Update #2 on Isabella Rose - February 26, 2006 - 19 days old - Gestational Age: 27 weeks+2 days

Hi Everyone:

Isabella has had a tremendous few days. Last Thursday, she opened her eyes for the first time! A baby's eyes stay fused until about the 26th week, so she was right on time with this milestone, and I was thrilled to be there when it happened.

Since her surgery last Wednesday to close her heart murmur, her lungs have continued to improve. As a result, they reinstated her feedings of special preemie formula which she receives through a tube in her nose that goes directly into her stomach. She receives 2cc every four hours- just to give you an idea of how much this is, there are 5cc in a teaspoon and 30cc in an ounce! But for little Isabella, this is a feast! She is still around 685grams (about 1.5 lbs) but she is trending upward which is important.

Today, we were thrilled to see that Isabella's lung function improved enough for them to extubate her breathing tube from her mouth! This is huge! She now is on "CPAP" which stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; these are two prongs placed inside her nostrils that are attached to tubes which wind their way to her ventilator. As Isabella takes breaths, these prongs deliver supplemental oxygen, as she needs it, and also air pressure, the latter of which keeps the sacs in her lungs open, so she doesn't have to reinflate them with each breath. Incidentally, they tried to extubate Isabella when she
was just five days old, but she lasted only 5 hours before she became very tired and they had to reintubate. As of this writing, she's been going strong for over 12 hours. Go Isabella go!!!!

While still inside the isolette, we held Isabella in our hands yesterday, very briefly. She doesn't tolerate human touch very well at this stage, so mostly, we try not to disturb her, but occasionally Patrick will place his finger inside of her delicate
little hand - and Isabella enthusiastically grabs hold of it - good practice for later when he teaches her how to safely cross Broadway.

Yesterday I changed her tiny diaper. It's about the size of a "post-it- note", and even at that, it's still too big for her. It felt very good to do something so mundane, yet so maternal.

That's it for now. Here are a few pictures of those beautiful eyes, wide open, and her lovely new CPAP.

Talk to you all soon,
Much love,
Marcia, Patrick & Jade