McVerry, party of three!

  I think all the nurses are feeling the Christmas spirit with all this cold weather… This was the best picture I could get of Olivia in this 6 MONTH SIZE onesie 😂. The nurse said it was just too cute to not put on our little nugget!  Olivia is doing pretty well with her newly decreased level of oxygen. No events/episodes (if you don’t remember these events are things like low oxygenation, super low heart rate, or if she stops breathing/apnea). The nurse practitioner on Sunday brought up the realization that we may need to take Olivia home on oxygen and have the specialist team follow up outpatient. I am trying to focus on the “take Olivia home” part.  One of the other points in conversation Sunday was Olivia’s decreased drive to eat. Apparently Saturday Olivia ended on about 20% of feeds by mouth. I guess Olivia heard the doubting in rounds because she finished Sunday with a whole 47% of her feeds taken orally. I was SO encouraged. However, today she dropped again. Mayb...

Whew. 96 days…three months old (basically)…the time has flown by but has also has taken forever. Sweet baby girl is taking about 40% of her feeds orally and is up to 6 lbs! The nurses have started using size one diapers and putting Olivia in newbor n size clothes. I just can not believe how big she is getting!  We are working on our positivity and patience while we continue to just wai t for Olivia to get the hang of taking in her whole feeds orally. She tires herself out-but has been improving-even if it’s slowly. She is also being weaned off oxygen (finally!). She is now on 0.05L and so far hasn’t had any events.  Kevin had to remind me today again of how far we’ve come. He reminded me how strong my faith was to not doubt God at the beginning of all this when we didn’t know the outcome. A friend of ours also happened to send a note with the reminder in Matthew 17:20 “….I say to you if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to the mountain move from...

Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for this year. We are especially thankful for little sweet Olivia.  She is still working on her stamina so that she can reach her full goals with her feeds. Yesterday she took a full bottle for me! Of course she was then wiped out for her next feeding/care time. We are praying that she will get the hang of it soon. The oral feedings are the hardest goal to reach, is what we are told-but once she does she will be home!  Olivia did make her first turkey hands with the help of one of her nurses :) It’s so sweet! I have always thought this was a cute way for littles to celebrate the holiday (and a great memory for mom  and dad).   I saw this post on Instagram today and it made me really think about having an attitude full of gratitude and thanksgiving. There were moments today when it was a little hard to be thankful for everything . Remembering all the God has done-from big things like Olivia, to little things, like tim...

  Little wild child! Apparently she’s very squirmy- but she looks comfy! Olivia is still working on eating-so nothing new! They aren’t concerned with how slowly she’s taking to get her stamina up. She still tires herself out easily, which they assure us is typical. She is up to 5 lbs 10 oz. and always enjoys practicing… We do have a huge praise though. Olivia had her ECHO late yesterday evening a nd the results today are that her PDA is closed! I will happily take her slow eating over having to have heart surgery.  Psalm 34: 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.  God has certainly blessed us and has proven His goodness over and over again. Choosing to be thankful is not always easy, and I have had many times of anger, frustration, and lamenting. Remembering how obviously He has poured out His goodness to us, in the form of miracles, answered prayers, in providing comfort and peace, I will take refuge in nothing else!

  Short post today! No changes-we are still patiently waiting on Olivia to get to her full goal with her oral feeds. She is still taking in about 1/3 of her feeds orally. I continue to be thankful for this “boring” time. Not an easy way to learn patience, but a good lesson to learn…especially before our little nugget comes home! We are praying for Olivia’s heart and the ECHO tomorrow-for improved results. Praying for her health and that God continues to heal and grow her. Also praying that Kevin and I don’t run out of patience…or forget how strong and mighty He is.  Jeremiah 32:17 Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 

 Not everyone was happy it was an early Saturday!   Olivia is officially “term” as she is 37 weeks as of Friday. It’s still hard to believe we are just kind of in a waiting period while she learns to eat. The NP said this is when a lot of parents get “NICU-itis” and start to become anxious and impatient. Although her feedings have improved, it’s tough watching how slow the progress moves.  That is the key though-improving. She is now taking about 34% of all her feeds by mouth (so either bottle or breastfeeding). She is also up to 5.5lbs which just absolutely blows my mind.  She’s been doing really well-the doctor is keeping her on oxygen for now-but is fairly confident she won’t need it once she ge ts a good hang of eating consistently over 50 % orally. Olivia will have another ECHO (ultrasound of her heart) on Monday. The murmur has been intermittently heard on exams. We are certain the hole has shrunk, but are praying it is very tiny. I’m still praying it wil l clo...

