Kayla day 21

Happy 3 weeks to our precious little one today. It's hard to believe she is already 3 weeks old, I just wish I had her home. But I am glad she is where she is, Kayla had a little bit of a back track today and go back on the pressure oxygen. She has been desating a lot, enough that the Dr wanted to give her a little help with the pressure. She is still doing well on her level of oxygen but she just forgets to breathe sometimes and the pressure gives her a bit more help to expand her lungs to take a deep breathe when she finally does. We are getting there, it may be slow but we are getting there. Because of all her desats the Dr got an x-ray as well as a blood draw to rule out any lung issues or infection. Thankfully those came back completely negative, so it's a bummer but she will get off the pressure oxygen again and hopefully by that time her body has grown a bit more and she will have some more room to expand those little lungs. Speaking of growing, Kayla has grown another half ounce if she keeps up these weight gains she could be at three pounds by the weekend, we will see. :)
Today was a great day though with the connection Kayla and I got when Kayla got to nuzzle today, she did so great, it's amazing how babies just automatically know what to do. We will continue to nuzzle almost everyday until the day that she gets to actually try breastfeeding (closer to 34 weeks old) so exciting I love that instant bond. So although the pressure oxygen was a bummer the nuzzling took that all away and turned it into a wonderful day. Thank you sweet girl.

Kayla day 20

Wow 20 days today that seems so strange. Even more strange to hear that since my bed rest Mike and I have been at the hospital every day for the last 39 days. That is crazy to think about, at least thinking back I feel it went a little quick instead of feeling like it really has been 39 long days. Kayla is doing well again today she can still remain at room temperature when asleep and still in her incubator but we have to turn her oxygen up when we hold her. She continues to desat and again it's just so hard to get used to. I was holding her today and she desated close to 10 to 15 times. That means the machine going off that many times. That also means me looking at my daughter and seeing the color in her face turn to a white. She really is fine, there is nothing wrong with what she is doing but it's just scary and hard because as her mother I want to be able to fix that for her and make her take a deep breathe when I have no control, she just has to learn. The way the Dr puts it, inside my belly she doesn't have to breathe yet here she is and we are asking her to breathe completely on her own and to try to remember to take a deep breathe when she forgets after a while. We are getting there this will be something she learns as she grows, and she is growing she added a half ounce to her weight tonight so hopefully by tomorrow she will be at 2lb 15oz? We will see, but we are still just so proud of her for everything she is accomplishing when she really is still so little. Love you Kayla keep it up. :)

Kayla day 19 (31 weeks)

Woke up with some great relieving news this morning. Kayla got her head ultrasound yesterday, we found out today that although that little gray spot is still there on her brain it hasn't grown. So there is nothing to worry about at all, the Dr said that 20% of all Americans have a gray spot like that on their brain without ever even knowing it. So nice to know, as well as the chromosome (genetics) blood draw results coming back negative. How relieving, that rules out any genetic syndrome related to Kayla's back and just that relief of knowing Mike and I aren't passing on anything we are unknown about to our children. Kayla has been doing well today, she is up to her max fluid intake of 26cc's but is doing well. She isn't spitting up and is pooping just great as well. Who thought we would get so excited about poop. She will stay at 26cc's until she has gained some more weight. She is hanging at 2lb 14oz right now, so close to that 3lb mark. Kayla is still desating on her oxygen levels which is always nerve raking but very very normal for preemies. It's hard to get used to her machines beeping off and on so often, but she is getting stronger and this won't last forever.

Kayla day 18

Another good day for Kayla today, because Kayla has been doing well with her 21cc's of breast milk she no longer needs her IV's and pic line. So today she got them out, yeah less wires to worry about and she is still just doing great. The other change they had to do for Kayla today was that she has been deceling on her oxygen levels. The nurses will have to bring up her oxygen or turn it down and just are having to do that a lot through out the day. They have noticed the she decels more when she has a full belly because her belly is pushing on her diaphragm so that makes sense. Because of all this they put her on an air/oxygen machine instead of only oxygen, this puts the pressure that Kayla likes on her lungs but then nurses aren't having to play with her oxygen levels as often. So far so good today Kayla will get up to 26cc's of breast milk which will be the most she will get until she starts to gain more weight. The nurses have still noticed that Kayla is deceling on her oxygen when her tummy is full, but that is very common. So we are just trying to figure out Kayla and Kayla's levels.

