Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saffron 2 month pics and pics with her brothers
Saffy is almost two months, time flies! She is now about 7 lbs. We are still fighting with colic and she is up most of the night, so of course so am I! However, she is a happy baby the rest of the time. She is smiling now at times whrn we are talking to her or she is nursing. She is also starting to reach for things a bit and really noticing bright toys and colors!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Youngest Baby
World's Youngest Baby Born In Miami
Amillia Taylor Born After 21 Weeks, 6 Days
POSTED: Monday, February 19, 2007
[Amillia Taylor was born at Baptist Children's Hospital in October weighing only 10 ounces. She was slightly bigger than a pen.]
Amillia Taylor was born at Baptist Children's Hospital in October weighing only 10 ounces. She was slightly bigger than a pen.
MIAMI -- Sonja and Eddie Taylor's baby girl has earned a lot of nicknames during her four months in intensive care -- Queen B, Princess, Miracle -- but none is perhaps more perfect than her given name, Amillia.
"We were looking through the Internet and it meant fighter, resilient," Sonja Taylor said.
Amillia had to be to overcome some incredible odds.
"Survival of babies that is less than 22 weeks of gestation is close to zero, if not zero," said Dr. Phuket Tantavit, who specializes in neonatology.
The medical standard is not even to resuscitate a 22-week baby, so when Sonja Taylor knew she was going into labor in October after just 19 weeks, she lied about the baby's term.
Doctors worked to delay the birth, but nine days later, they had no choice but to perform an emergency C-section, thinking they were delivering a 23-week baby.
"I was prepared for the worst and prepared to break the bad news to the mother," said Dr. Guillermo Lievano, who delivered Amillia.
Weighing only 10 ounces, Tantavit inserted a breathing tube in Amillia. She responded surprisingly well, at which time Tantavit thought Amillia, slightly bigger than a pen, was something special.
Pediatric surgeon Dr. Holly Neville was immediately called upon to repair Amillia's left ear and much of her scalp, which was torn during delivery and left dangling.
"She was literally just a coke can under sterile drapes," Neville said.
Normally, the skin of a baby that age wouldn't accept stitches or handling, but somehow Amillia's skin was mature beyond her age.
"I had never seen such a small baby," Neville said.
It was months later when doctors verified Amillia's true age through her parent's fertility specialist and discovered the perfectly healthy baby was born at exactly 21 weeks and six days -- a world record.
"When you look at such a small miracle, you almost have to believe there's something else -- there's a higher power -- that allows us to do what we do," Lievano said.
Amillia is being released from Baptist Children's Hospital on Tuesday.
"I wanted her to have a chance and I knew in my heart that she was going to make it," Sonja Taylor said.
Amillia Taylor Born After 21 Weeks, 6 Days
POSTED: Monday, February 19, 2007
[Amillia Taylor was born at Baptist Children's Hospital in October weighing only 10 ounces. She was slightly bigger than a pen.]
Amillia Taylor was born at Baptist Children's Hospital in October weighing only 10 ounces. She was slightly bigger than a pen.
MIAMI -- Sonja and Eddie Taylor's baby girl has earned a lot of nicknames during her four months in intensive care -- Queen B, Princess, Miracle -- but none is perhaps more perfect than her given name, Amillia.
"We were looking through the Internet and it meant fighter, resilient," Sonja Taylor said.
Amillia had to be to overcome some incredible odds.
"Survival of babies that is less than 22 weeks of gestation is close to zero, if not zero," said Dr. Phuket Tantavit, who specializes in neonatology.
The medical standard is not even to resuscitate a 22-week baby, so when Sonja Taylor knew she was going into labor in October after just 19 weeks, she lied about the baby's term.
Doctors worked to delay the birth, but nine days later, they had no choice but to perform an emergency C-section, thinking they were delivering a 23-week baby.
"I was prepared for the worst and prepared to break the bad news to the mother," said Dr. Guillermo Lievano, who delivered Amillia.
Weighing only 10 ounces, Tantavit inserted a breathing tube in Amillia. She responded surprisingly well, at which time Tantavit thought Amillia, slightly bigger than a pen, was something special.
