Beautiful Blue Eyes

Ava has had many tests since her arrival, and will have many more before she finally gets to come home. So far, she's passing each one with flying colors, and we couldn't be happier.

~ her head ultrasound done at 1 week was normal. She has no brain bleeds! One reason my OB was working so hard to keep me pregnant until at least 28 weeks is that micro premies--babies born prior to 28 weeks--are at a substantial risk for brain bleeds since the blood vessels in their brains are so small and under developed. Those brain bleeds can have severe outcomes like cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus among other things. In light of that, we knew at the time I was hospitalized that the magnesium that I was given to help stop my pre-term labor has an added "neuro-protective benefit" for Ava (babies whose moms were given mag. have statistically fewer brain bleeds), so we're thankful it seems to have done it's job!

~ her first newborn screening, which premies often fail since it's the same screening full term babies get, showed a few abnormalities, but when they repeated it a week later everything came back normal!

~ her eye exam was perfect! In fact, her neonatalogist said she'd never seen a baby born at Ava's gestational age who had such a flawless course. The retinal vessels are perfectly formed and her opthamologist doesn't need to see her back until she's 9 months old! Praise God for his mercies!