Rachel's Journal - Month 7

Week 31	March 1, 2004 to March 3, 2004
Mar 3	The baby orajel must have work...Rachel had an excellent night. She a bit fussy after her late night feed, but settled down after Daddy gave her some baby orajel. She slept through the 3AM feed. She was up bright and early for the morning feed with Daddy. Mommy had to get up at 8AM so Daddy can go to work...okay with Mommy as she had some sleep :-) Rachel stayed up till noon and was up again between 3PM to 6PM. She was calm and playful today...Mommy really enjoy it when Rachel's not in discomfort. Mommy woke Rachel for a bath at 9PM...it was time for an early birthday celebration since Rachel will be in the hospital tomorrow...7 months! Rachel had a heart shape jello 'cake' this month because Daddy's still on a low carb diet...didn't come out very well, the whip cream melted while Mommy was doing the candles...oh well, a real cake next month :-) Surgery tomorrow, bright and early at 7:30AM...hope everything goes well.
Mar 2	Rachel finally settled down enough for Daddy to insert the NG-tube at midnight...over an hourpast her feeding time. Mommy tried to quickly feed her, but Rachel spit up in the middle of the feed. Rachel finally fell asleep after the clothes change and finished the feed...it was past 1AM. She was again restless and woke every 20-30 minutes. At 3AM, she gave out some loud screams and wouldn't stop no matter what way Mommy turned her. She was still screaming in Mommy's arms when Daddy woke and took over. Mommy slept for a couple of hours when Daddy calmed and fed her. She was fussy again at 5AM when Mommy took over. She settled down at 6AM...again with 20-30 minutes crying intervals. Rachel was fussy again after Daddy fed her at 8AM...Mommy got up to take over so Daddy can go to work. Rachel settled down at 9AM, then woke up by a spit up at 9:45AM...she stayed up...fussy still. Daddy came home at 2PM, so he can take Rachel to see the Pediatrician for pre-op check up. The surgery's a go...Rachel's cleared for Thurs...only two more days, can't wait. Daddy thinks he's figured out why Rachel's been so fussy for the past few days. He saw Rachel had TWO new bubbles (big ones) on her gums...one on the top and one on the bottom...the poor baby. Mommy will try some baby orajel tonight to see if it helps.
Mar 1	Another rough night...sigh! Rachel was restless the whole night...sleep 20-30 minutes...wake with cries of unknown origin. Mommy stayed up with her till after 4AM when Daddy took over. Mommy took Rachel back at 8AM so Daddy can go to work. Rachel fussed for another hour half before drifting off to a more restful sleep. She slept till about 1PM...it was a gorgeous day out, 60 degrees...Mommy took Rachel out for a walk...all the way to Connecticut...only a 15 minutes walk :-) Rachel slept again from 3PM to 7PM, then stayed up for 3 hours. Trouble with tube insertion today...just can't wait to get rid of the NG-tube. A new shipment of NG-tubes arrived today without an order being placed. Someone must have got in trouble last month, so they made sure Rachel gets her tubes on time. Hopefully there won't be any need for them. Rachel gets 18-19 oz/day, 30-60cc Pedialyte/day, 3mg Furosemide (Lasix)/twice daily, 15mcg Lanoxin (Digoxin)/twice daily, 0.7cc Zantac/twice daily, and Mylicon as needed. Rachel's 8lb 7oz...gained 2oz from last week.

Week 30	February 23, 2004 to February 29, 2004
Feb 29	It's a leap year...Rachel spit up quite a bit after her midnight feed. She was a bit cranky afterwards but was too tired to fuss...she was asleep by 12:30AM. Rachel slept well until 2AM when she woke for a diaper change...she slept fitfully after that (making noise every 20-30 minutes). She was awake after her morning feed, but both Mommy and Daddy were too tire. Mommy finally got up at 9AM to comfort the crying baby. Rachel stayed up till 1PM and slept away the entire afternoon and evening. She woke for a couple of hours at 7PM to 9PM. Mommy was on strike all weekend...Daddy cared for Rachel again today :-*
Feb 28	A fussy night for Rachel. She woke at 2AM for a diaper change and stayed awake for the next feed at 3AM. She fell asleep during the feed, but woke 15 minutes later...quite fussy, woke up Daddy and he took over from an exhausted Mommy at 4AM. Rachel continued to fuss until after the morning feed. She was exhausted after the busy night and slept away the morning and afternoon. Rachel was up from 7PM to midnight. She had a couple of big spit ups today. Rachel was a bit more fussy than the past few days...Mommy had been spoiled by all those good days. Daddy cared for Rachel all day...from 4AM to 11PM...gave Mommy a break...what a nice Daddy Rachel has! Mommy went to the market, 3 markets as the first two were out of Rachel's formula...Nestle's Good Start Supreme.
