Back to the Hospital

Sorry its been a few days since we've posted. The internet is out at our house and we've been pretty busy. Its actually been overwhelming how busy I am during the day. I spend so much time taking care of Julianne (she gets medications at 7 different times everyday) that its been hard to find time to spend with her. Its also hard to work around the continuous feeds. She's always hooked up to her pump and requires quite a lot of coordination to get her from one room to the next. I think its starting to get better though. We're just trying to find ways to make things go smoother. Getting to the doctor's office on time and in one piece is a whole different story...

After changing Julianne's diaper last night, she immediately threw up...formula. This should not have happened because her feeding tube empties into her small intestine, not her belly. It was the first time it happened so we didn't panic. We just made sure we were watching her closely (which we do anyway) and finished getting ready for bed.

Last night was Julianne's first GOOD night in the Tucker Sling. She slept just fine until about 5:30AM when she began gagging. I ran over and sat her up then she heaved and vomited. I took her out of the crib, cleaned her up, rocked her back to sleep and put her back into bed. Not 2 minutes later she was vomiting again. So, I called the pediatrician on call. She told me to go ahead and bring Julianne in to the E.R. to check the tube placement (this has to be done by x-ray).

Julianne's tube placement was fine. However, her doctor preferred that we be admitted and stay at least overnight to make sure she doesn't have anymore vomiting episodes. He said it could just be a one time thing. Her tube may have slipped up just enough to get formula into the belly and then slipped back into place.

So, that's where we are now. Julianne is back at Ochsner and on continuous feeding with no bottle feeding. We're hoping to be out tomorrow and get back to trying to get used to all of this at home.

Julianne had her first pediatrician appointment on Friday. She now weighs 8lbs, 10 oz and is 22 inches long! She got 4 vaccinations. Her doctor said she should not be around any kids or large groups right now. He said to limit visitors and not allow anyone to kiss her and get right in her face. Also, no travel either. He said maybe by Christmas we can go somewhere. We're really not too worried about travel right now. We're just focused on keeping the tube in, keeping the formula down and keeping the sick germs out.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers!