Rachel's Journal - Month 2

Week 9	September 29, 2003 to October 3, 2003
Oct 3	Rachel's still suffers from constipation. The pediatrician suggested cutback pedialylte to 15cc/twice a day. She spit up milk...usually a mouthful...3 or 4 mouthful once...after her some of feeds and possibly while trying to pass gas today. Looks like Mommy increased her formula intake too fast (55-60cc/3-4hrs)...cut back please, Mommy. She was up for over 3 hours at 5PM today.
Oct 2	Today is Rachel's lunar two month. Mommy likes to keep track because a lunar month is shorter, so Rachel reach her monthly milestone faster ;-) Rachel turned blue for a second while trying to pass gas during the night...spooky! She turned blue again while mommy was bottle feeding her...possibly because she was trying to pass gas at the same time. Daddy gave her some oxygen and she got some color back.
Oct 1	Rachel had her first bowel movement in 48 hours during the night. She was constipated, the poor girl. Mommy will give her pedialyte more frequently. She had another movement in the afternoon, hopefully she's back to normal. She slept all day again.
Sep 30	Rachel was fussy as usual at night. She slept most of the day. Mommy managed to keep her awake for the first half of her PT by giving her a bath beforehand. She is able to stay in a sitting position for some time without getting too tire. She can also focus and follow an object with her eyes for a short period of time.
Sep 29	Rachel was awake as usual during the night. She's more awake during the day as well. Increased formula intake to 50cc/3 hrs.

Week 8	September 22, 2003 to September 28, 2003
Sep 28	A typical night and day for Rachel.
Sep 27	Rachel had a difficult night, perhaps as a result of the vaccinations. She spit out milk from the mouth during the 12AM feed which lead Daddy to stop the feed with 20cc left. Then Mommy knock the remaining milk all over the carpet :-o Guess Daddy will have to break out the bissell later. She took the 3AM feed with no problem, but the 6AM feed was going very slow...like she didn't want it, so Daddy stopped it again with 20cc left. She seemed okay after that and slept soundly throughout the day. There was no fever though she seemed warm at times nor any reaction at the vaccine sites.
Sep 26	No such luck Mommy! Rachel was alert and fussy as usual at night. Appointment with the Pediatrician today. The Pediatrician advised against getting the brace for the hip since the tests showed no problem :-) Mommy will cancel the appointment for the brace fitting scheduled for next week. Received 4 vaccination shots: HIB, DTAP (without P), IPV and PVC7. Rachel did great, so far no reaction to the shots. Weight is 5lb 6oz. Gained 10oz from two weeks ago! Rachel ventured out to the mall for the first time. She slept through the excursion while Mommy shopped.
Sep 25	It was a normal Rachel night and day. She was awake for a couple of hours at the 6PM feed, so maybe it'll be a good night for Mommy :-)
Sep 24	Back to her old schedule, wide awake and fussy between 3AM and 6AM. Orthopedist appointment today. Both the ultrasound and x-ray are normal, but the doctor noticed Rachel's left hip was loose during the exam. He recommended a brace for 6 weeks as a precautionary measure. Followup in 3 weeks. Scheduled brace fitting next week. No success with oral feeding. Rachel can suck, but have trouble swallowing the liquid. The speech therapist has no solution for the problem. Perhaps as she grows Rachel will manage to take a bottle, but it does not look promising right now. Therapist suggests offering finger or pacifier during tube feeds so she won't lose her sucking reflex.
Sep 23	Rachel was very good during the night. She slept deeply after the 12AM feed. She was awake for an hour at the 3AM feed, but was not fussy. She then woke up for the 6AM feed and stayed up for another two hours. She slept through the day, even during the physical therapy. She's awake after the 6:30PM feed for only an hour.
Sep 22	Rachel was a little fussy after the 12AM and 3AM feeds. She finally settled down at 5AM. Rachel managed to stay awake between 3PM and 5PM today. Hopefully, that means she'll sleep tonight. It's getting more difficult inserting the NG-tube now. Rachel knows when it's coming and tries to block it. Sometimes she is successful in keeping it in her throat which is very scary for Mommy and Daddy. Today, the tube went in but Daddy couldn't hear anything when checking the tube placement. That has never happened before! Still not much success with bottle feed. 40-45cc/3 hr feeding schedule. Mylicon almost at every feed and 30cc pedialyte twice a day.

