Author: MG

Sunday, 01 Aug 2004

03

Gabriella’s BEST Day of Eating

She ate 420ml (milliliters) over 24 hrs. To put that into perspective, the volume your typical wine bottle is 750ml. That may not sound like much but when you weigh less than 8 pounds, it is a lot.

On the advice of the Lactation consultant, we bumped up her feeding to every 3 hours (from every 4 hours). It usually takes her about 45 minutes to finish her meal of 60 ml (2.0 ounces). After a quick burp session it is back to sleep for about two hours and then the cycle begins again.

Gabriella’s weight remained the same, 7lbs, 4oz on Friday’s visit to TAMC. Although she is in no immediate danger, everyone is eager for her to put on some weight. As such, we are now boosting her caloric intake by adding a bit of formula to the Milk Mama pumps for her. Well that’s about all for now……………….I think somebody needs to eat 🙂

Thank you for your prayers.

Lucy’s First Burger

Wednesday, 28 Jul 2004

We headed to TAMC bright and early this morning for Gabriella’s appointment. She weighed in at 7.4 oz – the same as two day before. We were disappointed she had not gained weight but at least she had not lost any – a small victory.  The doctors were pleased with her appearance and how her lungs sounded.  They said they won’t do another chest X-ray for several weeks – as this type of pneumonia changes very slowly.

In the afternoon Dad and Lucy went grocery shopping at the commissary.  On the way there we made a special trip to the USMC Kaneohe airfield to watch the aircraft in the pattern doing “touch and go’s.”  Lucy loves watching the aircraft up close and always exclaims “WOW!” when they fly by.  The big treat of the visit was when two huge CH-53/Sea Stallion helo’s flew directly over us…double WOW!!!

Once home, we made barbecued hamburgers for dinner.  Lucy decided to finally try one of Dad’s famous burgers…first a nibble, then a bite, then several bites – she’s hooked.  That’s all the news for now.

Thank you for your prayers.

Possibly Pneumonia

Monday, 26 Jul 2004

Gabriella’s lack of appetite and increasingly frequent cough prompted us to take her TAMC (Tripler Army Medical Center) this morning. Her weight 7.4 oz, was down from 7.7 oz on 23 July.

The doctor’s felt her lack of appetite was probably attributable to a cold/congestion. Since infants breathe through their nose when they feed, Gabriella made the prudent choice of oxygen over food. They directed us to use saline solution and a bulb extractor to keep her nose clear. Additionally, they bumped up her diuretic medication in order to reduce her fluid throughout.

Once we were back home the doctors called to inform us that today’s chest X-ray revealed possible indications of pneumonia, so she is now on a once-a-day antibiotic (Zithromax dose: 0.5 ml) medicine for the next five days. On the bright side! Lisa seems to have cracked the feeding code this afternoon. By positioning Gabriella on her side with her head slightly elevated and turned, she can breathe and eat! She has been eating very well since this afternoon – polishing of more than 6 oz of milk in what has been pretty much continuous feeding. Good interest, appetite, and sucking action all have Mom and Dad breathing a much needed sigh of relief.

Thank you for your prayers.