Feb 27	Rachel was wide awake after her feed at 3AM. Mommy managed to keep up with her until 4AM...Mommy dozed off with Rachel on her, awake but calm. At 5:30AM, Mommy put Rachel down, still awake...Daddy took over from there. Rachel slept most of the day after her all nighter.
Feb 26	Rachel's on a roll :-)...another good day! Rachel woke at midnight for a diaper change and stayed up for an hour. She was a bit restless when she went back to sleep so Mommy placed Rachel on top of her...Rachel stayed there until the next feed which went smoothly while she was still half asleep. Daddy said Rachel woke him up at 5AM...Mommy didn't hear a thing...she was a bit fussy, but Daddy had it all under control. Mommy woke by a crying Rachel at 7:30AM...Daddy was too tired to pick her up, so Mommy got up and comforted her. Rachel was asleep by 8:30AM...Mommy gave her some pedialyte and went back to bed herself. Rachel stayed up after her 10:30AM feed to about noon. She was up again for a couple of hours at 2PM. Mommy napped with her at 4PM for a couple of hours. She woke at 6PM and stayed up until 11PM. She's been very comfortable all week...at fussy time, she can be calmed by lying belly down on Mommy or Daddy...there's nothing Mommy love more than lying on the sofa with Rachel doing nothing more than watch TV :-)...very different from the days when nothing can comfort her...if things continue like this, Mommy may start to think about cardiac surgery :-O.
Feb 25	Rachel was wide awake at midnight...well rested after all that sleep during the day. That was quite alright with Mommy because she has gotten used to staying up until 3 or 4AM and has trouble sleeping any ealier. Rachel was nice and quiet until just before her feed at 2:30AM...she start crying loudly, so loud it woke up Daddy. Mommy changed her diaper, gave her mylicon, started her feed. Finally she settled down in the bouncer with lots of bounces...could be the mylicon kicked in, or the bouncing, or no longer starving, or all of the above. She slept thru the rest of the night. She was up at 10AM for a couple of hours, then again at 6PM for 3 hours. All in all, another pretty good day...that's three in a row...must be a record. :-D
Feb 24	Rachel had another good day. She almost slept the whole day...awake only between 3PM and 6PM. She had her first and only PT in Feb and did pretty well. Her tracking has improved. She tried and almost succeded to turned on her side using the abdominal muscles. She'll need to strengthen those in order to sit. She spit up a couple of times today...guess this is an ongoing problem. Her head has been very sweaty since the cold, especially when she sleep. Mommy thinks she wakes up frequently for position change because of the sweat. What does it mean? Guess it's something to ask the ped next week.
Feb 23	Rachel had a great day! Only one spit up in the morning. She slept good and was calm and quiet during her wake times...8AM to 11AM and 6PM to 10PM. Her comfortable position was still belly down on Mommy or Daddy. Rachel gets 18 oz/day, 30-60cc Pedialyte/day, 3mg Furosemide (Lasix)/twice daily, 15mcg Lanoxin (Digoxin)/twice daily, 0.7cc Zantac/twice daily, and Mylicon as needed. Rachel's 8lb 5oz...gained 2oz from last week.

Week 29	February 16, 2004 to February 22, 2004
Feb 22	A nice quiet day home with Mommy and Daddy. Rachel was a tire lamb and slept most of the day. She was a bit fussy in evening and would only quiet down belly down on Mommy or Daddy...so she spent to whole evening sleeping on Mommy while she watched TV. Rachel still has a slight runny nose...quite bothersome for her...hopefully it'll be gone soon and she won't get a mutated bug from Mommy who still has a bit of a cough.
Feb 21	It was not a very good night. Rachel decided to stay awake after the diaper change at 1AM. Mommy stay up after debating with Daddy for 30 minutes...actually Daddy said he was going to stay up while falling asleep and Mommy tried but couldn't fall asleep. Rachel fell asleep after the feed at 2:30AM...Mommy stayed up an extra half hour to make sure she does not spit...she spit up at 3:30AM, so much for predictability. Rachel was restless for the remaining of the night...kept Mommy up until 5AM. She was fine with Daddy in the morning. The temperature reached 50 degrees today...Mommy and Daddy took Rachel out for the weekly shopping. She was quite well behaved the whole afternoon. Still gets quite a bit of spit ups...some things are hard to get rid of.
