Katie's Progress
Apgar scores - When a baby is born, she is examined after one minute and after five minutes and given a score each time. A score of 7-10 is considered good. Katie scored an 8 and 9, which is incredible for such a small baby.
Click here for more information on Apgar scores
Breathing - When babies are premature, the most common problem they have is underdeveloped lungs. We were prepared for Katie to need some sort of respiratory help. However, she's needed no assistance breathing and even the doctors are amazed!
Coming Home - There are a few things that need to happen before Katie can come home. She's got to be able to maintain her body temperature, eat on her own, and weigh around 4 pounds. We're watching her intake, growth, and weight as we wait for the day she can come live with mom and dad.
Temperature - On 8/29, Katie graduated to a "big girl bed". They moved her from a temperature-controlled isolette (incubator) to an open crib because she has proven that she can maintain her body temperature on her own.
Weight (grams) - In special care, they measure tiny babies in grams to they can track even the slightest changes. Katie's weight went up and down as little as 5 grams in a day the first week. It is normal for newborns to lose weight after birth. Katie just had less to lose!
| At Birth (7/21) | Today (9/4) |
| 842g | 1775g |
Weight (pounds/ounces)
| At Birth (7/21) | Today (9/4) |
| 1lb, 14oz | 3 lb, 14 1/2 oz |
Feedings
Step 1, full feedings: At first, they fed Katie through a tube that gave her food continuously. She needed to reach the goal of 6.0 cc/hr of continuous feedings before they would gradually move her to feedings every 3 hours. (*5-6 cc's are roughly a teaspoon. 30 cc's equal one ounce.)
At Birth (7/21) First feeding (8/2) Goal 0 0.3 cc/hr 6.0 cc/hour 6.0 cc/hour Step 2, feeding every 3 hours: Since Katie proved she could tolerate the "full feedings", they began feeding her on a regular schedule (every 3 hours) through the feeding tube. As she gained weight, the feedings were increased proportionally. As of 8/29, the tube has been removed and the amount of her feedings is based on Katie's appetite.
Step 3, bottle feeding: Until a baby can breathe, suck, and swallow at the same time, she is not ready for conventional feedings (without the feeding tube). Katie began bottle feeding twice a day (8/15/02). As she tolerates this well, she will take a bottle more often until she is able to take all (8) of her feedings this way. SINCE 8/29, KATIE HAS BEEN TAKING ALL HER FEEDINGS BY BOTTLE!!!