The Strong-Willed Child

I went up to TCH on Friday after work.  When I got there, Katie was not there and Caroline was in her bed crying.  Yes, crying.  We have not really heard her cry, since she has been intubated or "CPAP'ed".  Let me tell you, she was mad.  The nurse said that "this baby needs to be held".  As soon as the nurse gave Caroline to me, her heart rate went from 200 to 160.  Then, she opened up her eyes and we checked each other out for a long time.  She was very alert for about 45 minutes.  It was a very neat moment for me.

Here is a video from the same time - click here

She was not quite as fun yesterday.  Katie and I both held her for a long time, but she could not get quite as comfortable.  When I held her, the only time she was somewhat happy was when she was being fed.  Caroline is still being fed by the tube.  She will start getting therapy soon for bottle feeding.  In the meantime, we try to give her a pacifier when she is being fed.  Sometimes she will take it, but a lot of the time she rejects it.  I tried to give her the pacifier several times yesterday and she always closed her lips very tight and gave me a mean face.  It could have been my bad jokes.  If I learned anything from my Dad, it's how to tell bad jokes.  A few weeks ago, our very first nurse told me that I need to read The Strong-Willed Child.  I thought she was kidding me, but she was serious.  Oh boy.

Caroline has now been on "room air" for three days.  The doctors told us 2 days ago to not be alarmed if she has to go back on CPAP or a nasal cannula for a bit.  That would be "normal".  I stopped listening when I heard the word "normal" when referencing Caroline.

She gained 40 grams yesterday and is now up to 4 pounds, 7 ounces (over 2 kilos for those from Iceland that want metric system measurements).  New bed soon?

She is playing dead.  Wants us to stop
bothering here.