Today is World Prematurity Day-a day to raise awareness for premature birth. It’s amazing to believe our sweet Olivia was born at 24 weeks and 3 days…and about to be 37 weeks on Friday Whew girl has some MAJOR sass! This picture has had me laughing all day. There haven’t been many changes-continuing to work on eating and Olivia did have her eye exam today. Kevin did say that the eye doctor is optimistic about Olivia’s exam. The retinopathy is healing on its own and, in fact, the doctor scheduled her an outpatient appointment December 3…”just in case she’s discharged”. I don’t want to read into this statement too much but I can’t help but be excited at the possibility she will be home earlier than expected.  While mom and dad have been back to work Olivia has continued to steal the hearts (and lunch breaks) of the nurses. You can see she isn’t only interested in the book, but really enjoying being spoiled by the nurses! We are continuing to pray for Olivia and her strength. Praying ...

  Olivia is back on the 0.1L of oxygen…but not upset about it. Olivia does fatigue pretty easily while eating without that little whiff of oxygen. Although it would have been nice to be off the oxygen and closer to reaching a good milestone, having her be safe and strong is best. The plan is to work really hard on her feeding and get her to taking her full feeds orally. Once she reaches that goal, we can start to wean and eventually remove the oxygen.  I go back to work this week. (I’ll take the rest of my maternity leave when she comes home). So the next few days may be spotty with blog posts and pictures. But please continue to keep us in your prayers and thoughts! This period of time (specifically this last week and upcoming weeks) are requiring a lot of patience. Maybe because we seem so close to bringing her home. Or maybe because compared to even a few weeks ago, she appears to be a big healthy baby ( 5 lbs!). Thinking we are waiting mainly on her to get good with eating...

We’ve just been taking it easy over here!  Olivia is SUCH a happy baby, unless she’s hungry then she’s moody…but we’ve all been there before. She is now weighing in at 4 lbs 15 oz! I can’t believe our little nugget is almost five pounds. She seems huge!  Olivia is working on oral feedings and not needing any oxygen. Those are our two big things now. So far she’s up to about 27% of her feeds being oral. Seems like a long way to go but that is just after one week. Once she gets her stamina I think she will be a great eater.  Today we are trialing room air again. She does really well without oxygen but we will see how she does without oxygen while feeding. It’s a lot for these preemies to remember to do all the things we take for granted…like remembering to breathe in between ‘bites’. Praying that she is strong enough to pass the room air trial with flying colors. It’s just one of the last couple little hurdles we need to jump before she gets to come home. Still no official ...

 Excited to report Miss Olivia’s head ultrasound (and CT) came back completely normal. She is continuing to work on oral feedings while also remembering to breathe. Olivia is still on the 0.1L of oxygen. We (Kevin and I) are hoping she can be weaned from the oxygen soon. So far she hasn’t had any events/episodes so if not this weekend hopefully Monday.  Olivia got in some good snuggles with dad after a long week.…notice her rolls coming in! 🥰 Otherwise we are just taking it easy. I’m beyond thankful for how seemingly easy the last week has been.  Oh and this is just picture evidence of how really difficult it is to dress a baby-for those that haven’t experienced it or have forgotten their experience (it’s blurry because that’s how fast Kevin’s hands had to move!): I’ve been singing to and listening to this song for several weeks now. And through every high and every low the truth in the words have remained the same for me. God is good. The song is “Goodness of God” and I...

Another couple of easy days for us! Olivia is continuing to grow- 4 lbs 9 ounces today! She is doing really well with oral feedings. Still tires herself out a little bit, but improving every day. I believe she’s taking about 25% of her feedings orally. A huge jump from just 7% a few days ago. It’s been amazing watching her grow. Her eye exam on Wednesday went better then expected. Still that same ‘normal/abnormal’ diagnosis BUT everything is moving toward normal. The eye doctor felt comfortable waiting for two weeks to recheck Olivia’s eyes. But, since  that week is Thanksgiving, she will be checked next week.  Tomorrow Olivia has a routine 36 week head ultrasound. We aren’t expecting anything abnormal but still praying for normal results! I also can’t believe this means she is 36 weeks tomorrow. 

