SUCCESS!!!!

Day 25

Well, I feel a little like a broken record these days, but Emma had an amazing day today!  She was extubated at around 11:30 this morning and so far is doing great!!  They first checked her throat to see how the swelling was, since if it was too swollen they would not have extubated her.  The swelling was fine, so the tube came out and she is now on a machine called a "SiPAP".  This is a mask around her nose that gives pressure into her lungs and regulates the amount of breaths she takes, similar to the ventilator, but much less invasive.  She has to do more work now, but it is much better for her lungs than the ventilator.  However, since she does have to do more work, she may get tired and need to go back on the ventilator for more help as she continues to grow.  We know that this is a definite possibility, but any amount of time she is able to be off the ventilator is good for her.  Therefore, even if she gets re-intubated tomorrow, she had a whole day of rest for her lungs, so we'll take it! 

But so far, she is doing great.  They still regulate the amoung of oxygen they give her, so she was around 30% most of the day, which is very low (and that's a good thing!).  When they first put the SiPAP on, she was very confused as to what was on her face and what was going on.  She kept grabbing at the mask and squirming around and really just had a look of confusion on her face.  And one of the best parts is that we can hear her now!!  She isn't very loud (yet... I'm sure that will change soon..) but she mostly squeaks and whimpers.  It's adorable. 

AND Mom got to kangaroo her today, for the first time in a long time!  It was wonderful and special and we had a great time. 

AND her umbilical cord finally fell off!  Her tummy looks beautiful. 

All in all, a wonderful day. 

Now for some pictures. 

Emma trying to extubate herself yesterday.. she knew it was coming!

This morning she was getting herself into more odd positions.  I don't know how that is comfortable for her?? 

...Extubated!  The hat has loops to keep the tubes in place.  I couldn't get any good pictures, because she was moving around so much and had her hands up by her face the whole time... but I would too if I were her!