Week 7	September 15, 2003 to September 21, 2003
Sep 21	Rachel was up between 12AM and 4:30AM. She woke up at 6AM really hungry and Mommy was able to bottle feed her ~35cc. Today, Mommy's family finally came visiting. Mommy has a smaller family, only grandma, 4 aunts and uncles and 3 cousins. So now everyone has seen and held her. Rachel was awake for a couple of hours at 3PM after everyone left.
Sep 20	Rachel was fussy from 12AM to 3AM. She fell asleep at 4AM and was fine for the rest of the night. Rachel had a big day today. All of Daddy's family, grandma and grandpa, 11 aunts and uncles, and 4 young cousins came over to celebrate grandpa's birthday. Rachel slept through it all!
Sep 19	Daddy took care her from 12AM to 6AM while Mommy got a good night's sleep :-* Rachel did not give Daddy hard time. She was sleeping off and on through the night. Still sleeping during the day. She seemed a little blue around the mouth in the afternoon so Daddy gave her some oxygen for first time. She probably didn't need it, but Daddy used it since it was there. The scale arrived and Daddy was right. Rachel is 5lb 1oz.
Sep 18	Rachel was awake from the 12AM feed until 5AM today. She'd fall asleep in Mommy or Daddy's arms, but woke up to be fussy when she was put down in her crib or bassinet. She fell asleep around 5AM and slept through the day. She's been pooping only once a day for the past couple of days. Mylicon at almost every feed helps a great deal with her gas. Still getting 30cc pedialyte twice a day. She's also been losing alot of hair, almost bald from the front :-o Her face is getting rounder and looks more like her cousins. Daddy thinks she's already 5lbs, but there is no way of knowing until the scale he ordered comes on Monday.
Sep 17	Rachel woke up at 2:30AM a bit hungry. Mommy started to bottle feed her using the Haberman bottle. She took about 20cc between squirts and sucks before Mommy gave up. She then pulled her tube while Mommy was starting to feed her the remaining 25cc, so Mommy decided to squirt the remaining 25cc. Mommy then added another 10cc to make up for some that was lost, spit out, spilt during the feed. It took more than an hour for this and Rachel probably did not get the full amount. After another 15cc at 5AM, Rachel fell asleep. She slepts through the day again.
Sep 16	Rachel was up again between 2AM and 5AM feeds. She was a bit fussy but not the loud cries of past nights. Eventually she drifted off at 4:15AM. Mommy had to wake her up at 5AM for the next feed. Rachel was awake a couple of hours between 2PM and 4PM. She was sleepy for her physical therapy and hungry for her speech therapy. Her oral feeding continues to be a struggle. She rejects the bottle when hungry and does not suck when not hungry. Feeding schedule shifted to an hour later.
Sep 15	Rachel was up again between 1:30AM and 5AM. She seems to be waking up earlier for her feed now so Mommy thinks she's not getting enough. She will increase Rachel's intake to 45cc at every other feed. Rachel is still having problems with gas. She is still getting mylicon every 6 hours and 30cc pedialyte twice a day. She continues to sleep during most of the day.

Week 6	September 8, 2003 to September 14, 2003
Sep 14	Rachel was extremely fussy at night. She did not finish the 2AM feed and cried off and on between 2AM and 5AM. Mommy took over from Daddy at 3AM. There was nothing Mommy and Daddy can do to calm Rachel. Finally at 4:30AM, Rachel took about 35cc of formula by bottle and fell asleep. Mommy and Daddy decided Rachel may be having gas and pooping problems again. They will give Rachel mylicon every 6 hours and 30cc pedialyte twice a day again. Rachel slept most of the day. She was awake and slightly fussy between 5PM and 7:30PM.
Sep 13	Rachel had a good night. Grandma, Grandpa and a couple of uncles came to visit but Rachel was sleeping during the whole time they were here.
Sep 12	Rachel was wide awake between 12AM and 4AM. She kept Daddy up until 3AM when Mommy took over. Rachel fell asleep after the 3AM feed. She woke up hungry at 6:30AM, but took only 23cc from the bottle. Mommy had to tube feed the remaining 17cc. She was fussy during the last 3cc so Mommy had to stop the feed. Pediatrician appointment today. Weighs 4lb 11.5oz. Gained 5.5oz from last week. Full physical in two weeks.
Sep 11	Rachel was awake between 2:30AM and 5AM again. Luckily Mommy got some sleep before then :-) Rachel was more alert during the day. She was awake between 3PM and 7PM. Even got some belly time which she did not like.
Sep 10	Back on the 3 hour feeding schedule. Rachel seems to be wide awake between 2AM and 5AM and sleeps thru most of day. She's pooping less frequently now, twice a day. Hospice delivered oxygen.
Sep 9	Another fussy night. Mommy and Daddy are not sure what's bothering Rachel. They decided to go back to the 3 hour feeding schedule around the clock. Rachel is now getting 40cc/3-4 hrs. Appointment with the orthopedist. He said hip x-rays on an infant are inconclusive and ordered an ultrasound. He also advise some daily exercises for her hips. Followup in two weeks.
Sep 8	Rachel was fussy during the night again. Mommy thinks it's gas related. She slept most of the day but was alert for her first session of therapies. Results from the hip x-ray indicate problems. Appointment with the orthopedist tomorrow.

Week 5	September 4, 2003 to September 8, 2003
Sep 7	Rachel was fussy after the 12AM feed. She stayed up until the 4AM feed, then fell asleep. She slept through most of the day again. She has not pooped in 24 hours, so Mommy and Daddy decided to feed her pedialyte from a new bottle. They also started to use the powder NeoSure instead of the pre-mixed ready to feed bottles.
Sep 6	Rachel had her hip x-ray. Results will be available Monday.
Sep 5	Pediatrician appointment today. Weight is 4lbs 6oz for gain of 4oz from the last visit. Mommy and Daddy went over the early intervention evaluation with the doctor. He wants Rachel to get a x-ray ASAP. Mommy set up the x-ray appointment for tomorrow and the pediatric cardiologist appointment for Oct 7. Rachel slept most of the afternoon.
Sep 4	Rachel is 1 month old! She got a small cake for the occassion (only Mommy and Daddy ate the cake of course). She was evaluated by early invention and will start speech and physical therapy next week. Mommy hopes the therapy will improve Rachel's bottle intake so she can get rid of the NG-tube. The doctor thought Rachel's left hip may be dispaced and will need an x-ray to confirm.