Feb 20	Rachel woke at 1:30AM for a diaper change and decided to stayed awake. It was only an hour from the next feed so Mommy decided to stay up with her. She fell asleep during the feed but woke half hour later for a spit up. It was almost 3:30AM when Mommy finally put her down and went to bed herself. Rachel was good for the rest of the night and early morning. She woke at 10AM and stayed up till after 3PM...not counting the few 10 minute naps. She was up again at 6PM for food and stayed up after her bath till 9PM...think it may be a good night for Mommy :-)
Feb 19	Rachel was wide awake after her 4AM feed...neither Mommy nor Daddy were in the mood to entertain her. She demanded attention with some cries and spit ups...okay she was uncomfortable with lots of mucous...suction, suction and more suction. She finally settled down after the 10:30AM feed and slept for a couple of hours with Mommy. She stayed up for a couple of hours between 1PM and 3PM...content after more suction. She then slept for 3 hours, longest continuous sleep in a while for her. Rachel was very happy after her bath today...smiles, giggles and squeals...all recorded on video :-) She got tired and fell asleep at 10PM...only to be woken 15 minutes later by the tube insertion. She did went right back to sleep immediately after the feed.
Feb 18	Half a dose of medicine was a bad idea...Mommy was in a semi-wake state all night long...awake enough to hear every sound Rachel made, but too tired to get up to comfort her :-(...gotta go with the full dose tonight...poor Daddy! Only a couple of minor spit ups for the little pumpkin today...did not even need to change clothes. Her sleep continued to be choppy...guess she had to change position now and then because she can't breath. Hope she will get better soon...she's been sick the whole month of Feb. Mommy was useless after taking a full dose of Nyquil at 7:30PM. She managed to get a few hours of sleep, not the continuous 10 hours she had hope. Rachel hanged out with Daddy for the night.
Feb 17	Rachel continued with her poor sleeping pattern. She did not spit up as much today...only needed to change clothes once. Not much sneezing and coughing...just alot of mucous...suction, suction. She was up for an hour or two during day and a couple of hours in the evening. She was very quite...just wanted to be held. Mommy's cold has gotten worse...she decided to let Daddy care for Rachel at midnight, took some cold medicine and went to bed early.
Feb 16	Rachel slept poorly during the night...kept waking up every hour or so. She pretty much slept the whole day like that. She was not too fussy...just uncomfortable from all the cold symptoms. Mommy called the pediatrician to see if there's any over the counter medications that can help the poor baby. He said no...she's too small the OTC meds...just have to wait it out...poor little pumpkin :-( She's spitting less in volume if not in frequency since Mommy cut back on the feeds a little. Mommy's getting a bit sickly as well :-(...got the sore throat and running nose. Rachel gets 18 oz/day, 30-60cc Pedialyte/day, 3mg Furosemide (Lasix)/twice daily, 15mcg Lanoxin (Digoxin)/twice daily, 0.7cc Zantac/twice daily, and Mylicon as needed. Rachel's 8lb 3oz...gained 2oz from last week.

Week 28	February 9, 2004 to February 15, 2004
Feb 15	Rachel spit up again at 1AM...almost 2AM when Mommy put her down again. Rachel slept pretty well for the rest of night. Her cold symptoms has gotten worse...lot of sneezing...some coughing...runny nose...phlem...the poor pumpkin. The sneezing and coughing seemed to trigger her spit ups lately. Considering she's fighting a cold, Rachel's very good today...not too fussy.
Feb 14	Happy Valentine's Day! Daddy took care of Rachel at midnight so Mommy can get some rest. Rachel kept him up to about 2AM (she usualy kept Mommy up that late, too), Mommy got up at 4AM to feed her...actually Daddy got up first which woke Mommy...Daddy went back to sleep. The feed went down fine...but she spit up half an hour later. It was almost 6AM after the clothes and diaper change...Rachel refused to be put down, so she slept on Mommy for an hour. Mommy finally put her down in the snuggle rest at 7AM. Daddy fed her and gave her meds in the morning...she played with Daddy for a bit before falling asleep after her noon feed. Mommy and Daddy took Rachel shopping...she was not too pleased to be woken from a peaceful slumber. After awhile, she settled down and was able to enjoy the nice warm weather (in the 40's) and shopping. She stayed up to whole afternoon...apparently didn't want to miss a thing...finally fell asleep right before getting home at 7PM. She woke at 8:30PM for food, then got her bath. Mommy was hoping she'd sleep again, but the little munchkin was still wide awake by midnight...the tube was pulled earlier and almost time for the next feed. Daddy gave it a try and inserted tube successfully while Rachel was awake!...that has not happened for quite a long time. Rachel was extremely tired and fell asleep during the feed.
