Even Ava Prays

Ava's lumbar punctur went perfectly yesterday. The initial results that came back look perfectly nomral, which indicates that the infection that she has is only in her blood and is not meningitis. Thank God! They will continue to watch the cultures but since they started her on antibiotics so early, it seems we are ahead of the game. Ava's actual behavior has really been unchanged. This is HUGE. When Travis was septic, he was already SO sick before they figured out what was going on, so being head of the infection has already made all the difference in the world. Unfortunately Ava is still on the ventilator. This is obviously one of our biggest goals at the moment but it is all up to her. I am trying my best not to focus on it and just trust that she will come off soon. Sometimes it is so much harder when you know too much. If I wasn't so well aware of the damage a ventilator does to the lungs, I may be a little less concerned with getting her off ASAP. But there is nothing I can do to make that happen any sooner.

Feedings are going fairly well and I am thankful because I am producing mass amounts of milk for Ava and she needs to start making room in my freezer, haha! She started on 2ml's every 3 hours and she is up to 12ml every three hours. Full feeds for a girl her size is 15ml every three hours. She is almost there and is being weaned off of her IV nutrition. Since pumping is really the only thing I can do for Ava right now, it makes me very happy to have her eating. Obviously at this point, she is just getting the milk through a tube, but however we can get it to her belly is great! The other awesome news about this is that she is pooping on her own! It may seem trivial but this is an incredible sign that her digestive tract is working well!

Last night was "bath night" and it was Ava's FIRST bath. It was really just a sponge bath but we got to help out, and boy did she need it. She was NOT happy about the whole ordeal but overall she did well. This girl has definitely got an attitude. Unfortunately, our camera has decided it was a great time to stop working. Pretty frustrating but we will be getting a cheap point and shoot for now. So all I have are cell phone pictures.

Saying her Prayers