Hi Everyone!!
We are SO thankful for all of the good thoughts and prayers sent up for our baby Natalie!!
I'm sorry it's been a while since posting but caring for this little one along with the rest of our crew has kept me constantly on my toes!!
I am so excited to say that it looks like Natalie is on her way to a full recovery!!!! She's still quite congested but it seems like it's coming up out of her lungs and is now into her tiny little nose, giving her quite a big girl sniffle but a far less threatening situation!! She is so full of spirit and gives the most incredible fight, you'd think she was a 90 lb pitbull!!!
She still looks a bit frail.... and has lost a couple of ounces... from 25 ounces, down to just 22 ounces right now... but she started eating a bit on her own last night (just meats, she won't take anything else) and she'll drink water on her own with no vomiting.... I've taken her outside a couple of times today for some fresh air and she's wanted to get down and potty..... so YAY!!! We're getting there!!
She's still on the meds of course, but has been off of the oxygen now for a few days and no longer needs the vaporizer continuously... which thrills the both of us, since she is now able to snuggle down with Mama in the bed where she belongs!!
Her ears still have a bit of a blue tinge to them, but she's clearly breathing better and has started moving around a little more, so both the lack of oxygen and blood circulation issues are less troublesome.............. it's a good day!!
We've taken the whole "sock sweater" idea (that I was SO enthralled with last week, haha!) and were able to fashion, a little "bodysuit" that serves not only as a warmer, but a decongestant as well.... we took two of the smallest socks we could find around the house, sewed them together after securing the neck and leg holes - - then we just took a little bit of white rice, (like those little microwavable rice filled heat packs) and secured a nice full layer to the inside of the "suit" with a tule type fabric so the rice couldn't move all around or gather in one spot.... added a wide "lip" inside to stick in a thin layer of mint leaves and put the whole thing together!!
We're able to pop the suit in the microwave for a few seconds and slip it on over Natalie's head and it gives her about an hour's worth of perfect warmth at a time, surrounding her little chest and along with the mint, (which we can easily remove and replentish as needed) serves as a wonderful decongestant without having to keep her confined to her "bubble" with the vaporizer or oxygen. It works beautifully and allows her to wander around, for good blood circulation!
We're not ready to get so brave as to venture into the bath just yet... even though she DESPERATELY needs one!!! - - but I think in a couple of days, she'll be strong enough to start getting back to our normal routine!
Here she is today in her "medsuit" - - still not fancy, but MUCH happier!!
She's sleeping now, so I think I have some time to catch up on some reading... I see TONS of new posts I've yet to read!!!
Thanks once more to ALL of you!! |