Quiet Day

I'm posting a little early today since my family is on the way. Penelope had a very quiet day, no big developements. She got a little tummy time today, simply for positional changes to prevent bed sores. She will have another echocardiogram tomorrow to check the PDA before her ligation. In very rare cases in can close between the last dose of meds and surgery, so they need to know that before they start.

This morning I got checked out for dizziness. I was really hoping my blood pressure meds were too high and no longer needed. My pressures were down to a reasonable level, but not low enough to cause the dizziness. So they did a blood panel to make sure it wasn't a preeclamptic relapse, and my organ function is back to normal as well as my iron levels. So they did a urine test, and it turns I was dehydrated from the rapid edema weight loss. So, I need to up my fluid in take for a few days while my body adjusts to all this. I will still have my preeclampsia follow up on Monday. So there is still hope I can go of the meds soon!

Kangaroo Care

Despite the surgery on the horizon, today brought amazing things. This morning Penelope let me take a picture of her eyes. Not only that, she was awake for about 15 minutes, so I really got to take it all in. Her morning went well, with no changes to her care. I came back to RMH for lunch and managed to take a 30 minute nap, which really helped. When I got back to the hospital I sat with a mom while her son was having his PDA ligation since none of her family could make it down.  As we were getting ready to do Penelope's 4pm diaper change, the nurse told me the great news that they were going to let me hold her. Not only did I get to hold her, but I had to have enough time to be able to hold her for an hour for Kangaroo care. I wanted 8 hours! I had to wait for an hour after we fed her to let her little body focus on digesting, and then at 5pm it was time. It took 3 nurses to get her out of the bed, onto my chest, and then clamp all her iv's, tubes, and whatnot to my sweatshirt so that way if I moved, it would all go with me. I was instructed not to move, I didn't want to go anywhere anyway! That hour was amazing! I got to hear her breath, feel her wiggle, smell the top of her little head, and let out a sigh of relief. I knew she was going to be okay. I could feel how alive she was, and that's what I needed. After my incredibly short hour was up, the three nurses came back in and put her back in her bed. They told me to check her diaper before we tucked her back in, and sure enough, just as they had hoped, she finally had a substantial poopy diaper! So, it was an absolutely wonderful day! Normally Kangaroo care is 3-4 days apart at this age, but they said we can do it again on Sunday so that Jeremy can hold her while he is here. We won't be able to pick her up for about a week after surgery. I'm incredibly greatful that we will have both held her before her surgery.

Eyes

I'm pretty tired tonight, so I'm going to keep this short. This morning brought the awesome surprise the Penny opened her eyes! She didn't show them to me very much, but they were certainly open! I tried to get a picture, but every time I got ready to take it she shut them tight. A nurse from the cardiology team came down to talk to me about the PDA Ligation, and I feel pretty comfortable with all of that. So we are pretty much in a holding pattern until Monday. Oh, and her weight today is 1lb 13oz! So we are on our way!