Changing the Trach

   On Saturday we changed out Emma's trach for the first time. That is something that has to be done about once every 10 days. The one she had before was 3.0mm in diameter with a cuff (plastic piece that inflates in her trachea so air just goes through the piece rather than breathing around the trach) and the one we put in today was 3.5mm without a cuff. She seems to like it a lot, and we also practiced "bagging her", which is when the nurses have to give her manual puffs because her oxygen level gets too low and she turns purple and/or passes out because she gets worked up from being uncomfortable and starts holding her breath or if the ventilator gets disconnected for too long. It was all just practice today because Emma was doing so well and remained alert and content.

   We visited her again that night so I could bring more milk and so we could spend time with her before the hurricane. The hospital is going on lock down starting at 7am on Sunday, so we probably won't be able to see her until Tuesday! I've never gone more than one day at a time without seeing her, so the nurse said she would try to send us extra pictures. Emma was doing so well when we saw her tonight. Nothing even made her furrow her eyebrows or look unhappy at all. She was awake when we got there at 10:30pm and stayed awake most of the hour we were there with her. She really loves sucking on her pacifiers and at one point was even holding it in her mouth by herself like a big girl! She currently weighs 6 pounds, 5 ounces, but a bit of that could be fluids from the IV she has had flowing for the past two days.

    I've been on a non-dairy diet for Emma since August 16th by request of her doctor, and that seems to be helping her a lot. She has had less tummy issues and her diaper rash is pretty minor right now, so I'll definitely be sticking to that. Today she is 3 months old and currently weighs 6 pounds and is 17 inches long. She is starting to smile more and likes looking at herself in the mirror. Her first tooth has broken through - I'm serious, we're all surprised! - and it's a sharp tiny thing. She has been doing so well after her surgeries. We really feel like the Fundoplication (to get rid of her acid reflux problem) has helped a lot and she is projected to come home in six weeks!!!!