Feb 13	Rachel's continued to sleep fitfully. She's breathing a lot better and does not sound hoarse anymore. She had her last dose of antibiotics today...hope the bug's gone. She continue to spit up frequently...maybe try to cut back on the feed again.
Feb 12	Rachel continued to sleep fitfully thru the night. She gave Daddy a hard time in the morning...Mommy had to get up and help. She finally finished the feed at 8AM, but spit up half of it at 9AM. She settled down though after the spit up. She continued to be congested and hoarse. Her stool in the morning was streaked with blood...freaked out Mommy. Mommy called the pediatrician and he agreed to see Rachel at 10:30AM. The doctor checked Rachel...nothing serious...throat's not inflame...lung's clear...no ear infection...just a cold...the blood in stool resulted from fissure (cut) on the anus, common occurence in babys...no need for any more meds...Mommy was quite relieved. Rachel slept the whole afternoon after returning home (Mommy grabbed a couple of hours of sleep as well). She woke for a couple of hours at 6PM...hanged out in the swing for a while...out again at 8PM. She was awake for feed at 9PM, then bath and asleep by 11PM. Daddy woke her with tube insertion at midnight...she quickly went back to sleep after the feed. Rachel has quite a few spit ups today :-(...Mommy's trying the Nestles Good Start again...hope it helps.
Feb 11	Rachel had trouble sleeping...kept waking up every few minutes. She did better in Mommy's arms...that's where she stayed till 3AM. Mommy left her in the bouncer after the 3AM feed. She still moved quite a bit, but not fussy. She was good with Daddy in the morning as well. She slept with lots of movements most of the day...up from 11AM to 2PM and 8PM to 10PM. Still on Similac...only one small spit up today.
Feb 10	Rachel had a decent night...woke at 3AM for feed...not too much fuss. She woke Daddy at 5AM...Daddy move her position and they both went back sleep. She was up again at 9AM...very fussy this time...cried for two plus hours (sounded hoarse, too)...Mommy couldn't do anything to calm her. She finally settled down and fell asleep around 12:30PM. She slept the whole afternoon with an hour of wake time for feed at 3PM. She was at 7PM...not too fussy...was very good for her bath...fell asleep around 10PM, in time for tube insertion. She was exhausted and went promptly back to sleep after the feed. Rachel spit up a couple of times today...formula? Maybe...Mommy ran out of the Nestles...she's back on Simulac. Rachel's gastrostomy has been rescheduled to Mar 4...another 3 week wait :-( Rachel's 8lb 1oz...gained 3oz from last week.
Feb 9	A good night for Rachel...and everyone else. She fell asleep at 12:30AM after nebulizer treatment and antibiotics. She slept thru the next feed at 2AM...woke for a diaper change at 3AM. Daddy had her for feed and nebulizer treatment at 6AM. She slept until 11AM for feed and then the final nebulizer treatment at noon. She went back to sleep at 1PM and was out for the whole afternoon. She woke up just before Daddy got at 7PM...had some fun time...some fuss time...some calm time...stayed up until 11:30PM. Note: Rachel hasn't spit up for three days in a row! What change?? Daddy thinks it's the formula...Nestle's Good Start Supreme...looks like it helped her bowel movements as well (cheaper than Similac, too $-)...only time will tell. Rachel gets 19-20 oz/day, 30-60cc Pedialyte/day, 3mg Furosemide (Lasix)/twice daily, 15mcg Lanoxin (Digoxin)/twice daily, 0.7cc Zantac/twice daily, and Mylicon as needed.

