On Sunday, the doctor removed Olivia's Bubble CPAP machine, that was giving her oxygen. She was off the machine for about 10 hours before they put it back on. It was the first time we got to see her whole face!
Since she was doing so well, the nurse let me hold her for the first time on Sunday afternoon. She was put in my shirt, right against my skin, which is called Kangaroo Care. I was so happy to finally get to hold her. I can't imagine a better birthday present.
She was so much more comfortable without the tubes in her nose. She spends a lot of time on her tummy and it seems to help her breathing and heart rate.
On Sunday night, Howie got to hold her for the first time. The nurse swaddled her so that she would stay warm. She is still doing very well. We were a little sad that they had to put the CPAP machine back on, but we kind of expected it. She is still very young and it is important that she doesn't have to work too hard to breathe. It is amazing that she can breathe on her own because almost all babies her age need the ventilator to breathe. They increased her feedings again today, up to 5.5 mL per hour and she seems to be tolerating it well. She is almost back up to her birthweight, just one more ounce to go!
