Tabitha Rose Winn
Born August 19, 2009 (at 32 weeks, 3 days), 4:00 p.m.
Weight: 4 lbs, 3 oz
Length: 17.9 inches
Born August 19, 2009 (at 32 weeks, 3 days), 4:00 p.m.
Weight: 4 lbs, 3 oz
Length: 17.9 inches
She has dark eyes - we can't decide what color they actually are at this point - and LOTS of hair. 'Lots' being relative considering that Gibson was born bald. We also can't decide whether her hair is dark or light. Sometimes it looks blonde, other times it looks brown. I'm pretty sure, though, that she'll end up with blonde hair and lighter eyes.
Proud Papa
Tabitha has already taken to the pacifier and it soothes her well.
Tabitha has already taken to the pacifier and it soothes her well.
It is hard to see the scale of her in these pictures, but she is very tiny. However, her feet are as long as my first finger. Everyone keeps commenting how long her fingers are. Long & skinny. . . that must be my child.
This pic gives a little more scale, and you can see all the machines in the background. She will be on a heart & lung monitor until she leaves. She also is being monitored for blood-oxygen saturation levels (on her foot) and has an IV that connects to two different machines (in her hand).
As of right now (Monday), she has a feeding tube and is getting a full feeding every three hours (they start off small to see if she can tolerate it). Her IV was taken out last night because she is doing well on the milk. I am able to pump and hopefully in the next few days she'll be only on breast milk.Her jaundice levels are going down and she never had to go under the lights. Her weight dropped a lot (which is normal & expected in any baby), but she is now back to gaining weight.
Next Sunday she will be 34 weeks gestation, which is when they will try to get her to bottle feed. General guidelines on when we can take her home are her due date, which was October 11. But if she is ready before then, she can be released. The requirements for her to be released are:
- Able to bottle feed, which requires sucking, swallowing, and breathing (usually these reflexes are not coordinated before 34 weeks)
- She must be around 5 lbs.
- She must be able to maintain her body temperature on her own.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. It's been difficult being away from home, but both James and I are thankful that we have family and friends around us. I couldn't imagine having this happen in an unfamiliar place.
5 comments:
Your comment about it hard being able to tell the scale of her size reminded me of what a friend did when her baby was born at 27 weeks. She took a picture of the baby by a specific stuffed animal at regular intervals (you could do weekly, every two week, or whatever) so that people could get a better grasp of how tiny she was and how quickly she grew. Maybe you could do something similar.
What a beauty, congratulations you guys! She'll be out of there long before 10/11, she is doing so well. We saw most babies leave between 36-37 weeks gestation!
She is so sweet and little! I remember all of the emotions and challenges of having a preemie and I am routing for all of you! Anders was 32 weeks and 3/11 at birth so I really understand what you guys are going through.
The benefit of having a baby in the NICU, SCHEDULE! We loved having that every 3 hour schedule down pat by the time he got home. =0)
We are so excited that Tabitha is here and doing so well! We will keep praying for your whole family!
Congrats on your sweet baby girl!! I'm glad to hear that she is doing well and feeding. Love all the updates.
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