Dalley's Week Through Dalley's Eyes

Hey there! Me again.

I don't know about you guys on the outside.... but I have been very busy here on the inside. I have got A LOT to fill you in on.

First of all.... I got to celebrate my first St. Patricks Day! For some reason I still kept getting pinched....even though I was wearing my green bow. Nobody follows the St. Patty's day rules around here.

I also had another eye exam this week to see if my ROP is progressing. Every Wednesday I get these eye exams. I HATE THEM! But... I'm glad they check. If it gets too bad they can try to do things to prevent it from getting too serious. I am still at stage 1. There are 4 stages... so I'm celebrating that I'm still in stage 1. Wooh!

They also did an echocardiogram on my heart. I STILL have my pda.... and now they have discovered that I have the beginning signs of pulmonary hypertension. I honestly don't know what that means.. other than the right side of my heart is working harder than it should. The pulmonary hypertension isn't toooo bad right now so they are just going to "watch" it. ... whatever that means.

The really big news of the week is....... I TURNED 3 MONTHS OLD!!!!!

I got a new hat for my birthday. Everyone loved it on me..... except me! I HATED IT! It kept falling in my eyes...

More good news of the week...... guess how much I weigh now????? I'll give you a hint......

Still stumped???

I weigh 5 pounds!!!! Mom and Dad say that I am looking like a real baby now. NEWS FLASH MOM AND DAD.....!!! I've always been a real baby..... just a really tiny one with purple skin. The doctors actually said today that I am getting too chunky so they are going to reduce the volume of milk that I get. I don't think they can make up their minds... First I'm not gaining enough weight... and now I'm gaining too much weight. The reality is, they are reducing the volume of fluids I get in hopes that it will help my lungs.

The tube you see coming out of my mouth is my feeding tube. Someday... hopefully soon.... I'll be able to try to eat by mouth. As it goes.. I get my milk through a really long straw. I love milk! Buuuut....I think my milk might be 50% Diet Coke. Mom might need an intervention....

My dad had his birthday last Sunday. Guess what I gave him for his birthday?.....

YOU GUESSED IT!!!

I actually gave him his present the day after his birthday. It was hilarious.... as usual. 

And.....I am really starting to perfect my aim. I nailed the spotlight! 

This week has been extra awesome because Dad has been here every day! He has held me every day too. I LOVE snuggling with Dad!

Dad also got to help Mom give me a bath. I love baths. 

I was also evicted from my warmer crib......

And placed back into a jail cell........... I mean a crib. 

This really weird yellow and black thing with wings showed up in my crib and just sits and stares at me. It really freaked me out at first. I challenged it to a staring contest, but it won. That thing is AWESOME at staring contests. 

This place is still boring so I find things to do to pass the time. As you can tell, I'm still working out. Check out these gains!

I've also been working on mastering my "Jedi Mind Tricks"!

I've been secretly practicing on my Dad. I'm trying to convince him to buy me a certain four legged animals when I get out..... Look at him.... He has no idea what hit him! Ha! 

With my 3 month birthday comes the traditional monthly picture with my elephant. Here's a comparison.

5 Days Old

1 Month Old

2 Months Old

3 Months Old

Clearly I was in a bad mood for the picture... but hey... it was my party and I'll cry if I want to.... cry if I want to.... cry if I want to.... 

I think I'll write a song about it someday. 

A lot of people are thinking that when I get to a certain weight I'll get "released". That's not the way it works for us 24 weekers. We don't usually get out early on account of "good behavior". We're rebels at heart. 

My primary nurse Jeanette drew out a diagram to show the steps to my release. 

1. NIPPV to Nasal Canula (we're still in this phase). I'm not longer on NIPPV but I'm on CPAP. 

2. Positive oral stimulation. Show cues to feed

3. Work on eating by mouth... either nursing or from a bottle.

4. No A's and B's for 7 days. (This is when my heart rate drops really low and I forget to breath for a second or two).

5. Eat 100% by mouth

6. HOME!

I've got some work to do, but I'm pushing my little body as much as I can each day. 

I can't wait to get out of here to meet all of my family and friends. 

Thanks for the love, support and prayers.

Love, Dalley Raye

AKA..... World's greatest Chris Farley impersonator. 

Photo and caption credit: My Aunt Rachelle