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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

When Babys Good Mamas Good

We got to hold Brielle tonight again for the first time since the 17th! Thats like forever!!! Well atleast it seemed like forever! Bri did VERY well! She actually went down on her sats when I was holding her!! YAY! She had her eyes open pretty much the whole time she was kangarooing. Grandma Cindy came to see her tonight and got to see her out of her pod for the first time! She was alittle constipated so she got some help and she out pooped her diaper and all over her blankets! Way to go Bri! She probably lost an ounce now tho! hehe. Atleast she feels better! Good start to a new month!!!

GOODBYE OSCILLATOR!!!!

You read it right!!!!! She is back on the conventional breathing machine! She still has the tube down her throat but she is doing very well!!! She was at 40% oxygen right when they switched her which is great! And when she is down in the 30%s then she will get the prongs back in her nose (CPAP). She got to be transfered to a clean Isolet today too. So same kind just clean home. And she tolerated both changes very well!! So happy!! She looks good! She doesnt look as puffy, and she is only down to 2 lbs 1.3 oz. YAY!! So she is still 2 lbs! Barely but we will take it!! Hoping that we can hold her in the next day or so!!! Maybe she will do good the rest of the day and Laura will let me hug her :) But not counting my chickens before they hatch quite yet. Just would make mamas day :)

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

4 weeks old today!

Hard to believe she is 4 weeks old!! Where did the time go? I hope the next 8 weeks in the nicu go this fast! Brielle was at 39% when I was there this morning. She might come off the oscillator tomorrow, but things up there can change in a matter of minutes. She might get to go to a new home soon too (isolet). Some of the nurses were telling us they just sent home a 24 weeker a few weeks ago, 2 weeks before his due date. Well the mom and baby came in today to visit so I got to meet them both :) It was encouraging to see another 24 weeker who was on the oscillator too in front of my eyes. The mom said it will get better hang in there :) We will. And it is getting better!

Also 4 weeks ago we lost our precious little boy. Cant forget him and never will forget him. We miss you little man! Love you forever! Your little sister is still fighting thanks to you!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Monday!

Good Monday so far! She is 2 lbs. 3.3 oz and 13 inches long. Not getting too excited yet since it is mostly water weight. They are giving her lasiks today to get rid of some of the water. 4 doses every 12 hours. Chest Xrays continue to look better and better. They are suctioning stuff out of her lungs so hopefully she is breaking alot of it up now. She is getting fed again. She is starting up again every 3 hours 2ml. She is still everywhere on her oxygen sats. She was 70% when I got there this morning and in 10 min she was at 50%. Last night we left her at 98% and called 4 hours later she was at 66%. Never know why or where she will be at. Maybe because they gave her blood yesterday and she went back up. Today they tried a PICC line and she went back up. They gave her some more morphine and versaset (sp) this morning for the picc line so she was pretty tuckered out. Just layed very still for over an hour with her left hand over her head. She is in blaze orange camo today for her daddy! :)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

What happened?????

Well just cuz I posted that before we went to see her, we get there and she is back to 98%! Her nurse Jennifer doesnt know what happened either! She was doing so good and then boom she wanted to be high again! little fart! She said shes giving the nurses grey hairs too hehe. She was starting to go back down as we left she was at 81% so lets hope when I call later she is back to the 30's!

Got some pics added! (Nurse Terri hehe)

No more dips!!

YAY! Just called to get a update this morning of Brielle and she is down to 51% oxygen!!!!! YAY!!! They want her around 40% so shes almost there!! Its better than 100% They dont want her to be above 40% for too long because it effects the eyes. So get down!!!! Jennifer said that her chest xray of her lungs this morning looked MUCH better, so thats also a great sign she is feeling better!!!! She was moving around yesterday quite a bit more which is showing she is feeling better too. She had a IV put in her right arm and it was taped and gauzed up, you couldnt see her little arm, but she still managed to push the nurse with that arm while getting her diaper changed. hehe fiesty! Hopefully she stays up and feeling good now and doesnt dip back down!!! Its been one long week!!!It wore all 3 of us out!!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Well Brielle is back to where she was Monday unfortunately :( BUT I do feel alittle better than I did momday since the Doctor knows what works and doesnt work and what she likes and doesnt like now. He said hes got her figured out now which makes me alittle more settled. She had her 6th blood transfusion this morning and her 4th platlets today. She is at 100% oxygen again and has been since about Tuesday. She isnt peeing again so they had to put the catheter back in. But it has pee now so thats a good sign! She is starting a few antibiotics again today as well. Did a chest xray and an ECHO today, waiting for results. Other than that she is just resting. So keep the prayers coming! Shes not out the woods yet! She is a fighter and will fight thru this one again! She did it monday she can and will do it again!!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Brielle has her Spunk Back!

