Off the Vent

Well that's our big news for today.  Olivia is off the ventilator and on a pressurized cannula to help give her oxygen.  This is a big step in her recovery process, but also a scary one since she hasn't really been adapting well to changes after the surgery.  When I first saw her this morning she was sort of pasty white/gray looking and her breathing was really labored which didn't make me feel very comfortable with the situation.  By this afternoon, her color was nice and pink and her breathing wasn't nearly as labored as this morning. 

The nurses have had her sitting up a little bit to help break up some of the mucus left in her from weeks on the ventilator and are rotating her from side to side about every 45 minutes to keep breaking up any additional fluid that could be in her lungs.  I was able to hear her cry a little bit, right now it sounds kind of wimpy (Brian said picture Simba in the Lion King trying to learn how to roar) and she's starting to toy around with the idea of taking a pacifier.  The doctors and nurses are going to watch her very closely over the next 24-48 hours to make sure she's not getting too tired or stressed out from this latest milestone. 

Hopefully she's more stable tomorrow so that we'll be able to hold her. I hear the weather is going to be beautiful tomorrow and I've already forewarned the nurses that the baby in bed 1 might go missing now that a ventilator isn't needed for her care.  I just want to pack her up and be on the run!  In all seriousness, I am just hoping for stability so we can move on to the next step of getting her to take feeds of substantial portions.  This morning's weigh in showed that so far Livvy has lost 1lb 4oz during her stay here.  We've definitely got our work cut out for us in terms of getting her to pack back on some weight before the Glenn in a few months.  I know I've got a few pounds I could spare to her cause.  :)