Millie's Milestones

MILLIE continues to show signs of slowly recovering from her ordeal.

She is quiet and subdued - so not the Millie we know and love - but she is a healthy pink colour.

Millie had two kangaroo care cuddles with her mummy today (Fri, 24 March).

Her breathing has calmed, so she has been allowed to come out from under the oxygen pod and is now breathing air.

As is to be expected, Millie has started to lose weight because she is not being fed milk. She therefore cries for food.

Over the past 24 hours, Millie's weight has dropped by 30 grammes to 1.770kg (about 3lbs 14 ounces).

It is likely to fall further still. This is because she will not be fed milk for up to 10 days so her bowels have time to recover.

Instead, Millie will be fitted with a long line and undergo Total Parental Nutrition (TPN).

You can read more about long lines and TPN in the Spaghetti Junction post from 23 February.

The doctors say it is likely that the long line will have to be inserted into a vein on Millie's head. If so, they will shave off her hair.

This is because the larger easy-to-access veins on her arms and legs have already been used a number of times and are therefore weak.

Although rather unsettling to look at, fitting long lines into veins on the head is common practice in many countries.

The doctors expect to fit the long line some time over the weekend. We will keep you updated.

posted by Johann @ 10:59 PM