Brielle is doing better and better daily! She received another blood transfusion today (#4). She is going to get more platelets today since the infection seems to be eating them. Her potassium is down!! She was at 11.6 Monday which scared the Doctors and she is at 4.5 now! They want her between 3.5-5.5. Everything else is going up good and/or where they want her to be. Her right lung is still pretty cloudy so they are still fighting the pneumonia off. But you can tell she has her spunk back and she will fight it off :) Maybe it was Miss Kathy (her nurse, one of my favs!) coming back today and putting her in her place :) She needs that every once in awhile! Mom and dad dont need gray hair befor you come home Little Miss!!!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Better day!

Brielle is doing better today! She is getting another blood transfusion today. She has blood in her stool so they are trying to figure that out next. Not too worried about it, but worried. Dr. Abe said that because she has such big poops for a little peanut she may have torn her bottom. Or it could mean a virus. Her tummy xray looks good. So we will wait this one out. Her potassium level looks good so he is stopping that medicine. He was really really worried about that level yesterday so that is good new she is lowering that! Right along with the good news of her peeing!! She was getting antsy when I was there this morning. Trying to look all around and move her legs and her hands so they sedated her again. She still has her heart murmur. He isnt going to worry about it right now, but will repeat the echo in a few days. They couldnt get a good view of her heart yesterday with her lungs so expanded. She is still very very puffy from all the fluids they are pumping her with, so I dont have an accurate weight. They havent been weighing her either because it'd be so off. But she looks like she is over 2lbs now. she looks huge! hehe someday!

Monday, June 21, 2010

All the prayers are being answered!

YAY! Brielle PEED!!!! Never thought I'd be so happy about pee!!!! I left the hospital for an hour and a half to let out the girls and feed them and came back to the GREAT news she PEED! AND she is on ROOM AIR!!! YAY BRI!!!! All the prayers from everyone must be being answered!!!! Thanks everyone!!! I hope she keeps on getting better and better and back to her strong, fiesty, trooper self!

We will make it.........I think........

Bri is still not doing good. She is "in the woods" as the nurse put it. She has a gram neg rod that is the infection they are fighting in her lungs. Now that something is growing they know what to fight. Her kidneys are not working, shes not peeing. They put in a catheter hoping it would drain her bladder but there was nothing in her bladder. They determined that her lungs were over inflated so they decreased the pressure on the oscillator to deflate the lungs a bit. It worked. Her heart was small, they are thinking due to her lungs being over inflated. After they did that her heart is still small but its bigger than it was before. Her potassium level was pretty high so she is on a potassium drip to try to get that down so she can pee. They still cant get the line into her so they have to keep poking her. She is so bruised and poked everywhere. Dr. Abe suspects he cant get in because of her over inflated lungs it pushed on the heart decreasing blood flow. So her veins just arent cooperating. So they are going to try in the morning again. She is still not being fed the milk, she is just on IV fluids and all these antibiotics. Today she had some tears in her eyes. It kills me so bad to see that! I just want to reach in and grab her, cuddle her, soothe her, kiss it and make it all go away! But i cant. Its heartbreaking as a mom to not be able to help her in anyway. I can see the hurt and pain in Joshs eyes and that is so hard for me too! He's my rock, and when I start to see him crumble away its not easy! I know he needs to just as much as I do but it wont ever make it easy! We are trying to stay strong for each other but its getting the best of us!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

