"What are they doing to my head?!!!"

Faith had an "OK" day today. She started out the day fantastic- however in the early afternoon she started "d-sating" this meant that the level of oxygen saturating her lungs was not at a healthy level.

She also "bradied" a lot which means her heart rate droped to unsafe levels (under 100). Usually when this happens it just means the nurses need to make a few adjustments (on her oxygen settings, re-positioning her ventilator tube, changing her position, etc) however nothing seemed to work today. This meant that there was a larger problem. The nurses eventually found that there was a blood clot in her arterial line. This is the line that is currently giving her Fentanyl for pain management. This was a semi-easy fix. The nurses withdrew the line (which we bet felt great to Faith) but had to insert another IV- this time in her head (the picture above shows this). Don't be alarmed, in infants this tiny, the veins in the head are the best. So Faith is looking like a unicorn, but happy to have her pain meds back. Once she is weaned off of the Fentanyl, they can remove the IV. Anytime she has one less thing sticking in her is cause for a celebration!

Faith lost some weight again last night- she is now 1 pound 12 ounces. To help her gain weight they are fortifying the breast milk she is given (through a tube down her throat) with extra protein and calories. The more weight she gains the easier it will be for her to wean off the ventilator which means no dexamethasone (the steroid that can cause cerebral palsy)!!!

On a positive note tomorrow Faith turns 1 month old!!!! We thought you'd like to see the room she's been living in for the past month (She's tucked away in the isolette)

Thanks for checking in on Faith today!
Brian and Jen :)