Monday, October 11, 2010 5:41 AM, EDT

They capped Tori's PICC line! She is now completely on BREASTMILK! Guess that means that mama needs to keep up all the pumping, since Tori is now dependent on me for food! They have decided that if she isn't laying on her right side that she is very slow to digest food (it is staying in her gut 2 hrs or more) but that when she is on her right side she is only keeping about 20 minutes worth of her feed in her gut. They said it has something to do with gravity, guess I will believe them and hold her laying to her right.

They are going to start offering her a pacifier dipped in breastmilk to see how she handles it. Babies of her gestational age rarely can coordinate the whole suck, swallow, breath thing and given that she is still bradying (forgetting to breath) every couple of hours we certainly don't want to add another element that stresses her out too quickly!

Bradycardia: Definition: A slower than normal heart rhythm. In newborns, a heart rate is termed bradycardia if it falls below 100 beats per minute in a baby less than 1250 g (2 lb 12 oz) or to less than 80 beats per minute in a bigger baby. Bradycardia is often associated with apnea of permaturity, and when apnea and bradycardia come together they are often called “As and Bs.” When babies are in the NICU, their hearts are monitored, and episodes of bradycardia are treated with stimulation. If bradycardia continues, medications such as caffeine may be used to treat the condition. Pronunciation: BRAY-dee-CAR-dee-uh Also Known As: Bradys, "Bs" (in "As and Bs")

And now onto the daily Laura update! The swelling in my ankles is starting to really go down, there is now definition in my legs below my knees, for days they went straight down from my knees to my ankles with no distinction, but now I can actually see that I have ankle bones! Another step towards feeling human. My incision is still very tender, but I suppose that is to be expected, it is clean and closed, I guess it will just take time.

The food keeps showing up. I am so grateful, words can't even begin to express just how amazing and surrounded by love I feel! The food has all tasted so wonderful (apparently my friends are all very decent cooks!) and knowing that the kids have dinner makes it easier to be away from the house. Jay and I usually just reheat food when we get home, the kids seem to be eating earlier in the evening. They will probably be disappointed when it is back to mom's cooking!