O Fathers Day

Brielle is not having a good day. I guess we all are not so far. Dr. Katie was in this morning and said last night was "scary" because they couldnt get her intubated properly and get her oxygen down. She was in the 100% and they want her 40% or lower. She is now on an Oscillator (excuse my spelling thru this blog) which gives her 600 beats per minute. This breathing machine is gentler on her lungs they told us. It shakes her alittle and does the breathing for her. They gave her a sedative so she doesnt breathe or move. They do not want her to breath on her own, they want the machine to do it for her. She looks so lifeless its hard to see her like that! We are used to seeing her pushing nurses away and flailing her arms about. She has pneumonia and an infection which they are trying to fight right now. She got morphine this morning. They are not going to feed her today except for the IV fluids and will hopefully resume tomorrow. They are going to try another line, I cringe when I hear that after the last episode with that. Please send out your thoughts and prayers extra today. Brielle needs to get stronger and fight this battle she is faced with!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

a pound and a half!

Briell has reached a pound and a half!! Thats 1 lbs 8.4oz! Never thought that would sound so big!! I dont Know what I will do when she gets to 2 lbs!!! hehe! She is doing alright today. she was at 69% oxygen when we were there tonight. So we didnt hold her. Kathy asked us if we wanted to hug her this morning and we should have. She was teaching us a lesson tonight. We had our chance. We let her rest and came home to get some much needed house hold chores done. Blah! She is going to get a chest xray done to see why she needs so much oxygen. Will get some oxygen counts done etc. So she has a busy night ahead of her little self!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Intubated

Brielle is worn out as are mommy and daddy! She is back on the intubator so she has her breathing tube down her throat now. She was so tired from doing it on her own for so long that they had to go back to her throat. She did amazing tho, we think, for being on the prongs and doing alot herself. Like nurse Laura described it as, Its like running a marathon nonstop. You just get worn out and cant do it anymore. Thats where Bri was. So she is getting alittle more help. So far, she is liking it! She was at 43% oxygen when we left and she has been around 60%s the last 2 days or so when we were there. We let her rest today and didnt hold her. We will see how tomorrow goes.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Bouncing Back

Brielle is doing alot better! We still need to give her lots of stress free visits and cares. No extras so she can rest and get even bigger!! She is now 1 lbs 7.4oz. YAY!!!!! She passed her birth weight!!!! Keep packing on the weight!!!! So excited for her! I was able to hold her for an hour tonight. I will take it. She was buzzing alot so they had me put her back. Her second brain scan came back for no brain bleeds!! Her infection is diminishing so shes off the IV antibiotics but still has the line in just in case since she is a hard poke!
I wanted to share this poem from another NICU mom of a 25 weeker. It kind of helped me make sense of the situation and what we are dealing with.

How Preemie Moms Are Chosen
(Adapted from Erma Bombeck)

Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?
Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments
for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.

"Beth Armstrong, son. Patron Saint, Matthew. Marjorie Forrest, daughter.
Patron Saint, Celia. Carrie Rutledge, twins. Patron Saint ... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."

Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel."

"But does she have the patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just the right amount of selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says 'mama' for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see – ignorance, cruelty, prejudice – and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Doing Better!

They got Brielles IV in her leg. Her infection count is going down!! She got a blood transfusion this morning, so she is pink again and spunky! She loves her nuc! Kathy cut down one of the green newborn pacifiers so it would work with her breathing tube! She finds alot of comfort in her pacifier! Dad might get to hold her tonight. See how she did resting since 11:30 this afternoon. They switched her back to the long nose prongs since the short prongs were not sealing in her little nose properly they were constantly in by her and she wasnt resting. Hopefully she is happy and healthier now!! She is now 1 lbs 5 oz. 12.5" long. Hopefully she starts to put some meat on her little bones!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Setbacks

