May 22, 2011

Snuggles from Georgia

It’s been a busy weekend in our new home in Intermediate.  Clara seems to have adjusted well to her new home and we’re certainly enjoying a bit more privacy, space and quiet.  On Friday we weaned her morphine dose from every four hours to every six hours.  This was a pretty significant wean for her, but it has worked out well because she now gets morphine with every other feed (since she eats every three hours) which means that I have more opportunities to breastfeed when she is both awake/alert and hungry.  It’s hit or miss with that – sometimes she seems totally uninterested (or too hot, too hungry, too fussy to have the energy and motivation to do it), but sometimes she latches on and nurses really well.  Yesterday she ate for nearly thirty minutes and got between an ounce and half and two ounces.  She promptly threw a good bit of that up – perhaps just too much too fast.  But she is doing well and we’re continuing to practice and hope she keeps getting better and getting the hang of it.   She’s doing fantastic with her oxygen wean.  She’s been at 21% (room air!) for the last few days now and her oxygen saturations have stayed super high at all times, even when she’s irritated or fussy.  She was down to 0.5 liters of flow today with plans to continue weaning by 0.1 liter a day… or possibly even a little faster.  I really don’t think she needs the oxygen or nasal cannulas any more, but we will see what the doctors say tomorrow.   Today she was pulling them out of her nose all day long.  I think she’s telling us she’s had enough.  I’m very encouraged and hopeful that it looks like we may not have to go home on any oxygen.  The biggest concerns for her right now are the morphine wean and her eating.  She has had some fairly significant withdrawal symptoms the past two days from her big wean on Friday, so we didn’t wean her any further today.  Hopefully we can continue weaning tomorrow and she will push through this difficult detoxing process.  She seems to be doing well with eating too and I think we’ll begin to introduce the bottle some this week so that we can really see how much she is eating by mouth.  Please be in prayer for these two specific issues.  They’re all that’s left between us and home at this point! 

The highlight of the weekend was a visit from her Georgia Hardy family.  Mama K, Daddy Bob, Aunt Liz and Uncle Hugh all got to come see her and have their first chances at holding her this weekend.  We are so extremely thankful for such a supportive and loving family.  Clara is so blessed by these wonderful people and we were grateful for their willingness to drive so far to spend some precious moments with her.  Enjoy these photos from the last few days. 
Friday with Sweet Mama






Checking out her Mama K and Daddy Bob

Such love











Please pray for rest for Clara, as the morphine withdrawal has made her quite fussy.  Pray that she will be able to continue weaning this narcotic with fewer side effects.  Pray that she will continue to feed, transition to oral feeds, and reduce her spit up, whether it is from acid reflux or withdrawal.   Pray that she will take the steps she needs to get well so that we can bring her home soon!

We are grateful for your continued prayers.

12 comments:

  1. She is looking healthier and healthier in every post (and quite comfy too)!!! Sending prayers!

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  2. I've been following your blog and Twitter because Hugh and Liz asked our church to pray for you. So fun to see her progress and fun to catch a picture with Liz.

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  3. I LOVE the picture of Karen holding Clara with the back of shirt "Pray for Clara Mae Hardy"! I also LOVE the picture of Clara looking up at Bob!! I stopped and laid my hands over your prayer requests ~ praying about the morphine wean and the oral feeds ~ I prayed that this would be in God's timing, helping us to patient as He knows what is best for Clara. Love, Mary Ann (and Chuck, too)

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  4. This is one LOVED little girl! Your pictures make me smile!!!

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  5. Sat in church today thanking God for His work in Clara's life. My mind went back to the video of you and your momma singing to her, and the subsequent posts where we didn't have a whole lot of encouragament from the doctors. It just blesses me in a way that I can't explain to watch this sweet baby get better and better every day. God has BIG plans for such a little girl, and He has already used her in a way that most people never get to experience. I am so glad you have shared her with all of us. We are forever impacted by your amazing family. With love, Rebecca Smith

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  6. and forgive my spelling and typos. On the way to sleep, lol.-Rebecca

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  7. When my little CDHer struggled with the morphine wean (similar to Clara's symptoms) they added Clonodine during the wean, and it really helped. It works on different pain receptors in the brain so these "druggie babies" (that sounds so BAD) ;) get the relief they need, while still weaning the morphine. Clonidine is much easier to come off in the short term! Just a suggestion in case she continues to exhibit that fusiness! Glad she's continuing to do so well!

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  8. any news on Penelope?

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  9. I am so excited for you all!

    Prayers for rest and calm and comfort for Clara as she weans off the meds.

    Praising the Lord for her! For you and for Robert, too. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful child with us and for sharing your faith. What a blessing you all are.
    Lori Beck
    Mount Airy, NC

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  10. These pictures touched my heart in such a special way .... what LOVE they show. What a blessed little girl to grow up surrounded by the love of ALL of you. Such happy days ahead for the Hardy/Davis family. I am filled with your joy!

    dee

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  11. I have been following your blog after a friend posted a link on Facebook. You have such a special and beautiful little girl and I am praying for her (and you!). Your strength and faith are inspiring, Clara is blessed to have such wonderful parents.

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  12. Thank you for your posts on Clara's progress, I find myself thinking during the day about how she may be doing. It's wonderful to be witnessing miracle after miracle, it reassures us that GOD is in control of everything. Prayers continue to go out to Clara and her family and to others in the NICU.

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