Yup, I got a few comments about.. "You left me hanging!  How's Addy's bloodwork?"

Well, all is good.  Kind of.  I know that Addy's anemia goes hand in hand with her apnea, as it was the reason for her delay in discharge.  Once she got her blood transfusion she began eating like a big girl.  Had she not had oxygen desaturations, she would of been out of the hospital probably 4 days earlier!  

So, just before her blood transfusion, her Hemoglobin was 9.0 (should be 12-14, but above 10.6 is acceptable).  After transfusion it was 10.8.  On Friday, it was 9.6.  So, it fell AGAIN!  So, Dr. K called the NICU because 10.6 is the cutoff.  Her and the NICU decided to just up her Iron for now.  So, she gets a morning dose and evening dose along with her caffeine in the morning that was just upped last week after her Brady (which the caffeine has REALLY helped already!)  She is still having apnea issues, but we are almost positive it's related to her anemia, so we don't take stock in it.  We just make sure she remembers to breathe once her apnea alarm goes off.  We've not seen a Bradycardia alarm since last Thursday (YEAH!). 

She still does look pale, but that's to be suspected.  Hopefully, once she gets her hemoglobins back up, she'll get her daddy's skin coloring back.  Right now, she's as white as mommy!

Dr. K also mentioned that we may need to get Addy to a specialist.  Seems it's just too much of a workload on a family doctor.  I'm not sure she meant we would need to be completely transferred to an actual pediatrician or if we would just go to a specialist for her apnea and bradycardias, just to be monitored more closely.  We'll see.  If she doesn't have any further spells, then it won't be a problem.  If St. Mary's was capable of having follow-up care, then it wouldn't be an issue either, but unfortunately it's just not the case.  They have been awesome about doing what they can for us.  Addy's their first patient to be administered Synagis, the RSV shot, and they are doing monthly checks on her for now to make sure she is growing and doing well.  I'm kind of disappointed, but I understand.  This was a concern when Addy was in the hospital, but the NICU nurses and doctors all told us she'd be fine with Dr. K.  We even asked Dr. K and she was fine.  I think the catch here is that she has an apnea monitor and she had an actual Bradycardia and continues to just randomly stop breathing.  Dr. K just wants what is best for Addy.  Hopefully, we'll stay with Dr. K and just go to a specialist for her apnea and bradycardias.  The good thing is that in about 5 months, she should completely outgrow all of that.  It's all temporary!


On another note, Charley & I FINALLY went to the grocery store! Sheesh!  We had just been picking up odd and ends, but we needed all the essentials.  So, off we went.  Well, my mom has the stroller from a few nights ago, so I just carried Addy in our new carrier (which I LOVE!), it's a Baby Bjorn carrier and I've worn it at work the last 2 days and I have actually accomplished something!!!  She just likes being held right now.  She gets cozy on my chest in that carrier!  They aren't cheap, but they are worth every penny!   We have a sling that I love too, but she's just still too little for it.  In a few more months it'll be perfect, but for now, the Baby Bjorn works best!   I just slung her apnea monitor on my shoulder (it has a carrying case it stays in).

Anyway, I grabbed our "Please wash your hands before touching mine." sign "just in case."  I wrapped her blanket around her and tucked her feet up to keep people from touching her feet.  When I got inside, I just left her head visible, but she had a hat on.  I kept her tucked on me the entire time.  We had to get her formula, so we were just browsing through the baby section.  It wasn't too bad at first.  A few comments of "Oh, a new one." and "She's so little!"  "Was she born early?"  etc..  I just politely answered while I was trying to shop.  Well, Charley and I were checking out toys and stuff trying to figure out Christmas gifts for her as she will developmentally be different than any other near 5 month old.  We are trying to find appropriate things that would be suitable for her so we can tell others.  Let's face it, she's still in size NEWBORN (from 5-8lbs) and her 0-3 (8-12.5lbs)outfits are still looking quite huge!  Well, we turned the corner and Charley was looking at some clothes and these people practically swarmed us.  Charley instantly backed the cart up, I popped out my sign and stuck it on her carrier and we just walked quickly away.  I couldn't believe it.  I went to a different aisle to look for something and people FOLLOWED me!  I thought.. "Are you nuts?"  We have NEVER had this problem when we put her in her stroller and close up the canopies.  But, when she was in the carrier it was a baby free-for-all!  I freaked!  So, we just grabbed the formula and went to get our groceries.

A good thing from tonight is that I met a mother of Quadruplets who was also a patient of Dr. Gentry's (fertility doctor).  We had a nice quick conversation and I got to meet her 4 boys.  They are 2 1/2 and were born just shy of 30 weeks.  They were around the same weights as Addy and they are all healthy and thriving!  Two of them are identical and the other 2 are fraternal.  She was super sweet and so was her husband!   She saw Addy's apnea monitor and that started the WHOLE conversation!  

Gotta run for now!  Will update more later.  I have a few more pictures from Halloween, maybe I'll get them up this weekend for everyone!