Well, Daddy didnt get to hold Little Miss last night. She was just having a stressful day. She went back on the CPAP with the more oxygen, which she seems to like more. If she continues to go backwards she will have the breathing tube down her throat like she started out with to give her a break. Shes so tiny she needs that once in a while. She is having an IV line put back in this morning to have antibiotics for a possible infection. Since she was showing signs of stress, Terri suggested we dont handle her more than we needed. We agree. We love to hold her, but we need her to be strong so she can come home!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Brielle went alittle backwards today but they said that would be normal. She is back on her other CPAP machine that has the longer nose peices that she hates! This one guarantees she breathes 30 on her own and just helps her with the rest, where the one she was one she had to do more on her own and she was getting to tired. Shes too little yet! Plus Dr. Katie said she thinks her lung is still alittle collapsed so that will help her as well. Chest XRAY tomorrow. She is at her full feedings now and tolerating them well. She is on Procel a protein supplement. Also on Vitamin D and Iron. More poops for dad!!! She is up to 1lbs 5.25 oz and 12.5" long. Shes staying steady at growing .25" a week! Maybe she will be walking out of there like Uncle Troy predicts!!!

Daddys turn to hold little Miss tonight! Will be his 3rd time!!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Brielle is doing very well!! Amazing, as most nurses put it, for her size and age. She is 26 weeks gestation today. Almost 2 weeks old. She is off of all her IVs. She is still on the CPAP breathing tube and the feeding tube, thats it. How good is that!!!!! She weighed in at 1lbs 5.2oz. Like the nurses said, she lost some cords and her IV stuff so its hard to get an accurate weight right now. She poops alot too for a little girl, so shes losing there :P I held her for the 3rd time tonight! It never gets old!!! The switched her nose tube to a different type with smaller tubes that go in her nose since she kept yanking them out, so she has a little tiny hat on now. How did they find one that small we keep wondering!!!!???!!!! So cute. Our little peanut! No matter what kind of day Im having, that little girl always puts a smile on my face! she doesnt even know it!!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Big Presents for a tiny girl!!!

Ayden came home today! We got his remains back. It was bittersweet to have our little boy home with us now. We can now finish making his memory box.

Went to see Brielle this morning and she had her eyes wide open most of the time we were there. When we first got there she was sooooo cranky and fussy!!!! Daddy thought she needed her diaper changed so our nurse Kathy put her back on her back and me and Josh started changing her diaper. As soon as I opened it, me and Josh looked at each other and our eyes were are wide as Brielles!!! No wonder she was so cranky!!!!!!!! I do not know how something so little couldnt make a diaper that full!!!!! We laughed so hard it hurt!!! But thats why she was cranky!! Good call daddy!!!

We also gave her breast milk on a Q-tip and she LOVED IT!!!! She sucked on it for a good 5 minutes. She is up to 11ml now of milk. Go Bri!! Going back around 3 to hold the little peanut!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Daddys turn!

Daddy got to Kangaroo with Brielle tonight!! She did pretty good but got fussy towards the 2 hour mark. Turns out she had a poopy diaper, so mama got her first poo diaper! She got the little hiccups again. Still sounds like a squeaky mouse!! She is pretty tiny but she can definately fuss and cry! Its nice to hear her cry tho! She has some lungs on her thats for sure! Our nurse, Terry, had me put Bri back in her pod tonight. Scary but O so cool at the same time! We are starting to get more hands on, which is exciting! Helps us feel like were the parents like Terry was telling us tonight.
Were hoping in a few weeks we can dress her! Tery went and starting getting "the girl a wardrobe" hehe. We brought her blanket from grandma Kris to kangaroo her with. Its sooo soft! She is up to 10ml and will increase to 11ml at 1:30am and then 1 ml every 12 hours up to 13ml. she is handling it very well. She had her nuc quite a bit tonight and was sucking very well! She got cranky when it fell out! She is up to 1 lbs 5.5 oz! Almost back to birth weight!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Kangaroo Care!

Got to hold Brielle today for the first time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kanagroo care they call it. I was so nervous but so excited!!!!! I held her for almost 2 hours! She is so small and so precious!!! She fussed alittle bit but calmed down right away each time!! She maintained her heart rate and breathing while out. We werent really too sure how she would do out of her pod. She did awesome!!!! Josh gets to hold her tomorrow, he cant wait!! We fed her while I was holding her and she got the hiccups. She sounded like a little squeaky mouse lol We laughed so hard, even the nurses behind the curtain lol. I never thought we'd be able to hold her this early!! Shes only 8 days old!! She is doing so good that it made it possible to hold this early! Bri is the youngest baby up there still but no longer the smallest. A smaller but older baby was brought in last night. Our heart goes out to that family that their little one does just as good as Bri is.

