Breathe in, breathe out

There is this song that begins with this chanting of 'breathe in, breathe out'. At times, as we've faced infections with Annie, practiced taking her off of CPAP, and now, when her breathing is raggedy and scary, I keep thinking of this little chant. The past few days have been scary as Annie has struggled to breathe comfortably. We've put her on steroids (she's on 2 different ones) and are working hard to keep her out of the hospital. So far, her O2 levels are awesome so we've been able to manage her care at home along with frequent visits to her doctor (who is the awesomist). I think Annie's biggest challenge is she has something called muscous plugs in her chest. We've all had them (yes, even you dear reader) but we have the ability to hack them up. Annie doesn't. So we need to pound on her back to break them up while giving her the meds we have to help her lungs relax and stop wheezing.

We've made this a family effort: Luke turns on her nebulizer (it steams like a choo choo = cool); Steve holds her upright so she doesn't make herself vomit with all the coughing and I nag everyone and read scary articles that I shouldn't be reading.

So, it's been a tough road but we will persevere. Annie is the toughest of us all -she still manages to look up at us and smile while she is getting her treatments. There is nothing I want more than for this little one to be cut a break. But, if we have to go through this, then I am so thankful that we have such wonderful family and medical care to allow us to give this little girl every resource available. We'll make it through, it's just going to take a little while.

Raising a super hero

So Annie went her for her check-in appt at Lenox Hill. It was so wonderful to see her doctors and nurses who ran around calling her 'fat' (yes, fat is a compliment in a NICU of itty bitty babies!). We got to meet up with our buddy and former roomie Jaeden who is doing so well Elly barely recognized him!

Annie is doing great and seems to be experiencing issues that are typical for a preemie. We need to step in and be her masseuse by including more massage in her day and focus on her legs and neck where she is particularly tense at this point.

The stressful part began when, during the appointment, we all realized that Annie was wheezing pretty heavily. Her pediatrician was amazing and saw her right away. Annie's breathing was tight, she was given a nebulizer treatment and we were given a nebulizer to take home and have been treating her every four hours. Poor thing. I just hate that she is on more medication but it's making a tremendous difference and her breathing is improving.

Just when we think that is under control, I noticed some bruising on Annie that is troubling. I've spoken with her pediatrician and we are taking her in tomorrow for some blood work to get to the bottom of this. More tests and doctor's visits.

There are many lessons in the past 24 hours. We are all having to learn to be more attentive to her while accepting (and embracing!) the fact that she is a big girl now. Our NICU days are gone, but a small cough or cold can quickly become some labored breathing that requires a little more attention than we are used to. Luke will have a sniffle and we bring out the tissues. With Annie, we bring out the synagist and nebulizer. She is our super hero who has overcome so much but even super heros need to be on the look out for kryptonite.

Thankfully, the miracles of modern medicine and the gift of a wonderful, caring pediatrician allow us to act fast and provide much of this care at home. We are determined to stay out of the hospital!!

Love to everyone!!!

Annie update

Annie is now just shy of 12 pounds!! She's offically in 3 month gear and truly thriving. She is even starting to hit the charts of a 'normal' 4 month old baby. I just love the stats: height is around 5%, weight 15%, head 25%. Wow, is that one Daugherty size head. Apparently, the well roundedness of her head is a great thing for a preemie (not sure why). We did find out at her doc visit that she has thrush (and I thought her tongue was milky from all of the formula!) so she is on some medication for that. One more dose to juggle...

We are so thankfull that Annie got started on synagist (sp?) early. It is really keeping her healthy despite the presence of her brother/really cute germ. Luke just loves to give her kisses and hugs and lecture us on how to take appropriate care of his 'Ana'.

Here are some photos taken during Labor Day weekend...yes, I know, it's currently October... Enjoy!

4 month bday!

Annie turned 4 months this weekend. She welcomed her 4 month-day weighing in at 10 LBS and celebrated at our family summer place with Aunt Kit and Uncle Nate. Unfortunately, Annie is battling a cold and is has been very hard for her to keep her food down. After a rough night, we have found that we can avoid chronic vomiting if we feed her an ounce at a time. It takes a while, but it is a relief to see her keeping some food down.

The million dollar baby

Well, thank God for insurance. Annie's medical bills are starting to come in and we have already topped 100k. The girl knows how to spend money! Fortunately, our health insurance is quite comprehensive and we are comfortably covered. I share this with you because the nature of our health care system does not leave every family in a similar feeling of comfort. I can't imagine how families would survive this enourmous medical bills without insurance. This is an election year, folks. There are a lot of families out there who need the government to step up and provide adequate support in times of medical emergency. Do your homework and don't forget to vote!

Miracle Grow!

We had our check up with the pediatrician today and were shocked to find that she is up to 8lbs 2 oz!! Finally, after 3 long months she is the size of a term baby. It is just amazing to look at her and see such a healthy baby. What is hard is realizing we are just entering this phase now..at 3 months. It was hard to be asked developmental questions today and respond that she is just not there yet. Don't worry, we are all ok and have not lost sight of the real truth: this little one is our hero. She has been through so much in the past 3 months. Taking a little while to offically smile or hold her head up is fine with us.

Annie will have her early intervention assessment by the staff at Lenox Hill next month. We'll see where she is then. In the meantime, Luke has a birthday next week and starts school tomorrow. Annie has some BIG PLANS. Pics to follow.

Feisty toughens up

Annie is just doing so well and was offically discharged by her visiting nurse today! She is developing so quickly it's hard to keep up. She is grabbing at her bottle, batting at toys on her gym and trying to hold her head up. She actually FITS into newborn clothes now. Luke continues to just adore Annie. She gives him little kisses and grabs at his hands which leaves him elated and running in circles. When Luke wakes up in the morning, he goes straight to her saying. "Annie! Annie".

How did we get so lucky?

We see the doctor again next week - more later!