Week 27	February 4, 2004 to February 8, 2004
Feb 8	Rachel cried thru the nebulizer treatment and antibiotics. She finally settled down against Mommy. She refused to be move...Mommy started the feed...she fuss every time Mommy tried to change her position. It took 1.5 hours to finish the feed at 2AM. Rachel did not want to be put down for the night. She'd wake up every 20 minutes or so to be pick up. Mommy finally dozed off at 4AM only to be woken at 5AM for feed. Rachel took the feed well, but stayed awake afterwards. She started to fuss with the nebulizer treatment and continued afterwards. Daddy took over at 7AM...Rachel continued to fuss. Nothing seemed to sooth her...neither food, diaper change, mylicon, orajel, nor tylenol. Mommy and Daddy were at their wits end. Mommy took her at 9AM...took her almost 2hrs for feed the munchkin thru the fussiness. Daddy took over again at 11AM...finally at 1PM the little pumpkin tired out and slept soundly through the remainder of the day. She woke up at 10PM for a couple of hours...was faily calm.
Feb 7	Rachel was oblivious to world...the nebulizer treatment, antibiotics, and feed did not wake her. She did woke up several times before her 5AM feed. Mommy placed her in the snuggle nest the first time she woke. She was fine after some patting and turning the other times. Daddy took care of Rachel for the rest of morning. She was up for a couple of hours in the afternoon around 4PM. Then was up again at 8PM...cranky this time with a few calm moments...gave Mommy a couple of smiles...mostly fussy for the remainder of the evening. Finally, Mommy gave her some Tylenol at midnight.
Feb 6	Rachel wanted to sleep after her feed at midnight, but was not allowed until after the nebulizer treatment and antibiotics at 12:30AM...poor baby. She woke at 1AM for diaper change...Mommy put her back in the bouncer this time. Rachel slept all the way till 8AM...slept thru feed at 3AM and nebulizer treatment at 7AM. She spit up some of her morning feed (no other spit up for the rest of the day) and was a bit cranky. She settled down a fell asleep at 11AM...slept until 5PM. Fell asleep again at 7PM until 10PM...turned in for the night at midnight. Rachel received a beautiful quilt from Angel Lily's mom, Maggie today. Maggie's been making quilts for T18 children and their families in remembrance of Lily. We will certainly think of them both every time we look at the quilt. Thank you, Maggie!
Feb 5	Rachel was finally allowed to sleep in peace at 12:30AM. Mommy put her down on the snuggle nest at 1AM...she woke up unhappy at 2AM...Mommy moved her to the bouncer where she happily slept the rest of the night. Rachel was still sleeping when Mommy woke at 6:30AM to give her the nebulizer treatment and feed. She woke up at the end of the feed...very calm. Mommy went back to sleep while she hanged out in the bouncer. She must have decided there was nothing going on and went back to sleep as Daddy found her snoozing away at 9AM. Follow up with the Pediatrician...Rachel was much better...temp still a bit high at 99.5, but she's not uncomfortable...continue with the meds as prescribed. Oh yeah, the ped forgot to mention the meds can cause diarhea...Rachel did have a few BM today (as oppose to one a day) with a couple being very loose...not yet a concern...something to keep an eye on. After the ped, feed, nebulizer treatment, antiboitics, the little tired munchkin was finally allowed to sleep at 1PM. She slept until 7PM, woke up to have dinner with Mommy and Daddy...played a little...fussed a little...
Feb 4	Rachel's 6 months old today! Happy Birthday! Rachel was cranky after her nebulizer treatment at midnight...Mommy was having horrid visions of the previous night. Luckily she calmed down and fell asleep during the 2AM feed...relief! Wrote too soon...Rachel woke with a spit up at 2:40AM and stayed awake...a little cranky too. Mommy thought she was getting a bit warm and took her temp at 3AM. It was 100.1 so Mommy gave her some Tylenol. She quiet down a bit after the medicine kicked in...still awake and not totally comfortable. By 4AM, Mommy was ready to drop. Rachel was relatively calm so Mommy put her in the bouncer. She was still awake at 5AM while Mommy nodded off between bounces. Mommy was awaken by the noise of the nebulizer at 6:00AM...Daddy took over. Daddy took her temp at 6:30AM...97.2. Rachel slept comfortably all morning. She woke at 1PM...stayed awake all afternoon with a couple of short (20-30 min) naps. She was cranky most of the time...calm a bit lying against Mommy where she stayed all afternoon...very sweaty and warm with temps in the 98-99 range. She settled down and fell asleep for about 30 minutes when Daddy came home at 7:30PM. She was rudely awaken for a bath, then some pictures with cake for her 6th month celebration. Mommy had to eat all the cake as Daddy's on the first phase of the South Beach Diet...no carbs...no cake for him :-b. She did not go back to sleep until 10:30PM, then awaken again by tube insertion, feed, and nebulizer treatment. Poor girl...not allowed to sleep.