A day in pictures: July 26

"Hold my hand. Stay for a while."

After sleeping soundly through most of the night, Arabella has stomach pains at 7am. She's absolutely full from her 6am feed. We use a hot pack to relax her tummy. 

Her heart rate hovers around 180+ bpm. The alarm starts going off. She's obviously working hard. She feels bloated, gassy, and cramped. She moans and cries for a short while. Belle is visibly frustrated and eventually tires out.

Mom is woken up by the beeps and dings. She gets up and takes over the reins. After being up all night, dad finally goes to bed. 

Dad's up again around noon.

Belle looks tired and worn out, but she has to be woken up and undressed for an echo scheduled for 1pm. 

"Whoa! What's this lady doing to me!?"

"And what's this slimy gel, exactly?"

The staff wanted to sedate Arabella for the echo. "No way", said mom (as politely as possible), "I don't feel comfortable with that. She just needs her soother, and her mom and dad by her side." 

Mom and dad always know best. And ain't that the truth?

There was absolutely no reason to sedate Arabella. She's a good girl, and we know that she can handle things like this without drugs or sedatives.  

The aftermath. 

Slouched at the edge of her nest. She was tired and looked defeated. 

The echo was scheduled to follow-up on her pulmonary hypertension. We'll find out in a few days if it has improved or not. If it has not improved, Arabella might need to go home on oxygen (when she's eventually discharged from the hospital). 

We'll wait and see. 

She was so drained. Everything takes a toll on her.

"Thanks mom. Thanks dad."

After the echo, Kiera and I changed her outfit and bed linens.

Now, let's have a fresh start to the day 😊

Good old tummy time. Or is it nap time?

"Dad, I'm tired. Please don't make me work, okay? I've had a rough morning."

"Now THIS I can work for!"

Belle takes 30mL from dad during her 3pm feed. Mom and dad are very proud.

The remaining 30mL go into a large syringe. A machine with an automatic timer slowly pushes the syringe, and the feed trickles through Belle's tube and into her stomach.

Belle seems calmer and more relaxed after this feed. She had a few poops earlier and seems to be handling the amount of food this time. 

Just chilling with her soother. 

She loves holding your finger.

Arabella appears to be okay, but she ends up throwing up some milk. The milk goes all over her onesie and onto the linens underneath.

Time for a quick wipe down and another outfit change. 

Belle thinks she's an actor and performer with the amount of outfit changes sometimes. 

"I just wanted this dress on all along, dad."