Abigail-12 days old

Hi everyone! Here's an update on Abigail. She was born on April 14, 2008. She is 12 days old today( they count her birthday as day 1). Abigail is our little fighter. The NICU nurses say that she will have good days & bad days. She is now under what is called a photo therapy light which is to treat jaundice. Jaundice is a common condition in any baby, even full term babies. It is a breakdown of red blood cells. The nurses explained it to us by saying that jaundice is a babies inability to heal their skin when they get a bruise. Our skin heals when our bruises change colors.
She also wears little foam "sunglasses" to protect her eyes, from the photo therapy light causing any permanent damage. She is on a ventilator tube which breathes for her if she forgets to breathe, but she is breathing quite a bit on her own. I received 2 shots of steroids while in the hospital before she was born, which helped to further develop her lungs. She is getting 1 1/2 ml. of my breastmilk which they feed her through a tube that goes down to her stomach. To give you an idea how much 1 1/2 ml. is there is 30 ml. in 1 oz. of breastmilk. It doesn't seem like a lot but they have to start her out with just a little bit at a time to teach her digestive system how to work. They also want her to poop so her bowels can learn to work. Premature babies have to learn so many things like how to breathe on their own because they aren't at the gestational age where they've learned to do these things on their own in the womb. So when babies are born early they aren't prepared to do these things. The NICU nurses & doctors say that Abigail is doing pretty good for her age & weight. STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES. Michele & Kurt