Hi everyone, Lisa and I have decided that a Blog would be a great way to let all our friends and family know how our little girl is progressing in her first few tough days, weeks and months.

This is Olivia Grace Earp's story and we would love you to enjoy the highs with us and keep her in your thoughts during the lows.

I apologise for the rambling nature and somewhat thrown together appearance of the Blog but I don't have much time at the moment!

********You need to read from the bottom up with Blogs so the newest post is always at the top. Look to the right of the page and click on "Olivia's Story Post Archive" for the earlier posts***********

We are proudly supporting the Cots for Tots appeal to raise £1 million for vital equipment at St Michael's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Please have a look at the website and donate a few pounds if you can.

http://www.cotsfortots.org.uk/

James and Lisa xx

Sunday, 6 February 2011

Day 20- A Bit Like Buses!

Well.....you wait for ages and nothing.....then two come along at once!  Yep, dirty nappies! Olivia opened her bowels twice  toady and is normally not something that parents would celebrate but this is big news at St Michaels for gastroschisis babies, it indicates that their digestive system is beginning to settle down and rumble in to life. 

All in all it has been a very good day, we've had more cuddles, fed her via tube and syringe, no vomiting of the green milkshake, her aspirate levels were almost non existent and we gave her wash.  We are quietly confident that when the surgeons make their rounds in the morning she will have her feeds increased up from 10mls. She has stuck on 10mls for the last 4 days and is getting more hungry with each passing hour.

This is not Lisa but the nurse feeding her hence the gloves and apron!


Over the last week 3 babies have been transferred back to their referring hospital freeing up some space in Olivia's ward, there was one new arrival today but still a few spaces remain for the lucky or unlucky babies and parents depending how you look at it!

I emailed the 'Cots for Tots' appeal on Friday, this is the most recent fundraising effort by the team at St Michaels, the aim is to raise £1,000,000 for 4 new lifesaving incubators and all the equipment that goes with them.  It is very sad that some babies who need to be treated at St Michaels NICU get turned away due to lack of beds and equipment, this can mean that even if you lived next door to the hospital your baby might have be treated in a hospital many miles away.

Olivia's Blog is getting a good daily readership of around 150-200 people so I asked if I could embed a web banner to the Cots for Tots website so people could donate if they wanted to do so. They are keen to meet us next week and would also like to link from their site to the Blog.

More news on this to follow. :-)

Asleep on Daddy :-)
We hope that this progress can continue in to the new week and that we inch closer to getting to take her home with us!

James x
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