aka condo) keeps out a lot more germs than the warmer she was originally in. In addition the temperature can be monitored better. It is all around a better environment for her. She seems to like it.

The nurse came over and did her check up which they do every 5 hours or so. They check her blood pressure, temperature, change her diaper, etc. Avery is not a big fan of all this messing about and she definitely lets them know with her pityful little cry. However, after they are done with all the messing around Avery is usually even more content than she was before.

After the nurse finished her check up she let me put gel on Avery's back. This gel is designed I guess to help keep the moisture in as well as body heat. Avery doesn't seem to mind it being rubbed on her and I live for any interaction I can get with her. The picture with my hand putting the gel on her back really does give some perspective on her size.

Also while there I noticed her weight started to go back up. She was 875 gms when she was born. The other day she was down to 812 gms. And as of the 6th she was up to 820 gms. They said it was normal for her to lose weight at first and that she would eventually start to gain. So we are hoping yesterdays weight is a sign that she will be on that gaining track very soon.

On our evening visit they told us they went ahead and put her on the drug for breathing. From what the nurses said since they put her on it they haven't had to stimulate her so that is good.

I guess the nurses stay the same for 2 days in a row and then change. The nurse we had yesterday and today isn't very big on parent interaction, so I have to say I am so ready to see who the nurse is next. She isn't a bad nurse, we have just been spoiled with some of our other nurses. For the past 2 days the only time I have been able to touch her is when I got to put the gel on her back. There are some nurses there who you can just tell love their jobs. They make you feel like your baby is getting love while you are not there and they make you feel so welcomed and involved as parents when you are there. It is soothing for me to have these nurses so I would think they would be more soothing for Avery as well. We have been fortunate to have a couple of those nurses so far. They spoiled us. I miss them and I miss touching my baby girl.