Day 53: Lungs getting better!

Lily is having another good day, and she continues to improve! She is now on 25% oxygen, just 4% above room air :) Her left lung is no longer collapsed, and if her upper right lung reinflates soon they will take her off the oscillator and put her on the conventional ventilator- and hopefully back to SiPAP/CPAP soon after that. It's amazing how strong her little body is - 3.5 pounds of brute strength!!

She is having a little trouble digesting, so they've had to stop and re-start feeds a few times since yesterday. Most recently, she digested 5ml well and they increased her to a 10ml feed, which they'll check on around 4pm. Fortunately her stomach still feels soft, and it's measuring a girth of 24cm- not distended. Doctors are keeping their eyes peeled for something called NEC, but so far aren't seeing signs of it, which is great.

They're giving her and extra dose of diuretics today, since she gained 90grams last night. Weight gains that large indicate water retention, so hopefully she'll lose a bit more tonight. We want to see a nice steady gain- 40/50grams a night, not too much more.

It's kind of hard to believe we're almost two months in. Hopefully past the midway point! People on occasion have said "I don't know how you guys do this." The fact is, we do it because there is no other choice. Strength is the only option- our kids need us! Is it tiring? Yes. Mentally exhausting? Sure. But we find a way to persevere - some how, some way, the mind finds a way. There are side effects, sure - Sara and I are each a bit more on edge these days. Every time the phone rings, we both rush to it, hoping it's not the hospital. Little things like that. We're both getting sleep, probably 5 or 6 hours a night on average. Addie keeps us very happy, though, and we've had a ton of help from family. When both Sara and I want to visit lily together, we can drop Addie off over at Sara's mothers house... or During this past week's scare, my mom came down and stayed over so we could both visit the hospital for morning and evening rounds. We are very fortunate to have a lot of family close by! So, here's a HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped us out, both in the big and small ways! And an especially big thank you to everyone who's praying for lily and sending her good wishes. They've worked before, and they're working again!