1 month! (2 lbs & 7 ounces)

Lana has been chugging along for a month now. So many things have happened. The doctors were definitely on point when they say it's a lot of ups and downs. Lot's of highlights and downfalls can happen in the same day.

They have done 3 head ultrasounds since she was born, and they all have been negative for bleeding thus far. They will do another one tomorrow, and then perform them monthly as a routine check. 

They will also be doing another ECHO on her in a few days. She has a moderately sized PDA that they are concerned about. It's basically a hole in their heart that allows a portion of the oxygenated blood from the left heart to flow back to the lungs by flowing from the aorta (which has higher pressure) to the pulmonary artery. If this shunt is substantial, Lana becomes short of breath and the additional fluid returning to the lungs increases lung pressure to the point that she has greater difficulty inflating the lungs (see image below). This hole usually closes upon birth for most babies, but sometimes they don't. If it gets worse then they will have to perform surgery on her. 

She still has bouts of respiratory distress (oxygen desaturation) but it seems some days are better than others. We're hoping she has more good ones than bad ones. 

Her glucose levels were all over the place last week. But for now, she's settled down and been consistent. She has been growing steadily and now weighs 2-lbs 7 ounces! Furthermore, she has started to suckle on her pacifier. This was something I couldn't picture in my head a couple of weeks ago.

#upwardsandonwards