Muriel in the NICU

Muriel has been in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) since Thursday evening.  She had a dedicated nurse Thursday night, as she was expected to have a number of challenges, none of which surfaced thankfully!  Muriel has been doing so well, in fact, that she has had not needed the ventilator and is instead getting by with the help of an air pump and mask, which forces some pressure through her nose and into her lungs without Intubation.  

Even so, her Oxygen saturation is below what would be expected as normal for a newborn without her challenges (floating between 60 and 80 percent), and regular blood gas tests have shown that her CO2 levels are above normal and rising.  Possibly related her lungs contain some fluid and she is being put on diuretic drugs to help "dry her out".

The NICU allows us to visit whenever we like, but limits the number of vistors two, one of which must be a parent.  Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Kate all visited today, and we had to take them one at a time to see Muriel.

We managed to get a room reserved at the Ronald McDonald House next the to hospital.  We are allowed to stay as long as Muriel is in the hospital.  This place is so amazing it deserves its own post, which I will work on next ;)