Felt so good to feel every part of her and kiss her little hair filled head! Just to be that close to her!! To be able to rock her and soothe her when she whimpered. To hold her little hand close. I finally feel like A MOM!!!!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A WEEK OLD!!!

Bri is a week old today!! I Hope the next 3 months go this fast!!! The NICU doctor said the first week is important and shows us kind of how shes going to do things. And so far she said shes impressed them all!! YAY Bri! She is 1 lbs 4.5oz today. She had her brain scan this morning so waiting on results. She had a blood transfusion today which is common for her age and will have many more, so she has IVs and tape all over her little head :( Her white count is up so they were doing tests to see if she had an infection yet. She was very fussy and cranky when we were up tonight and was crying! I feel so helpless! Shes never cried that much! She had a lot going on today! Transfusion, chest xrays, blood tests. Lot for alittle girl! She had the nuc for the first time! But then wouldnt take it for dad tonight. She had alot of bradys and apneas (a's & b's) where she stops breathing and we would rub her sides and get her to breath again and she came right out of them. Me and dad changed her diaper. Josh is still alittle hesitant but hes getting better. I was more hesitant at the beginning than he was. She is up to 5ml of food now. And tolerating well so she will go up 1ml every 12 hours. She sucks on her feeding tube when we feed her. lol atleast she knows shes getting fed and knows she needs to suck! After her feeding she calmed down. Must have been a hungry girl!! She knows when and what she wants thats for sure!!!

-Heather E (theda nurse) I left a comment on yesterdays post/your comment. Wanted to make sure you seen it :)

Monday, June 7, 2010

Get back into the swing of things!

Josh went back to work today. Mixed emotions! Hes been off for 8 days and been there the whole time and it was kind of lonely, weird, odd going to the NICU myself. But I made it because thats what I had to do. Brielle is 12.25 inches now! Up a quarter. She gained alitte weight shes up to 1lb 4 oz. They are uping her food intake 1 ML every 12 hours til she up to 13 ml a feeding as long as she can handle it. I cant keep up with her! lol But that is a good thing!! Get some weight on that little peanut! I was changing her diaper today when I was there and she is such a helper she kept getting her hands in the way so i put my middle finger in her hand to move it and she clenched right on so tight!!! I was super sore and needed to move or sit or something but there was no way without letting go and the tears rolled!! Whenever i pulled away the slightest bit she gripped tighter! I felt like she wanted me to stay there and I wanted to stay there forever too. Just felt like I couldnt give her what she fully needed. Breaks my heart. Her bandages that are holding her oxygen in were pulling at her cheeks so they were fixing them and she was crying alittle. Such a sweet sound to hear! She doesnt cry much, too much energy but its good she can with her lungs! Other than that, she is doing awesome! Had her newborn screenings today and will get her brain scan tomorrow morning. 6 days old already!! Where is the time going already??

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is never easy! We had Aydens memorial service today. It was VERY nice I thought. We had about 35 close family and friends. My dad put together a very nice service and had Aydens foot prints and pics of his feet and hands and made a cross necklace for Ayden. They also had a blanket the hospital sent home we wrapped around the urn. We also had pics of Bri, showing how well she is fighting in honor of her brother. My mom bought us a pic frame that scrolls thru the digital pics so we had that on display too. Although it was so hard to say goodbye, we know Ayden is being spoiled in Heaven by all his Grandpas. He is in good hands! We will never forget our precious little boy.