Pediatric surgeon Dr. Holly Neville was immediately called upon to repair Amillia's left ear and much of her scalp, which was torn during delivery and left dangling.
"She was literally just a coke can under sterile drapes," Neville said.
Normally, the skin of a baby that age wouldn't accept stitches or handling, but somehow Amillia's skin was mature beyond her age.
"I had never seen such a small baby," Neville said.
It was months later when doctors verified Amillia's true age through her parent's fertility specialist and discovered the perfectly healthy baby was born at exactly 21 weeks and six days -- a world record.
"When you look at such a small miracle, you almost have to believe there's something else -- there's a higher power -- that allows us to do what we do," Lievano said.
Amillia is being released from Baptist Children's Hospital on Tuesday.
"I wanted her to have a chance and I knew in my heart that she was going to make it," Sonja Taylor said.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Strength of a Woman!
Women have strengths that amaze men ...
.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness, love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel and
cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member,
yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.
They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideas.
They give moral support to their family and friends.
Women have vital things to say and everything to give.
.
HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN ...
.
.
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.
~ Author unknown
.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness, love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel and
cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member,
yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.
They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideas.
They give moral support to their family and friends.
Women have vital things to say and everything to give.
.
HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN ...
.
.
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.
~ Author unknown
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Amazing story
What a wonderful story!
Boola Boola, Boola Boola: Yale Says Yes, 4 Times
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By JACQUES STEINBERG
Published: December 18, 2009
DANBURY, Conn. — Ray Crouch, a senior at Danbury High School, logged onto the computer in his family’s living room just after 5 p.m. on Tuesday and entered the Web site of the Yale admissions office.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Kenny, Martina, Ray and Carol Crouch have until May 1 to decide whether to attend the same college or to branch out.
Readers’ Opinions
Comment Post a Comment on The Choice » | Early Admission Figures
Enlarge This Image
Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Kenny, Martina, Ray and Carol Crouch have collectively made more than 30 applications to college, and not to all the same places.
Suddenly the screen turned blue — Yale blue — and an image of a bulldog, the university mascot, appeared, followed by “Welcome to the Class of 2014.” Ray, 18, had been offered a spot in the next freshman class, under its early-admission program. Standing behind him, his mother, Caroline, screamed.
But that was only the beginning. Moments later, Ray’s brother, Kenny, also 18, went to the Yale site and got an identical message. He was followed by their sister Carol. Same news. Then the room fell silent. Ray, Kenny and Carol are quadruplets, and their sister Martina had applied to Yale, too.
“I was thinking, it’s going to be really awkward when I don’t get in,” Martina recalled Friday.
But the computer turned blue for her as well, which prompted such an outpouring of joy from their mother that she wrestled their father, Steven, to the floor in a hug.
The Crouches’ perfect batting average represents a first for Yale — the first time in anyone’s memory that it has offered admission to quadruplets. It is also, of course, no small milestone for the siblings, who were born more than two months premature. (Ray was the last to be released from the neonatal unit, more than four months later.)
They made up for that rough start. Their class rankings range from 13 out of a class of 632 (Kenny) to 46 (Martina) — and they have sky-high SAT scores (including Carol’s perfect 800 on the verbal part of that exam).
But whether any one of them, let alone all four, winds up at Yale remains an open question. Under Yale’s early-admission program, accepted applicants can apply to other colleges and need not make up their minds until May 1.
For one thing, money is still an issue. With a father who works for the State of Connecticut as a case manager in the Department of Mental Health, and a stay-at-home mother who is studying for her master’s degree in social work, the quadruplets say their decision will be heavily influenced by financial aid.
“We have to be practical,” Kenny said.
While the family has some savings, the four say they do not want their parents to have to pay much of anything for their education.
As a so-called need-blind institution, Yale commits in advance to meet any admitted applicant’s financial need. But it is the university — and not the student — that defines what that need is. For the Crouches, such calculations will be made further down the road. They have yet to complete their financial aid paperwork.
