27 days...

Today was rough on Britta-Cakes. She pulled her feeding tube out for the second time, so she had to have that put back in. She threw up twice, had to have an xray to ensure the feeding tube was in the correct place. She had had her fill by the end of it all. Every little thing, even just a diaper change wears her out.

It's hard to believe that something as natural as eating can be such a challenge, but it really is for Britta and other heart babies. Yesterday, the Occupational Therapist came by to work with her and Britta gagged over and over again while trying to feed, and didn't have that natural "rooting" instinct that babies have. She wasn't able to get more than a couple of drops of water into her. She came back by this morning and Britta rooted around a little and got a couple of cc's of formula down before falling asleep. She gagged a little, but nearly as bad as yesterday. This afternoon, the OT came back by and while Britta had had a rough day and was hard to keep awake, she did successfully take and keep down about 15cc's of formula before falling asleep.

She has remained quiet the rest of the day and evening and the OT will come back tomorrow and we're hoping that Britta continues to improve each day! She cannot be released until she is eating and keeping down about 2 ounces every 3 hours or so and gaining weight. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell how long it will take her. The OT said today it is usually a few weeks, but really, it's different for each baby. They told us the morning of her surgery that they've had some babies that are ready to go home after a month in the hospital, but they can't release them due to feeding issues and have had to stay 3 months. We are trying to stay positive and hoping for a short stay!

So far, Britta has been in the hospital for 23 days. If you count the days she stayed in the hospital when she was born, she has spent 27 of her 43 days of life so far in the hospital. I can't wait to bring this baby girl home FOR GOOD!