Not so fast.

Sydney decided she had enough of the ventilator. She self-extubated early Sunday morning by pulling away from the tubing. Syd had been making progress prior to this, so they let her try CPAP.

When we arrived at the NICU she had her new head set which looks like scuba gear. When her nurse took her out of the isolette they removed the head gear. We could see Sydney's face without the ventilation equipment.

Stephanie got to kangaroo with her for a little while. Unfortunately all of the excitement must have been a little to much for her. Her nurse decided it would be best to intubate her again. We agreed, and the respiratory therapist was called back in to put a tube back in. She had outgrown her old one, so a larger one was used this time. This will help her breath a little easier now, and in a week or so they will try CPAP again.

One Kilogram

Sydney passed the one kilogram (2 lbs 2 ounces) mark on Sunday the 23rd. She has been handling her food well, which we are happy about. Hitting this milestone of one kilogram means that we are able to kangaroo with Sydney everyday as long as she behaves. The Dr is using a dieratic to help dry out the fluid around her lungs which will help her become stronger and more stable on the ventalator.

Two Pounds

Sydney reached a milestone at her weigh in this evening. She weighs 910 grams (2lbs .02 oz). We are so excited. Gaining weight will help her get stronger to start breathing on her own. Sydney is definitely a fiesty one, she self extabated herself on Monday. While turning her head to the other side, her ventillator tube came out. Sydney is a strong little girl able to move her head around and keeps a tight grip on not only your hand, but also the ventillator tube! The nurses need to keep a close watch on Sydney!!

Happy Hanukkah Sydney!

Sydney celebrated her first Hanukkah in the NICU. All of the nurses asked us to bring in decorations for her. One of the nurses made a Hanukkah picture from Sydney to Mom and Dad of her footprints.

Grandma and Papa Egel gave Sydney her Hanukkah bears and decorations for her isolette. Roz and Jerry gave Sydney a cute little doll which giggles when you squeeze it. The nurses took a picture of Sydney with her doll! Sydney looks forward to Grandma's visits everyday for her "new outfit" and of course to spend time with Grandma.

Nana Katz made Sydney an adorable isolette cover which is the hit of the NICU. Auntie Heidi keeps Sydney in style with her adorable knitted hats.

Weight gain

Things have remained relatively stable with Sydney. She does struggle with the ventillator, but is able to correct this herself most of the time. This is fairly normal for baby's of her age and size. She had another blood transfusion which will also help her. Once she is bigger and stronger it will get less difficult for her to breath.

Sydney has done well with feeding. She now gets 30 calories every four hours and weighs 855 grams, or 1lb 14oz. Getting to one kilo (1000 grams, or 2.2lbs) is a large millstone for her that we are eagerly awaiting. At that size the Dr's will let her be held everyday as long as she is doing well on the ventillator.

3 weeks!

Sydney has now been in the NICU for three weeks. She had another good weight gain last night, and is now 769 grams (1 lb 11 oz). Dad got to Kangaroo for a while last night, and Syd behaved herself. Nana and Papa Katz visited for awhile, and got to see Sydney out of her isolette.

We have added a image gallery to the blog. It is hosted over on flickr, and can be seen by following the link. We will try and upload pictures as we get new ones.

Sydney's pictures on flickr!

Technical stuff.

We will try and keep most of the technical aspects of Sydney's time in NICU off this page. However a good place to get up to speed on some of the terms, and techniques would be the Wiki.

Premature Birth
NICU
Isolette
The Vent
Kangaroo Care
PDA

In the future we will try and link to outside information when appropriate. We hope this helps explain some of the NICU terms that are used.