Week 5 - Criteria Update

Jillian has now completed criteria 1 and 2 with flying colors. See below for the original list.

About a week ago she underwent a retina check which is a very stressful procedure. Her eyes were just fine, retina is great, optic nerve is developed properly, etc. Unfortunately, the procedure was a bit traumatic to her body. She began to have a few "events" in which her heart rate would slow down and her oxygen level would drop, but she would recover on her own. It is normal for preemies to have these events and they generally happen during feeding times. Jillian would sometimes have an event during her first weeks of life after birth when Mommy or Daddy would hold her and she would be so peaceful and content that she would "forget" to breathe.

Criteria number 4 and 5 should be taken care of very easily. In my next post I will address the most important criteria which is Jillian taking everything by mouth.

List of exit criteria:

1. She must weight over 1800 grams (1.8 Kilograms / about 4 Pounds).
2. She must maintain her own body temperature in an open crib (bundled up of course).
3. Take all fluids by mouth. That means her food and supplemental vitamins with iron (if needed).
4. Have no events with her heart rate or her breathing.
5. Be able to ride in a car seat without having trouble breathing or with her heart rate.
If you recall, I predicted that Jillian would get to come home by March 1st. It looks like she may be home a little before Day 40 which would be February 19th. My new prediction is that Jillian will be home sometime between February 21st and 23rd. That's less than two weeks away!!!