What they have done, though, is submit applications to other colleges — more than 30 applications, collectively. In fact, Kenny received a phone call last week confirming a Harvard interview.
While all four have also applied to the University of Connecticut — only Martina has received a response, and it was positive — each has also submitted applications to colleges that the others have not. Kenny, a standout sprinter regarded by his siblings as “the brain,” has also applied to Princeton, Williams, Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania, among other institutions.
Martina, an obvious free spirit — she wears a smudge of bright red makeup under each eye, to promote eye contact — is intrigued by Wesleyan, as well as New York University. Ray, a long-distance runner, has applied to Duke and Brown. And Carol, the family’s acknowledged social conscience who wears her brown hair in an oversize Afro, is interested in Boston College, as well as Wesleyan and N.Y.U.
In an e-mail message Friday, Jeffrey Brenzel, the dean of admissions at Yale, said, “Their applications were terrific, and we simply hope that they will all decide to come!”
Asked if Yale had any policy on admitting members of the same family as a package, Mr. Brenzel said, “We don’t feel an obligation to render the same decision on siblings in the same year.”
But Mr. Brenzel said the enormous financial burden facing their parents — four children starting four years of college in the same year — would be a factor in assessing their financial need. He wrote: “All financial aid offices, ours included, always take into account the number of other children in the family in determining an aid award.”
Even before receiving the good news Tuesday, the Crouch children had drawn attention here for their many activities; their acceptances from Yale were reported Friday in two local papers, The Connecticut Post and The News-Times of Danbury.
While the Crouch siblings are similar in many ways — all four love to laugh, and are volunteers at the Danbury Public Library — the essays they submitted to Yale indicate part of what makes each unique.
Carol wrote, in part, about tutoring children in special education. Ray chose a subject that he hoped would catch an admissions officer off guard: his oblique muscles (not just to emphasize his identity as an athlete, but also his propensity for “nonlinear” thinking).
Martina, the iconoclast, built a whole essay on the phrase, “I’m not going to stop you...” which her mother had once uttered to her. Kenny described visiting the village in Nigeria where his mother grew up.
The siblings said their mother and father had met as students at Western Connecticut State University here, and had always emphasized the importance of education.
One advantage that Yale may hold in landing the four Crouch children is that they seem reluctant to part, after being inseparable for so long. Which is not to say they have not imagined what it would be like to go solo.
As Kenny put it: “It might be fun to go somewhere where I’m not ‘one of the quads.’ ”
Boola Boola, Boola Boola: Yale Says Yes, 4 Times
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By JACQUES STEINBERG
Published: December 18, 2009
DANBURY, Conn. — Ray Crouch, a senior at Danbury High School, logged onto the computer in his family’s living room just after 5 p.m. on Tuesday and entered the Web site of the Yale admissions office.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Kenny, Martina, Ray and Carol Crouch have until May 1 to decide whether to attend the same college or to branch out.
Readers’ Opinions
Comment Post a Comment on The Choice » | Early Admission Figures
Enlarge This Image
Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Kenny, Martina, Ray and Carol Crouch have collectively made more than 30 applications to college, and not to all the same places.
Suddenly the screen turned blue — Yale blue — and an image of a bulldog, the university mascot, appeared, followed by “Welcome to the Class of 2014.” Ray, 18, had been offered a spot in the next freshman class, under its early-admission program. Standing behind him, his mother, Caroline, screamed.
But that was only the beginning. Moments later, Ray’s brother, Kenny, also 18, went to the Yale site and got an identical message. He was followed by their sister Carol. Same news. Then the room fell silent. Ray, Kenny and Carol are quadruplets, and their sister Martina had applied to Yale, too.
“I was thinking, it’s going to be really awkward when I don’t get in,” Martina recalled Friday.
But the computer turned blue for her as well, which prompted such an outpouring of joy from their mother that she wrestled their father, Steven, to the floor in a hug.
The Crouches’ perfect batting average represents a first for Yale — the first time in anyone’s memory that it has offered admission to quadruplets. It is also, of course, no small milestone for the siblings, who were born more than two months premature. (Ray was the last to be released from the neonatal unit, more than four months later.)
