All Talk, Big Action

Amelia had her Primary Jacqui Friday, Saturday and Sunday which made us all very happy. She has her Primary Patsy today and her nightime Primary Erica the last several nights, so we are ecstatic that she is being cared for by very loving, capable people that know her.

They all know the oral therapy program now and are working with her for 15 minutes before every meal time (when she is awake). Keeping her awake seems to be a problem. She has been getting up earlier and earlier every day. Some of it is the time difference, I am sure. But apparently she is bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:00 am. She will spend a couple solid hours awake. PT usually works with her in the morning while she is awake. Then she takes a nap.

Then at 1:00, OT will come in to cup feed her. She usually is awake by then. I will go in at 1:00 to do her mouth stimulation. Yesterday Jacqi had her sitting up high in her boppy so that her head and body were kind of above the crib, where she could talk to and observe people in the pod. It was the equivalent of her sitting on her front porch swing and watching the traffic go by.

Jacqui noticed that if people are gathered around her bed and talked to her while she is getting her oral stimulation she does not seem to gag or choke at all. So when I came in yesterday I prattled non-stop about anything that popped into my head. I felt like one of those QVC on-air personalities.

We talked about her daddy, her dogs, her room, the nurses, what mommy had done all day long, what her Christmas dress is going to look like, what flavor dum dum she was going to get (strawberry cheesecake)...As usual, she stared very intently at me while I was talking. She soaked it all in and made me feel like I am the most interesting person ever (take note Todd)! And it worked like a charm. I was able to put formula on her lips, play with her cheeks, lips, gums, and get her to suck on a pacifier for a long while without her gagging, choking or retching.

After that she goes back to sleep and pretty much sleeps the entire afternoon. She has moments of wakefulness and I try to put her in the bumbo or down on her play mat. The play mat makes her mad. She has to struggle on her tummy and lift her head. It is a lot of work and I can hear her grunting in frustration. I have to resist my urge to be a helicoptor parent and swoop in and rescue her. Struggling builds muscles. Usually she gets tired after about ten minutes and the play mat becomes a nap mat.

Amelia's eyes seem to be doing a better job of focusing. She still has her cross-eyed moments, but they seems to be getting less and less.

Overall Amelia does not have boring days. I think we were concerned she would be languishing in the bed all day...but between swing time in the morning, PT, OT, Mommy and Daddy visits, changing diapers, changing outfits, baths, cuddles, bumbo time, play mat time, listening to music, visitors (nurses, RTs, etc.) who drop by to talk to her...she has a lot of stimulation. And when she is not doing that she is sleeping. And sleeping makes her grow. And growing makes her lungs heal.