Day 172

Ava's gas was 60 this morning and 72 in the afternoon. She is in 36% O2. They didn't want to wean her rate since they are lowering a few of her steroids and medicines. She is currently on a lot of medications so they are hoping to get her off some of them.

She had the PH test probe taken out at 3pm today and we will get results sometime next week. This will also tell us if her acid reflux is very acidic.
I spoke to the doctor tonight who wanted to know if we are up for Ava getting a g-tube in her stomach so she can eat and get home faster. We can still try to bottle and breast feed her, but in the meantime she would be fed through a tube in her tummy. The doctor also wanted to know how we felt about putting her in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). We are ok with both things as long as we can get her home sooner rather than later. I may have to be at the PICU more since Ava will have her own room and may not have as much interaction as she does now in the NICU. We also talked about her getting her pacifier dipped in milk again to encourage her to suck while her food is going down into her stomach.

Anthony is back home tonight but unfortunately he missed my uncle's funeral today. I had a reading and overall it was a very nice ceremony. It was good to see my mom's side of the family who we don't often see. Some didn't even know that I had another baby. But I found out my cousin David reads this blog every night. Thanks David (and everyone else) for continuing to read Ava's blog and for caring. I hope I can continue to bring you good news and Ava home (with lots of photos).

Thanks O'Connell Family for this adorable outfit. I had to get a bootie shot of the ruffles.

Praying for Ava to get better...