Harli Nicole Culy: February 2, 2012

Last night was a very rough night for Harli. Around two this morning she lost all her energy and started having episodes which were very difficult to get Harli to wake up. Our night nurse asked the doctor to see if they could do blood work to figure out what was causing the problem. When the blood work came back there were no infections, but her red blood cell count was low again. They decided to give her another blood transfusion, they started the transfusion at seven thirty this morning. Harli was given the blood over a three hour period, which during the blood transfusion she was not able to get her milk. The transfusion ended at ten thirty this morning and Harli was able to eat at eleven to get her back on schedule. They did more blood work after the transfusion and now her red blood cell count is where it needs to be.

The doctor did inform Blair that the blood transfusions are not something to be worried about. Harli is still to young to produce her own blood, and with the amount of blood they take twice a week for labs they expect her to get low at times. The doctor said she could have anywhere from eight to fifteen blood transfusions before she is big enough to start producing her own blood to keep up.

Once Harli received the blood she had a really good day. I got to kangaroo Harli for two hours, and during those two hours her vitals remained very good. Getting to hold Harli was exactly what I needed today, and hopefully I get the chance to hold her again tomorrow. She did not have a bowel movement today so I am sure the night nurse is going to have fun. Throughout the whole day Harli did not have one "brady", where her heart rate drops, but she did have a couple of times where her breathing slowed down. The night nurse thought the one time she was trying to have a bowel movement because she could hear her grunting. Then Harli got the hick ups and she had trouble breathing during those.

I hope that Harli continues to show great progress throughout the night, and rests a little so she can grow. Since receiving her blood she did not lay still except for the two hours which I was holding her. Our nurse said after seeing how much the blood changed her energy they will probably start checking her red blood cell count weekly to see if she needs another transfusion.

Harli weighed in at 1120 grams or 2.75 lbs, which is up two ounces. We also have to take into consideration that some of the weight is because of the blood which she received, but we will still take every ounce we can get.