They made up for that rough start. Their class rankings range from 13 out of a class of 632 (Kenny) to 46 (Martina) — and they have sky-high SAT scores (including Carol’s perfect 800 on the verbal part of that exam).
But whether any one of them, let alone all four, winds up at Yale remains an open question. Under Yale’s early-admission program, accepted applicants can apply to other colleges and need not make up their minds until May 1.
For one thing, money is still an issue. With a father who works for the State of Connecticut as a case manager in the Department of Mental Health, and a stay-at-home mother who is studying for her master’s degree in social work, the quadruplets say their decision will be heavily influenced by financial aid.
“We have to be practical,” Kenny said.
While the family has some savings, the four say they do not want their parents to have to pay much of anything for their education.
As a so-called need-blind institution, Yale commits in advance to meet any admitted applicant’s financial need. But it is the university — and not the student — that defines what that need is. For the Crouches, such calculations will be made further down the road. They have yet to complete their financial aid paperwork.
What they have done, though, is submit applications to other colleges — more than 30 applications, collectively. In fact, Kenny received a phone call last week confirming a Harvard interview.
While all four have also applied to the University of Connecticut — only Martina has received a response, and it was positive — each has also submitted applications to colleges that the others have not. Kenny, a standout sprinter regarded by his siblings as “the brain,” has also applied to Princeton, Williams, Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania, among other institutions.
Martina, an obvious free spirit — she wears a smudge of bright red makeup under each eye, to promote eye contact — is intrigued by Wesleyan, as well as New York University. Ray, a long-distance runner, has applied to Duke and Brown. And Carol, the family’s acknowledged social conscience who wears her brown hair in an oversize Afro, is interested in Boston College, as well as Wesleyan and N.Y.U.
In an e-mail message Friday, Jeffrey Brenzel, the dean of admissions at Yale, said, “Their applications were terrific, and we simply hope that they will all decide to come!”
Asked if Yale had any policy on admitting members of the same family as a package, Mr. Brenzel said, “We don’t feel an obligation to render the same decision on siblings in the same year.”
But Mr. Brenzel said the enormous financial burden facing their parents — four children starting four years of college in the same year — would be a factor in assessing their financial need. He wrote: “All financial aid offices, ours included, always take into account the number of other children in the family in determining an aid award.”
Even before receiving the good news Tuesday, the Crouch children had drawn attention here for their many activities; their acceptances from Yale were reported Friday in two local papers, The Connecticut Post and The News-Times of Danbury.
While the Crouch siblings are similar in many ways — all four love to laugh, and are volunteers at the Danbury Public Library — the essays they submitted to Yale indicate part of what makes each unique.
Carol wrote, in part, about tutoring children in special education. Ray chose a subject that he hoped would catch an admissions officer off guard: his oblique muscles (not just to emphasize his identity as an athlete, but also his propensity for “nonlinear” thinking).
Martina, the iconoclast, built a whole essay on the phrase, “I’m not going to stop you...” which her mother had once uttered to her. Kenny described visiting the village in Nigeria where his mother grew up.
The siblings said their mother and father had met as students at Western Connecticut State University here, and had always emphasized the importance of education.
One advantage that Yale may hold in landing the four Crouch children is that they seem reluctant to part, after being inseparable for so long. Which is not to say they have not imagined what it would be like to go solo.
As Kenny put it: “It might be fun to go somewhere where I’m not ‘one of the quads.’ ”
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Target boycott
I recently read an article about a family being thrown out of a Target store in Michigan. http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/breast-feeding-incident-at-local-target The woman, a mother of three was breastfeeding her 4 week old daughter in the electronics department when she was approached by a security officer for the store. He informed her and her husband that it was against the law and they would have to leave.
After telling the security officer it was not illegal police were called. With her husband being a police officer in Detroit he asked the officers on scene if it was illegal in Harper Woods? The response was no, yet they continued to discuss the issue with security, store management, and the police until the embarrassment was too much and they gathered their things and left with a feeling that they were no longer welcome to shop in that store again. FOX 2 contacted Targets corporate headquarters. They were told they allow mothers to breast-feed in their stores. But, "This specific situation escalated to a point where we were concerned for the safety of our guests, so law enforcement was called. We regret the incident in our store and will continue to provide a shopping environment that respects the needs of all guests, including nursing mothers." The store manager was also contacted and her response was that breastfeeding is supported in her store!
