"Our God is Healer, awesome in power" - Chris Tomlin

Tonight we got news that Claire's PDA valve in her heart has closed; which is great news!  This is supposed to close after birth, so Claire is still on the right path of development.

One thing they found today was a sign of acidosis.  Normal human blood is around 7.35-7.45 which is basic.  With Claire, they found that she has a low level of Bicarbonate, which is a base found in the blood.  Since her level of Bicarbonate has decreased, this increases the level of acidity of her blood.  They believe that it is caused by the immaturity of her kidneys and their inability to flush out the toxins.  The toxins are "spilling" out in her body causing her to have a low urine output.  To fix this, they are giving Claire a dose of Lasix, which flushes out the excess fluid build up.  Another hypothesis is that Claire might have an infection of some sorts.  They are giving her a dose of antibiotics for two days that should rid the infection if that is the case.

Being premature, Claire's lungs were borderline underdeveloped.  Due to the immaturity of her lungs, she has had a high respiration rate.  They call this Tachypnea.  When a baby is born naturally, the fluid in their lungs is supposed to be expelled, but in Claire not all of her fluid was expelled.  This is the main cause for her Tachypnea.  The Lasix will also help with the fluid on her lungs.

They also noticed distention in her stomach just from observing her.  They believe that this ties in with the Tachypnea and the excess build up of air in her tummy.  They are going to take an X-ray just to make sure.

Claire's potassium levels in her blood test were up today, but they determined that it was from the Hemolysis (sp) of her red blood cells when they were squeezing her foot to draw blood.  They will no longer be squeezing her feet, instead drawing blood from her IV's.    

The good news in all of this is that all of the above is FIXABLE.  These are common "problems" in preemie babies, so Claire is not alone.  For the next couple of days, they will be testing her urine and blood output just to make sure there is no infection present.  

Rebecca is running on hardly any sleep but is manging well.  She is very grateful for everybody's part in this equation.  She is definitely learning what it is to be a new mom; changing diapers, getting "pooped" on, holding Claire's tiny hand, and feeling her embrace each little hour per day that she gets to hold her...what an awesome feeling!!  As Chris Tomlin states in his song, "Our God is Healer, awesome in power".

Goodnight,
Aunt 'Manda