I had a really great time hanging out with Olivia today. She’s doing a really good job and no changes to her plan of care. The doctors have been pleased. We are just working on oral feeds and letting her grow! Olivia had another spa day today. Physical Therapy came by to teach a massage session. The massage is used to help in relaxing but also helps in learning some muscle development. Olivia also had bath time- which she adores! I was thankful to participate in both. We do have another eye exam tomorrow. Really praying that we get more good news! We continue to be so thankful for all that God has done and for all He is continuing to do. 

Olivia is continuing to take it easy. No changes today! She is still working on breast feeding. She is slowly improving every day. According to the doctor the oxygen will be removed for another room air trial once she is consistently doing well with her oral feedings.  Olivia is not up to full feeds (orally), so she is still needing to be supplemented through her nasal tube-but we are very proud of her. She’s working hard! She’s also so stinking cute-I just can’t handle it. I know every parent says that but I mean…come on…!!

  A couple more low key days for us! Being the weekend and being that Olivia is doing really well, no changes have been made. She is continuing to work on breast feeding. She is slowly gaining weight-tomorrow nutrition may reevaluate her calorie/protein intake. They are doing what they can to optimize her growth and to help her growth velocity continue appropriately. Olivia is still on the 0.1 L of oxygen with no events. I’m really hoping we can start weaning that soon!  But for now we are just enjoying uneventful nice easy days. The nurses have given us some autonomy as Olivia continues to be stable. It’s been fun being very involved in her care-my favorite is being able to snuggle whenever. Surprisingly, I hate dressing her. No one told me it was hard to dress a baby…but is! It doesn’t help she’s a feisty little thing. So she’ll probably be naked a lot at home. Don’t tell case management or the discharge coordinator!      We are thankful God has given us some ...

  Olivia has been doing very well! Yesterday and today were both very uneventful. Breastfeeding is still our big progression-she’s doing great! She hasn’t had any events, but is also still on 0.1L of oxygen. Not really sure when the oxygen will come off again. I believe it will be once she is taking full feeds, orally, and no longer needing supplemental feeds from the nasal tube.  Olivia has worked so hard with all the therapies…although this week OT worked on massage so I’m sure she didn’t mind ‘working’ with them. Her favorite is probably speech though…or the lactation specialist because it always means she’s about to eat. She has already learned when feeding times are and gets very hangry when times are off or delayed. They say it’s a good sign. For a little girl though, she is quite loud.  She is continuing to hit her small milestones. We are so proud of her! While it seems like we will never reach discharge day, and that can be taxing on us emotionally and physically...

  Today is another short post…which I definitely don’t mind! Olivia did have her eye exam today. The exam is showing the same normal/abnormal findings. ‘Normal’ for premature babies but abnormal because retinopathy isn’t a normal finding. Again, so hard to explain…basically she has another exam next week to keep an eye on the progression (‘keep an eye on’…ugh I’m turning into my father with the dad jokes). The eye exams always seem to take a lot out of her, she was a little trooper though! After her exam she worked with speech, occupational therapy, and lactation. Such a happy little girl. :) Olivia has been doing great with her oral feedings! I still hate she has to have the oxygen while we get over the hump of learning to swallow, suck, and breathe. But it makes sense and I’m just thrilled she’s doing so well. Still feels like we have a long way to go but I’m beginning to feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I am thankful for a good day with Oliv...

  Really short post today! I had some house work that put me behind this morning-I missed rounds. No changes other then the doctor reconsulting speech therapy. The doctor also felt Olivia was very stable so wasn’t overly happy that speech didn’t see her yesterday.  The big news today is that Olivia’s “diet” was changed to PO (by mouth) with cues. So before she is fed by her little nasal tube, the nurse (or me, or Kevin) can try to feed her by mouth. She did really well with her bottle today. Speech therapy was impressed.  Tomorrow Olivia does have another eye exam. We are hoping for more good news! 

  After Olivia’s events yesterday, the doctor decided today that she should go back on nasal cannula. Olivia is receiving the tiniest bit of oxygen with the hopes it will help during feedings. Like yesterday, the doctor explained she wants to set Olivia up for success. Making sure she can focus on eating completely is a big priority right now. Since the acid reflux seems to be what causes her desats, they are convinced she will easily come off the oxygen in a bit. No plan on when they will take it off again, but maybe in a week or so, once she’s taking full bottle feeds. I  have a lot of questions for rounds tomorrow-and that is one of them.  Speech ended up not coming today. Based on the note I read in my chart, they felt she needed to be more stable. I guess yesterday all the desats made them nervous to work with her. But that’s another question for tomorrow. In my opinion, Olivia is doing wonderful. In fact, Olivia has even gained more weight. She is slightly past 4 lb...