Everyday lives of the Meabon Household

Friday, August 6, 2010

Team Harper

Harper is officially 47 hours old - only 364 days until her 1st birthday! I take after my mother in my birthday celebrations and, if I have anything to do with it, Harper will follow suit.

We have been happy with the news we've received over the last 47 hours and happy with her progress. The doctors felt good about her starting to feed so Harper ate a bottle yesterday of 30cc's of formula. She had a second bottle 3 hours later but had trouble holding it down so they've given her a feeding tube. Through the tube, she was put on 8 cc's of formula and has been bumped up to 10 1/2 cc's per hour. She's lost some weight and is weighing 6lbs 6oz but team isn't concerned about the loss as this is common in newborns.

They are closely monitoring her feedings since she does have some intestine in her omphalocele. She will continue to be at risk of having a kink in her bowels which would make digestion complicated. She is a HUGE fan of her pacifier and just sucks away. This is good and something we want her to continue since it mimics feeding from a bottle. We were thrilled that she had two poops yesterday! Someday, Jared and I are going to curse the day we celebrated pooping but for now, we're having a pooping party!!! This is also a very good sign for O babies.

We were thrilled to find that I'm producing collostrum which is looking to be a sign that I'll be producing milk in the near future. I had a breast reduction 13 years so the possibility of breast feeding has always been about 50/50. She is on formula and collostrum now and will switch to full breast milk when I'm producing enough. Bet you never thought you'd hear a woman say that she'd be happy to be compared to a cow any day... well, put me on a farm and call me Bessie!

We spoke with Dr. Robertson, Harper's pediatric surgeon yesterday. They are going to continue the "plan" originally discussed. This is to keep Harps in the NICU until skin is completely covering her omphalocele. We were anticipating 6 months but yesterday, he felt this could happen in 6 weeks to 3 months. At birth, skin was already starting to make it's way up the O so we are seeing good progress. After that point, we can take her home with the O covered with skin but still herniated. They will then perform surgery to repair the abdominal wall around 6 months to 1 year. Now, that being said, Jared and I are hesitant to latch on to any timelines. There could always be complications that arise, like infection, or miracles. We know there's a big guy up above in control here and he knows the "plan" better than any of us.

For now, the omphalocele is supported with bands around the base to keep it upright. I've included some pictures below but they are a little graphic so be aware. They will cover the O with gauze and benedyne (sp?) to fight infection every other day. On alternating days, they will leave the O uncovered to help dry out the membranes. The O is currently about the size of a racquetball and is making progress. On an adult, it would be like having a protrusion a little smaller than a volleyball.

We just got some new updates with our 2am pump deposit. Harper came back testing negative for Staff so we can start touching her with bare hands. We've had to gown and glove up each time we visited her but now will just need to sanitize. They also plan to remove her IV today since she finished her last round of antibiotics. They are also working on putting together a more permanent nursing staff for Harper since she had an extended stay. This way she'll have a dedicated staff that know her needs. We've already had a few of our favorites request to be on "Team Harper". Our own little Miss Congeniality!

Harps is a little mellow mushroom. When she does get fussy, she's easily calmed down with her pacifier. She's also very alert. During our morning visit, Jared was on one side and I was on the other. She would look at me when I was talking and when Jared would respond, her eyes would float over in his direction. And this lasted through the entire conversation! Is it too early to start applying to Ivy League? I think not!

We want to thank you all for being on Team Harper too. We know all of the prayers that went up over the last weeks have been heard and God is GOOD! Your visits, calls, texts, messages, etc have meant so much to us. I'm just sorry we haven't gotten back to everyone as timely as we would have liked. Continued prayer requests are for continued eating success, the omphalocele to continue skin growth but also to decrease into her abdomen, a strong defense against infection and guidance for the doctors. Please also continue to keep Baby Lincoln and Baby Reese in your prayers. Reese is a fellow O baby and Harper's neighbor who will under go reparative surgery today.

And lastly, we leave you with the ever important pictures.










10 comments:

{kimmymade} said...

She is so darling ... I love the chubby frog legs! Very, very encouraging news all around! Please add us to Virtual Team Harper!

Susan Gee said...

Brooke, you have no idea how so many of us wait for news and you are so wonderful to take time to blog all this information and send pictures. She is just a little beauty, and we know God's hand is guiding her to good health. You and Jared are remarkable in your faith. Prayers flowing your way from all "The Views" ladies and many, many other friends.

Tootle Family said...

Oh my goodness she is precious! Beautiful child. Thank you for the updates. I'm constantly thinking about you guys!

Martha said...

You can officially add Joe & me to Team Harper! We've been praying and will continue. She's beautiful, and we can't wait until the time comes that we can help in the spoiling department!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like little Miss Harper is doing really good! It is obvious from the photos that she must be the most beautiful baby girl around!

Prays continue for everyone and everything involving Harper.
Love you all,
Adelle

Anonymous said...

Trust me. You will always be grateful for pooping! It is still a big deal in our world! Kel will strangle me for saying that. She is a 5:30 am, oatmeal, and coffee girl. Running is important too. You will have Harper in a Bob's jogging stroller in no time! Keep that milk coming. I am so excited to see pictures of her. Hug your mom for me. Love, Jill Nall :)

Pamela said...

Such a precious baby girl. I am so glad you are getting good encouraging news. She is strong, healthy and beautiful. Continued prayers for your family and the doctors and nurses who care for her.

Anne Davidson said...

Brooke,
Thank you so much for your updates. I am so glad to hear things are progressing in all the right ways. She is so precious and so beautiful, and I see so much of you in her! We continue to pray daily for each of you.

Love to you!
Anne

Pam said...

O my gosh, writer, doctor, teacher, informant, photographer and mommy. You are a 5 star blogger.
Thanks again Brooke as we are continuing our prayers.
Love and hugs passed onto the Harp.

Meghan and Tom O'Dell said...

Brooke, she is beautiful! I'm glad she is doing well! Just for comparison- Fiona's O took about 7 1/2 months to fully cover in skin. We came home before it was completely skin, so I would talk to them about that. I'm sure you will be more than capable of taking care of the O once they show you what to do! Harper is a little fighter just like Fiona! Praying for you guys :)