This is not an isolated Target incident as there was another incident in a Minnesota store in 2006. It was reported that a Minneapolis Target employee told a woman that she couldn't breastfeed in a fitting room and told her to use the bathroom instead. When the woman later called Target's national hot-line she was told “corporate policy was that nursing mothers were welcome in Target stores.” As such, Target has responded with a public apology and the following statement: “Target has a long-standing practice that supports breastfeeding in our stores. We apologize for any inconvenience the guest experienced and will take this opportunity to reaffirm this commitment with our team members,” company representative Kristi Arndt said. “For guests in our stores, we support the use of fitting rooms for women who wish to breastfeed their babies, even if others are waiting to use the fitting rooms. In addition, guests who choose to breastfeed discreetly in more public areas of the store are welcome to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable.”
Also on a personal note, I too had a negative breastfeeding experience in the Lafayette Target in 2001. I was breastfeeding my first child in the food court when an employee, an older woman, approached me and stated that I needed to go to the restroom to do that. I immediately responded that she would not eat her food in the restroom, nor do other women feed their bottle fed children there, so I shouldn't have to feed him there either. I continued to feed him where I was and had I known better then, I would have made a formal complaint.
While this type of incident infuriates me in many ways, the truth is that we need to work harder to advocate and educate the general public that breastfeeding is the norm!
Also on a positive note here is another Target incident -
A woman comes to the service desk to complain that there is a mom breastfeeding in the Food Service area and to request that someone tell the mother to stop doing that. The employee behind the desk tells her he can't ask the mother to stop because she's allowed to nurse in the store. The woman demands to see the manager, who when summoned, tells the woman the same thing - they're not going to ask the mother to stop.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Baby Jayden
Jayden was born cocaine and alcohol addicted, with congenital
syphilis, at 31 weeks gestation. She had no skin on the palms of her
hands or feet and had to have skin grafts. She was the fourth child to
be taken from her mother, and was taken at birth and brought directly
to the NICU. The birth mother's parental rights were terminated within
12 weeks, which is very fast in MIchigan. They could find no formula
that Jayden could tolerate well, but settled on the one that she had
the "least severe reaction to."
When she was about eight weeks old, she was assigned a foster parent,
who came to do kangaroo care with her for eight days before she took
her home, as Jayden was completely blind and profoundly deaf, and
would need to be accustomed to "mom's" smell and touch before they
sent her home. When she went home, she was the most critical discharge
they have ever had from that NICU, which routinely sees the sickest of
babies. Basically, with tears in their eyes, the nurses sent Jayden
home to die. Jayden was insulin dependant (with critically unstable
blood sugars, typically either below 60 or above 400), on oxygen 24
hours a day, and set off her apnea monitor 6-10 times a day. In order
to set off a monitor, she would have to not breathe for many seconds
at a time. She had gained and lost the same three ounces since birth,
and was no more than four and a half pounds. Her foster mother asked
over and over again of anybody who had authority why this baby
couldn't
be on breastmilk, shouldn't this baby be on breast milk, what did she
have to do to get this baby on breastmilk? Over and over, she was
basically told that this was a medicaid baby and that the state
wouldn't PAY for banked milk (which costs between 1-2 dollars an
ounce, and has been pasteurized) for a MEDICAID baby. Finally, one
day, when Jayden was literally activly dying, an infectious disease
doctor looked at her foster mom (who is a friend of mine because of
foster work and doula work) and said, "I won't tell you NOT to give
her breastmilk. We know that it would give her the best chance!" So,
we got her some frozen breastmilk.
With her first bottle of human milk, Jayden's blood sugar regulated.
