Feb 6-11

• There hasn’t been much going on with Olivia, which is why we haven’t updated recently. Honestly, this is a good thing.
• Antibiotics:
  • She’s on day 19/21 for her antibiotic. Once she finishes on Tuesday, her care team plans to take two blood cultures. If they are both negative, the next step will be for Olivia to move to Children’s Hospital to have her PDA procedure. We are all looking forward to this next step in her care and development.
• Eyes:
  • This week, Olivia had an eye exam again – she’s still “Immature Zone 2”, which is nothing to worry about. 
  • She will get another exam next week. The team checks her eyes weekly because this is around the time when retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) could show up.
• Pulmonary Hypertension/lungs:
  • Her PPHN is “resolving”, in that it is better than it was a week ago. 
  • Her nitric oxide has been weaned from 20 ppm to 3 ppm. The team plans to consult the Cardiology team at Childen’s to see if Olivia needs a supplementary medication in order to fully get off the nitric.
  • Olivia’s supplementary O2 has been in the 50s-60s for the most part. We would like to see it drop down into the 30s or lower.
• Other:
  • Olivia is being given another medication for slightly elevated bilirubin levels
  • She has lost hand privileges, due to how often she pulls out her feeding tube. She tends to grab onto her breathing tube as well, which is not recommended. To keep this from happening, she has been swaddled (she is an adorable burrito), or placed in what is essentially a mesh laundry bag. The NICU calls it a “woombie”, used to keep babies feeling swaddled while letting them somewhat move around if they’re warm, but we know it’s really a soft straightjacket. Olivia doesn’t seem to mind. She’s also been able to wear little onesies for the first time!

• Becky and Max have been able to hold her. Olivia LOVES being held, and settles in nicely.