31st July

Another mixed day today.....

No weight gain, but equally no loss either. The doctors are probably going to put her on fortified milk from tomorrow onwards to help her try and put some weight on.

Briony looked a little yellow to Mum and Dad today, so we wouldn't be surprised to find her back on the phototherapy tomorrow. Apparently they will check her liver levels to see if this is needed a little later on this evening.

The last of her IV lines has been removed, so this means that she is now at less risk of an infection, which is great.

Mummy was allowed a very quick cuddle today, but not for too long as at some points Briony is still struggling to breathe.

Mummy and Daddy really wonder if it is the change of room that has upset Briony a little. She seems best when she is just left to sleep and not disturbed, so we have limited the amount of times her incubator is opened to an absolute minimum. We'd love to interact with her a little more, but all in good time!

30th July

A mixed day for young Miss Chaffin today. On the positive side, she finally managed to put on a little bit of weight and increased by 60 grams - to give her a weight of 830 grams. The intravenous feed has stopped completely and she is now solely on breast milk at the full quantity for her weight. This means that hopefully tomorrow the last of her IV lines can come out, which cuts down her risk of getting an infection. She also moved from intensive care to high dependency this morning.

However, her breathing has been quite unsettled today and at times the nurses have had to up her respiratory support as she is not able to get enough oxygen into her blood to support herself through breathing alone. No one seems quite sure why this is the case and we all hope that it is not a sign that there is something else happening. All a bit scary as she keeps setting her alarms off. Stephen and I wonder if she is a little unsettled in her new environment and hope that overnight she may settle a little and return back to her good progress.

No cuddles today as she wasn't really well enough. She met Becky (Bagnall) for the first time.

29th July - Daddy's first cuddle

Briony had another good day today. Although she didn't gain weight, she didn't loose it either and weighs in at a steady 770 grams. Hopefully tomorrow she may start putting weight on finally. They have increased her milk up to 4.5mls/hour and decreased the intravenous feed. By tomorrow morning, all being well, they are hoping to have her exclusively on milk which would be great as it means she can have all of her horrible IV lines out, which she keeps trying to pull out in any case!

She's still on the breathing support - she'll stay on this for a while as it seems to be really helping her currently and they don't want her using too much energy just trying to breathe.

Big news of the day is that Stephen had his first cuddle. Briony loved it and was very settled with him and kept opening her eyes to look at him. Photos coming shortly (if they're not there already). Mum and Dad also gave her most of her milk today.

Briony also met Jude today - thanks for being my dedicated taxi for the day Jude!

First cuddle with Mummy

Briony had her first cuddle with Mummy on 27th July. Everyone cried, except Briony!

Mummy is now out of hospital, although spends most of the day back over with Briony in any case......

Week 1

Briony Elizabeth Chaffin was born on the 21st July 2010 at Oxford John Radcliffe hospital at 12.00 midday after a difficult pregnancy. She was clearly very eager to get into this world and meet everyone, as she made her entrance at just 26 weeks gestation weighing just 910g. Soon after her birth she was whisked off to the special care baby unit (SCBU).

Week 1 was a week of ups and downs for both Briony and her proud new Mum and Dad. Initially on a respirator, Briony surprised everyone and managed to cope with breathing on her own the first time they tried weaning her off. She moved onto Vapotherm, which is where 2 prongs feeding her air are put up her nose. This was stopped on day 3, but started again on day 6 as she seemed to be struggling a little.

Weight gain has been a real issue this week........although not exactly a heavy weight to start with Briony has lost weight throughout the week and ends the week weighing 774g. She's being fed intravenously and is also having increasing amounts of milk fed directly into her tummy through a tube in her mouth. By the end of the week she was up to an impressive 2.5mls/hour!

Mum and Dad have spent their days travelling to and from the hospital and Dad has also had to return to work. Sleep is at a complete premium as Mum is having to express every 3 hours including during the night. The events which bought Briony into the world early have also caught up with Mum and Dad. We are allowed to change her nappy and also to give her milk hourly if we are there.

Already Briony has had loads of visitors and is busy meeting the family; this week she met both sets of proud grandparents, Uncle Paul, Aunty Becky and Aunty Carlie. Not bad for just 1 week old and already so popular!

We can already she her character coming through - she is a real wriggle bum and the nurses struggle to keep her where she is put! She has also pulled a couple of her tubes out so the nurses have had to use supper strength plasters to stick them in place.

The week ended on a real high. On about day 3 she managed to open one eye, and then on day 6 she suddenly open both eyes and started peering to she who was outside her incubator. At the end of the first week, as she was relatively stable, Mum was allowed a cuddle outside of the incubator for the first time. It was a really special moment and Aunty Carlie was the official photographer. Lots of tears all round. She's limited to one cuddle a day at the moment (depending on her condition), so Dad is due the next one!

Briony's Blogger site - introduction

Briony is clearly a very well loved little young lady - not bad for just one week old today!

We have decided to create this blog so that we can update everyone who is concerned about her all at the same time, and have a record of her early life for the future.

We will upload photos as and when we are able to take them, so that you can all see her progress whenever you want to.

We hope that this helps you feel part of our little daughter's early days.....