She is typically somewhere around 120 now. Within the first three
weeks, she regained her sight and hearing. Her new pediatrician says
that when somebody is actively dying their brain will shut off all
non-essential functions--and hearing and sight are non-essential
functions. The first week on breastmilk she started to only set off
her apnea monitor during the night's deepest sleep...and only then
typically once a night. Within three weeks, they took it off of her
completely, because she just didn't set it off any more. THe first
week she gained and KEPT ON four ounces. The next week three. The next
week SEVEN. Now, she has gained nearly four pounds (eight weeks
later). We now have full cooperation with her new pediatrician and the
state to give her human milk, no questions asked.
We have tried her on formula again, and on "extra calories" breastmilk
boosters several times, to see what would happen should we run out of
breastmilk. The baby immediately goes into cirsis again. Formula is
NOT okay. She is showing strong allergies to cow's milk proteins, soy
proteins, and corn and corn derivitives, which pretty much eliminates
every form of artificial milk we have available. This baby was
literally dying (the new pediatrician looked at her stats on intake
and stood up and hugged foster mom saying, "If you hadn't started this
baby on human milk a week ago, she would be dead today--you are a
Hero!"), and now has a chance at life.
syphilis, at 31 weeks gestation. She had no skin on the palms of her
hands or feet and had to have skin grafts. She was the fourth child to
be taken from her mother, and was taken at birth and brought directly
to the NICU. The birth mother's parental rights were terminated within
12 weeks, which is very fast in MIchigan. They could find no formula
that Jayden could tolerate well, but settled on the one that she had
the "least severe reaction to."
When she was about eight weeks old, she was assigned a foster parent,
who came to do kangaroo care with her for eight days before she took
her home, as Jayden was completely blind and profoundly deaf, and
would need to be accustomed to "mom's" smell and touch before they
sent her home. When she went home, she was the most critical discharge
they have ever had from that NICU, which routinely sees the sickest of
babies. Basically, with tears in their eyes, the nurses sent Jayden
home to die. Jayden was insulin dependant (with critically unstable
blood sugars, typically either below 60 or above 400), on oxygen 24
hours a day, and set off her apnea monitor 6-10 times a day. In order
to set off a monitor, she would have to not breathe for many seconds
at a time. She had gained and lost the same three ounces since birth,
and was no more than four and a half pounds. Her foster mother asked
over and over again of anybody who had authority why this baby
couldn't
be on breastmilk, shouldn't this baby be on breast milk, what did she
have to do to get this baby on breastmilk? Over and over, she was
basically told that this was a medicaid baby and that the state
wouldn't PAY for banked milk (which costs between 1-2 dollars an
ounce, and has been pasteurized) for a MEDICAID baby. Finally, one
day, when Jayden was literally activly dying, an infectious disease
doctor looked at her foster mom (who is a friend of mine because of
foster work and doula work) and said, "I won't tell you NOT to give
her breastmilk. We know that it would give her the best chance!" So,
we got her some frozen breastmilk.
With her first bottle of human milk, Jayden's blood sugar regulated.
She is typically somewhere around 120 now. Within the first three
weeks, she regained her sight and hearing. Her new pediatrician says
that when somebody is actively dying their brain will shut off all
non-essential functions--and hearing and sight are non-essential
functions. The first week on breastmilk she started to only set off
her apnea monitor during the night's deepest sleep...and only then
typically once a night. Within three weeks, they took it off of her
completely, because she just didn't set it off any more. THe first
week she gained and KEPT ON four ounces. The next week three. The next
week SEVEN. Now, she has gained nearly four pounds (eight weeks
later). We now have full cooperation with her new pediatrician and the
state to give her human milk, no questions asked.
We have tried her on formula again, and on "extra calories" breastmilk
boosters several times, to see what would happen should we run out of
breastmilk. The baby immediately goes into cirsis again. Formula is
NOT okay. She is showing strong allergies to cow's milk proteins, soy
proteins, and corn and corn derivitives, which pretty much eliminates
every form of artificial milk we have available. This baby was
literally dying (the new pediatrician looked at her stats on intake
and stood up and hugged foster mom saying, "If you hadn't started this
baby on human milk a week ago, she would be dead today--you are a
Hero!"), and now has a chance at life.
Monday, November 30, 2009
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