3/24 Update 2 -- What a Great Day!

What a great day! (knock on wood) Hope was extubated around Noon, and tolerated it very well. However, because of her previous respiratory distress and a morning chest X-ray that was a little cloudy, the attending doctor did want to resume feeding until she "proved herself". Only thing is, now she knows what a full belly feels like, and will have to go without food in her stomach for 24 hours. She had started on 5ml/hour of breast milk through the NG tube yesterday, and as she tolerated it, they gradually ramped her up to 22ml/hour. However, they had to stop around 4AM this morning to ensure an empty stomach in case they had to re-intubate after extubating.

The best, though, was when I walked into the room and Monica was cradling Hope in the bed. After she got her fair share, I got a turn to sort of hold her as well. Shortly thereafter we were able to hold her for real. No time limits. No rushing off to surgery. Just quality bonding with this little girl who's been through so much already in her short 4 days on earth. It was awesome and definitely lifted our spirits.

Even though Hope couldn't eat she was basically really easy. She kept showing off her suck/swallow/breathe coordination like a world champ. I was dying for the attending to stop by so Hope could make her own case for feeding. Her little cry was hoarse and raspy from having the breathing tube down her throat. At one point, she did get herself worked up enough that her incision began to bleed. The nurse asked one of the cardiologists to do an echo just to be sure that the bleeding was not something more serious that a little trauma to the incision. The doctor did not seem to think that the bleeding was a result of a larger issue.

Hope had a wonderful time with and would like to thank all of her visitors today! Thanks!

[Click here or on photo above for more pics]