Brielle is still striving! She seems to be getting more and more active daily. Shes always stretching and swinging her arms everywhere. Pushing tubes out of the way and pushing daddy away. lol She likes to try to help the nurses change her diaper or do the ultrasounds etc. Shes a pointer. Her finger is always out pointing at something. We heard her fuss alittle bit this morning. Grandpa Brad and Grandma Cindy and Great grandma Simon got to hold her hand today. They would have been 25 weeks gestation. and 5 days old today!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Room Air

BRIELLE IS ON ROOM AIR!! They removed her breathing tube and she is on CPAP which is the nasal tube in her nose. Shes only on 21% Oxygen and breathing the rest. We got to hear her cry today for the first time now that the tube is gone!!! Shes doing so well!! They are uping her food too!!! So wonderful for 3 days old!! she weighs 1.4lbs today and the doctor said in the next 2 days she should start gaining weight again. She is under the jaundice lights and has some pretty cool sun glasses on! Like her grandma Cindy said, she has such a bright future she needed some cool shades! We had Pastor Kurt come up and do an informal baptism today on Bri. We will have a formal baptism when she comes home.

My wonderful father took care of all of Aydens arrangements. Special thanks to him and Valley Funeral home! We picked out Aydens urn today and are going to create a shadow box in his memory. The nurses did a very good job of making a mold of his feet and taking pictures of his feet and hands. We will be having a very small memorial service for Ayden this Sunday 6/6 at 11am at Trinity Lutheran Church on Allan st. We would like to invite all our family & close friends for the service!

I went home today!!! Today was 4 weeks in the hospital!! It was so weird to leave and get home and see my house again!! I never thought it would feel so good and different!! My furbabies didnt want to leave my side! It was sweet. My wonderful sister in law, Amanda, that has been here for the whole 4 weeks had our kitchen decorated with pink balloons and 3 boxes of diapers and 2 wipes with all our plants and flowers on the counter. It was so sweet!!! My dad and Mary were here last night and cleaned everything nice and neat since they knew I'd be cleaning if it wasnt done lol. Thanks to them!!!

A couple people asked me if I was sad to leave empty handed. Answer is of course! Who wouldnt be. But the more I thought about it, she is only alittle over a pound and I cant take care of her. Its not like she will be home in a week and 8 months old and 5 lbs. I have no control over her care and the NICU is the best place for her to be. They are so caring there that I dont worry like crazy when Im gone. I just think about her nonstop lol. One of the nurses, Sally, came in before we left and she said something that really hit home and sank in. She said that losing Ayden is traumatic yes, but god has a plan for everything. Ayden did his job of keeping his sister in and alive and gave her a chance. He stayed and fought in there for 3 weeks 3 days and got Bri to 24 weeks. he let me get the 2 steroid shots in to help her and then he passed away. Ayden did what he had to do to let Bri survive. She is so right! I was telling my dad that at the funeral home and he said WOW she is right on the head! Very comforting words!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Shes doing great!

Sorry I havent been on in awhile to post! Things were pretty hectic and starting to settle alittle. Brielle was born June 1 at 8:52pm by emergeancy C section. She weighed 1.66 lbs and was 12" long. I started to have contractions around 12 Tuesday. They called my Dr. who said that it was possibly an infection starting to set it. They were going to watch her heart rate and if it went above 170 that meant infection. Also were going to watch my temperature to go up meant I had an infection. About 7 my contractions were really bad and about 3-4min apart. By about 8 my Dr was here and we were on our way to the c-section. I was so scared. It was too early!!!! When I woke up from surgery, Heather E the nurse that was here the night my water broke was still in recovery with me. It was nice to atleast see a familiar face. She has gone thru the whole 3 weeks with us as well as SO many other nurses that I just adore for all their hard work and dedication to helping us thru these 4 weeks! I asked Heather how she was doing and she said great! Just hearing those words was so nice! She said she had really good color and weighed 1.66lbs. They took me back to our room and my family was calmer as well. They said that the NICU nurses all came out smiling and even stopped for a brief moment so they could all see her since she was doing so well. What a relief!!!! She is definately a trooper!! NICU said she is fiesty! Which is a good thing!! She wrapped her tiny little fingers around Joshs finger yesterday for the first time. She knows his voice and starts to wiggly when he talks. She was wearing Joshs wedding rings as a bracelet! It was so big on her!! She has been on room air! So miraculous for her gestation! She was born at 24 wks 2 days. So far she is beating all the odds! Nurses said shes doing wonderful and I will try to update daily on her progress! Thank you to everyon for all the love and support!!! We cant thank the nurses, NICU, & doctors here enough!!! We not only gained a daughter out of this but we gained a whole new family!!