December 11th Update

Maddie has taken most all of her feedings today by bottle. She's really picking up her stamina However, she doesn't quite have the vigor of a newborn, but she is a preemie, so she is still a sleepy girl. It takes so much energy for her to eat. We are finding that it does hep for Maddie to finish her bottles in a short amount of time because then she gets more rest time in between feedings. Madison did go back up in her weight today so that is good. Also, she is now 18 inches long and her weight is now at 5lbs 5.2ounces. Tomorrow is Sunday and Mommy and Daddy look forward to spending more time with little Madison.

December 10th Update

Maddie is so close to coming home! She is doing so awesome today! She took all of her feedings by bottle. She is really showing more energy-she finished her bottles within 10-20 minutes which is very timely. The NICU case manager says if she keeps this up, we could be looking at the beginning of next week for discharge! She went down a little in weight, but probably because she is using so much energy to eat each bottle. Her weight is now 5lbs 4.10 ounces. The nurses tell us she is a favorite in the NICU, and that they will miss her, but really look forward for her to be at home with her mom & dad. We can't wait to see how she does tomorrow!

December 9th Update

Maddie is really doing great! The day of rest yesterday really made a difference in her energy level. Today she finished each of her bottles in 10-15 minutes. She was wide awake and looking around,ready to eat. It's amazing how one day can make such a difference in these little babies progress. Because of her increased stamina this afternoon, the nurses increased the frequency of Madison's bottle feedings from 2 tubal feeding & 1 bottle to 1 tubal feeding & 2 bottle. Today her weight is up to 5lbs 5 ounces.
Little Maddie is in charge of when she comes home. When she is strong and ready, then it will be time. We think it will be very soon. She will definitely be our Christmas miracle.

December 8th Update

Today makes 1 month since Madison's birth! It's hard to believe that much time has already gone by. Mommy spent the entire day with Madison today.Daddy also came to visit twice today. We love seeing her every chance we get. Today her bottle feedings were weak so most of her meals went through the feeding tube. She went up again in weight. Today she was 5lbs 4.2ounces..
The nurses tell us that they're not really suppose to have favorites, but she is definitely a favorite because she's so sweet and so cute. Maddie is definitely one that will steel your heart.

December 7th Update

Madison continues to grow; she is now at 5lbs 2.4ounces. She is still resting and doing well on her couple bottle feedings during the day. Mommy and daddy came in to feed Maddie's bottles to her today and she was alert and finished her bottles in 10 minutes. The rest is helping her with her energy level. She will be home before we know it!

December 6th Update

It is apparent the feeding tube was needed and Maddie was needing more rest. She is on a feeding schedule of 2 tubal feedings and then 1 bottle feeding. Because of the needed extra rest, Maddie is wide awake at the hour of her bottle feeding. She is still so little and so young so she doesn't quite have the stamina to finish her entire bottle yet.Today Madison weighs 5 lbs 1 ounce.

December 5th, Update

Madison has made it to 5lbs!!! She is now big enough to fit into her car seat! Little Maddie is still struggling with having a vigorous feeding. She is still so young and it is common for preemies to take longer because they don't have the stamina quite yet. It's possible that because Maddie was doing so well with everything else, that maybe her feeding tube was taken out prematurely. And,now she hasn't been able to keep up to where the doctors want her to be so she can maintain her weight when she goes home. In order to give little Maddie a break and allow her more sleep time to grow and allow her bottle feedings to be more vigorous, the nurse will be putting Maddie's feeding tube back in tonight so she can rest longer in between feedings. They think that after a day or so she should be able to handle her bottle feedings a little better and have more stamina every 3 hours when it's time to eat. We weren't excited to hear the tube would be going back in, but we want Madison to be strong enough to eat on her own. And, we wouldn't want her coming home before she's ready. We love our little girl and are so proud of her progress.

December 4 Update

Madison is getting closer to coming home, although her feedings aren't going as well as the Doctors want yet. The Doctors have said that in order for her to come home she will need to take her feedings within 20-25 mins. Maddie has been finishing the feedings but she tires after around half of the bottle and has been falling asleep in the middle of the feedings. After much effort and about 40 mins she is downing the bottles. But she is a little bugger in that as soon as she is laid back in her crib she opens her eyes and wants to play. We can't understand why she cant be more awake while feeding? Maddie weighed in at 4 pounds 15.6 ounces which is also a concern for the Doctors as she is not experiencing a lot of weight gain once she has been on the bottle entirely. But for now she has stayed away from having her feed tube back so this is a good sign.

Mommy and Daddy brought in Maddies car seat for her test, which the Doctors say she shouldn't have a problem passing. The car seat test is essentially putting her into the car seat with all of her monitors and if she is able to maintain her oxygen for two hours she passes the test. This is the last remaining test she needs to pass in order to come home.