So how is Tanner doing?!

So far the story has been about this little girl who showed her face to the world too soon, but i havent really mentioned how she is actually is doing.

In short, today, which is day 4, she is doing really well.

We all feel better as we are getting nice and long hold times together and are all becoming more stable; emotionally and physically.

At first, she was on the air which is called c-pap and the numbers were higher. Its a respirator that helps hold air in her little lungs. If she didnt have that, the two little underdeveloped balloons aka her lungs would shrink and the coating on the inside of them would stick together, not allowing her lungs to open fully.

She has been on that since day one which is very common for our little girls preterm arrival. Over time they have lowered the numbers and she is coasting on a very low pressure of air supply which you can imagine, is great news.

The last two days she has been under the UV lights. They say most babies dont like it but it honestly seems pretty cozy looking to me. It gets her little incubator nice and toasty as the UV lights soaks into her skin. Its not a serious concern, but the lights help her kindeys out since her little kidneys are not strong enough to break down bilirubin from her blood aka Gaundice. As of today she was still under the lights but that is likely to change within the next 12 hours.

Which also means we can hold her longer because when shes under the lights they really want to keep her there so the hold times before could only be 30 minutes where now, today, we got to cuddle for 1.5 hours. it was magical and flew by so fast!

Her next mission is to handle milk into her tummy. She was having some throw up issues when they would increase the amount of milk. The milk has been a combination of donor milk and my own.

After this experience i appreciate all who volunteer and donate. It makes the biggest difference in the world when someone really needs it. It is something i was not aware of before, until of course now when you are in the situation, you realize it. But now i have seen how much goes into helping others and the work load involved behind the scenes is eye opening and makes me feel so grateful all these people exist to help other people.

So if you ever feel the need to donate or help, please do it.

Today she is being increased her feed by 3ml every cycle with is 12 hours. She will be at 15 ml which is also amazing.

all this news for me has given me such a sense of comfort and i can see it on her too. She is more comfortable and stable in her new suroundings. Although not ideal, she is in the best care and for that, i also can find peace in knowing shes well taken care of and is getting all the things she currently needs.

in time, the things she needs will change and i will be there for every step she takes and every step after that.

We spoke to the doctor today and he said how she will be ready to leave and remain her treatment as a level 2 hospital. Mcmaster is a level 3 meaning it is mroe more intensive patience. it would be nice for her to stay here of course, but it is also great knowing she doesnt need it anymore and is ready to move on.

her bed will be filled with a baby more in need of the amazing care here. For that i can be thankful and it gives me more strength as we yet again navigate the everchanging landscape of a preterm baby.

her next stop will be a neighboring hospital, we aren’t sure yet what that will look like but we have to have faith and belief that the blind step forward will be placed perfectly below our front foot.

Tanner is already so much more then she will likely know, at least not for a long, long time. she has tied us together. now, my family has grown and become more woven among one another and its all because of her.

here is to the next steps forward, whatever they may look like. We are prepared to face it with nothing but love.

Ps. to support me along this story telling and you would like to offer the universal gift of $$ we would accept that as your baby gift to us. We would appreciate the support of our story and also me sharing the story, which I plan on continuing throughout the process.

To send a gift of support use PayPal (shelbschlager@gmail.com) or etransfer (sdd_94@hotmail.com)

Thank you and see you guys in the next chapter.

Love

Shelby