weight gain and snuggles!

As I write this, Anamaria is almost 11 days old and has continued to amaze both doctors and nurses with her feisty personality and strong determination. Because she had been breathing so well (despite having a heart murmur from the PDA, which was getting bigger), Anamaria had her breathing tube removed on Friday morning, after beginning the medication to close the PDA and take away the murmur. They removed the tube, reminding us that they would most likely have to intubate her again, and that they would “just take it hour by hour” and see how she did. When she continued to remain stable, doctors kept coming in with their fingers crossed saying, “I don’t want to jinx her…whatever she’s doing is working!” Anamaria has remained on CPAP (no breathing tube) since Friday and has been taking it like a champ! Just to clarify, the breathing tube is a tube that goes into her mouth and down her throat, blowing air/oxygen directly into her lungs. The CPAP is a tube with two prongs that go into her nose, blowing pressure and oxygen into her lungs much more gently and indirectly. For this reason, if babies can handle it, it is preferred for them, because it causes less damage to the lungs in the long run. At Ana’s very young gestational age, babies are often off and on the breathing tube several times before being able to remain on CPAP. While we recognize that Anamaria still may need to be intubated again in the future, we are so thankful that she has at least had this weekend to give her lungs a break, and practice breathing a little bit more on her own! All of her nurses keep saying they are so proud of her, and Momma is gleaming with pride as well! I’m so honored to have such a determined spirit to call my daughter! 

Anamaria has also been gaining weight like a champ, and has already passed her birthweight by 30 grams or 1 ounce. She now weighs 610 grams! She has gotten herself down to only 50% humidity and is working on being able to regulate her body temperature. She is still requiring a good amount of heat in her incubator to keep her warm, but she’s working on it! Anamaria has been able to increase the amount of breastmilk she takes every three hours significantly and is tolerating and digesting it well! And (something that only parents are proud of) our little munchkin is officially a big pooper! Papi has been the one to change all of her poopy diapers so far! What a guy! 

The most exciting change for Anamaria and for her parents is that now we get to hold her!! We starting out holding her every other day (Thursday and Saturday), and then Mommy convinced the team that we should be holding her every day, so Papi got to hold Ana for the first time this morning! There is nothing like holding your baby for the first time–it’s the most beautiful thing! And now that she has the breathing tube out, we get to hear little squeals and squirms, which are just precious! 

We are praying that Anamaria continues to do well on CPAP and that she does not need to be intubated again. We are also praying that the murmur in her heart does not come back. Lastly, we pray that Ana continues to digest her food well and gain weight steadily. 

Thank you for praying with us, and keeping updated on our littlest love!!