PDA, ASD, ROP

So many acronyms!

We have been busy since our last blog post.  Willa had her 4 month check up and now weighs 8 lbs 6 oz.  It is not the greatest weight gain, but she is showing positive numbers and her muscle tone and developmental skills are improving so that is what is important. 

Willa had 2 doctor appointments in Wichita this week.  We first went to the cardiologist.  When Willa was born, she had a PDA (patent ductus arterios).  She was given 2 doses of medication in the NICU to help close it and both times it opened back up.  The medication becomes less effective after the first two doses.  Since the PDA was small, the doctor hoped it would close up on its own.  When he checked, the PDA was still there and was about the same size as when he last checked it in October.  Willa also has a ASD (atrial septal defect).  I don't remember them ever mentioning this to us in the NICU, but I think it is something she has always had.  The doctor prescribed a medication to help Willa's heart work easier.  The PDA and ASD were making her heart work much harder than normal.  Willa still may need surgery to fix these issues, but at this point we are waiting to see if her body can heal itself. 

After visiting the cardiologist, we were off to visit the eye doctor to check on her ROP (retinopothy of prematurity).  Willa's right eye was being watched closely for ROP.  The doctor thinks her eyes have corrected themselves.  This was great news!  We go back in 4 weeks just to be sure.

I have been wanting to get some pictures of Willa while she is still in the "newborn" stage.  She is growing out of her newborn clothes now!  Our friend Amy Latta came to the house and did a little mini photo session for us.  She gave us a sneak peak of one of the pictures she took.  I'm so excited to see the rest!

Willa is giving us more social smiles lately, especially early in the morning and during the midnight feedings.  She has the biggest grin and the cutest dimples!  She loves laying on her playmat and looking in the mirror at herself and hitting her little caterpillar toy and making it play music.  Two nights ago she only woke up twice during the night.  I hope she starts making this a regular occurrence!

4 months

Well I'm over a week late, but my sister was in town and we got some pictures of Willa in her month stickers.  The little doll is the same length Willa was when she was born so it is a good comparison of how "big" she is now. 

Willa went on her first outing on Superbowl Sunday.  She took a trip a few blocks away to go to Great Grandma Dolly's to celebrate her birthday.  She was very good and was awake most of the time.  That week Willa and Mom made the trip to Wichita for an eye doctor appointment to check on the progress of Willa's ROP.  I didn't expect to wait over an hour to be seen!  Willa was very good, but we were ready to get out of there so she could eat.  We then stopped by the NICU to see our friends since it was only a mile down the road :)  It was good to see them all and they took a picture of Willa so the night shift nurses could see her. 

She is starting to sleep longer stretches at night which is great for everyone!  Sometimes when I haven't had a lot of sleep I get totally confused when I wake up.  I freak out thinking Willa fell asleep on top of me and when she isn't there I am frantically looking around in the bed for her.  This is why we don't co-sleep...

We still have days where she struggles with eating.  She gets so excited to eat and takes in so much air when she is gulping that she then needs to burp, but it hurts her to burp because of her reflux.  It's an ugly cycle that once it starts, its hard to get back to where she eats well.  For the most part she is getting along well with eating.  The last time she was weighed she was up to 7 lbs 13 oz.

Here are some more pictures that I have snapped in the past few weeks.  Mitch hates bows, but I can't resist.