Olivia Update & NICU FAQs

Olivia is holding steady today and yesterday, doing about the same as she did Saturday.  We spoke with one of her doctors today who is hopeful that her next culture will come back negative and then they will be able to insert the picc line and have a better time frame for the number of days she will be on antibiotics.  So that was all positive.  She was having a few dips Sunday, but she is like her momma and she is just sick and tired of being sick and tired.  She also had to have her IV inserted in a different spot and they chose her scalp (which I am glad I knew of before we went in to see her, cause that is really hard to see).

You can see the scalp IV in this picture.

Eyes Open!

Our little Olivia is also known for how much she loves playing with her wires, tubes, etc.  I got a few great pictures today as an example.  This is why they call her Handsy :)

I figured now would be a good time to address some questions we get asked a lot, so far on this journey for any wondering minds...

Q. When will Olivia come home?
A. We actually do not know the answer to this exactly but have a better idea than most everyone, so allow me to enlighten you all.  Olivia will have to meet a number of milestones before she is allowed to come home, the first of those being that she must be 35 weeks old (from conception).  So she will turn 35 weeks on January 2nd, so we know she will not be home before that.  However, they also say to expect her home around her due date (which is February 6th), and anything before would be a bonus.  So in our minds, we are hopefully she will be home sometime between January 2nd and February 6th.  However, having read a number of other NICU baby stories, I also know that it can be after her due date just depending on how she is doing.  So we are hopefully to have her home by February 6th but know it could be earlier or later.

Q. How big is Olivia?
A. Olivia continues to grow daily weight-wise.  They take her weight almost daily (for awhile she was in an isolette that did not weigh her so they gave her a days break in there).  She currently weighs just under 3lbs, so she is up almost 12 oz from her birth weight (or 30% from her birth weight!!!).  Her length at birth was 14.5 inches and we do not have an updated length measurement.

Q. What are the NICU rules?
A. The rules for Olivia vary based on how she is doing.  The overall rules allow two adults in to see her at a time, with one of those having to be her parent.  So although we would love for everyone to come meet her in the NICU, it does limit time that mom, dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles are allowed in.  She can have up to 4 adult visitors a day.  Each person coming in has to scrub their hands and arms (up to the elbow) for 3 minutes with soap and hot water.  Then they have to put on a gown and wear a mask if they have not yet had a flu shot.  No one is allowed in when they are sick.  However, since Olivia is currently fighting an infection, the only people allowed in to see her currently are mom and dad.  In addition to normal protocol, we have to also wear gloves and have to change gloves any time we touch her.

Q. Why are there such crazy rules for going into the NICU?
A. Olivia, like many babies in the NICU was born before she was fully developed and she does not have the immune system that we have and she does not even have the immune system of a full term baby.  So she is extra sensitive and will continue to be extra sensitive even when she comes home, so we will probably be extra cautious with guests and visitors whenever she does come home for the first few months.

Q. How long will she stay in the isolette?
A. Olivia will stay in her isolette until she can regulate her own body temperature, which we have been told occurs around 4 lbs.

Q. How often do you get to hold her?
A. As Olivia is currently fighting an infection, we do not get to hold her, however before she was sick, we were able to hold her almost every day (as she tolerates it) for about an hour, this is called Kangaroo Care, and she would be skin to skin against either her dad or myself (we would alternate so she could get to know us both).  I would say, not being able to hold her is one of the things that is hardest for me.  You expect to have a baby that you can snuggle and get to know through touch and smell and so not being able to do that is a hard one for me!

Any other questions?  Feel free to ask, we are happy to answer any questions we can and I will try to do another FAQs at some point with any questions yall have!