Kayla day 17

Kayla is doing so well. She was able to get up to 21cc's of breast milk today and is tolerating it just fine. Kayla is gaining weight which is great but is gaining grams when they want her to gain ounces. So the Dr has decided to supplement my breast milk with some extra calories. After her first couple of feeds of 21cc's they will add the formula supplement to her feeds and see how she tolerates it. They were able to do a couple of feeds with supplement before we went to visit Kayla today and she is again tolerating them well. So we are so proud of her, if she keeps this up she should be able to get her IV's and pic line out tomorrow!! :) How exciting, Kayla has also done really well on her oxygen levels today and was between 70 to 100 and she is able to continue to regain her levels on her own when she decel's which is happening less and less as she grows. Another hooray for Kayla today is that she is now 2lbs 14oz only two ounces away from 3lbs, you go girl. :)

Kayla day 16

Kayla is just moving right along. Her first day of the pressure oxygen was a little rough she had to stay up in the 100 to 200 range of oxygen to not decelerate. Today she did really well she didn't really have to go above 150 and when she would decel she would be able to get herself back up all on her own without having to turn up the oxygen. She is still moving up on her feedings and today she will get up to 18cc's that means she should be up to 21cc's tomorrow if she can maintain those feedings she will be able to get off her IV's and pic line. The only Dr change today was Kayla's caffeine intake, she will get two oral takes of caffeine a day instead of just one. These keep her heart rate up as she begins to grow and grow. Kayla is gaining grams but not ounces yet but she is now at 2lb 13oz, yeah!

Kayla day 15

It was a quiet day for Kayla today and quiet days are very good. Kayla was able to get up to 12cc of breast milk today and has gained two ounces!! So she is now at 2lb and 13oz we are so proud of her. She needs to get up to and maintain 21cc of my breast milk then Kayla will be able to get off her IV's and they will be able to take out her pic line. So if all can stay well she should be off of those in a couple of days, that's our new Kayla prayer. :) But Kayla just had a good quiet day today and was visited by Uncle Adam, Uncle David and Jessica. Thank you for coming to visit.

Kayla day 14

Kayla is two weeks old today and what a great day this has been for her. This morning Mike went in early so he could hold her before work. He wasn't going to be able to hold her after work today because he was going to see Young Frankenstein. Mike was able to see the pictures they took of Kayla's brain and all though there is a little gray spot there it seems there is really nothing to worry about. They are still increasing Kayla's feedings she should be up to close to 12cc's by the end of the day. But the best news of the day was that Kayla is now off the pressure oxygen and is on regular oxygen now, and not even the at the highest level. So she is just doing so well and moving along as she should. Kayla was also given her first little sponge bath today, which I was told by her nurse she did not enjoy. But after her bath Kayla was put in regular clothes!! Oh how cute she is, she was wearing a purple striped onesie and I thought it would look bigger than it did. She looked very good and very cute in her first outfit. Kayla's hair was also a bit fussy from her bath which was really cute because it stood up in the back and has a little curl in the front. I wonder if she will have curly hair or not?? I was able to hold Kayla for close to an hour and a half today. I can't wait till I get to bring her home and fall asleep with her in my arms. But Mike and I are just so proud of our little girl, we are still just waiting for her to put on that weight hopefully soon. :)

Kayla day 13

What a great day with Kayla today. I received a call this morning from the Dr letting us know that the pic line for one is doing well, no issues. The culture they had taken when her counts we up has come out negative. They have been able to move up her amounts of milk as the day progresses. She was able to hold down the 1cc to 2cc's yesterday so today with every other feed they will add 1cc so today she was up to 6cc's of milk. She had a head ultrasound yesterday they notices a slight gray area on her brain but say it's a class one meaning it's more like a bruise than anything else and we shouldn't be concerned about it in the long run. But they will do another head scan in a week to make sure it is not growing. Then they also were able to turn Kayla's oxygen pressure down to a two and she is tolerating that very well. So because she is doing well at two tomorrow she may be able to go on only oxygen. Mike and I are so proud of her today. Today was Mike's first day back at work, he missed Kayla very much but I updated him on her through out the day. I went in to see Kayla earlier today with my cousin Elias, my aunt Mae and her mom. I then got to hold Kayla for about 45 minutes, she did so well kept her eyes open for me and looked around for close to 10 minutes she also smiled today. I know they say that's only gas but I will take it as a smile. :) I then went back around 8pm with Mike and mom so Mike got to hold her this evening and mom enjoyed seeing Kayla outside her little incubator home. Kayla also opened her eyes with Mike for awhile and again smiled at him, she is just so precious we love these memories we are already making with our daughter. I hope all days and be filled with news like this but we know this is a roller coaster ride and we will just keep praying.

Kayla day 12 (30 weeks)

Hooray Kayla is 30 weeks today and doing well. Mike and I went in around 2pm today and talked to the Dr about Kayla's blood work. So far nothing has grown in the culture they started yesterday. They did start her on antibiotics just in case there might be something growing that they haven't caught yet. They want to stop anything before it starts because Kayla is still so little. They also noticed a bit of a bacterial infection in Kayla's pic line (very normal for preemies), this is the line that gives Kayla all of her IV fluids. So we are just praying that the new pic line they will have to put in will go in well and not cause any type of new infection as they sometimes can. They also took another blood draw from Kayla this morning to check out her levels and thankfully they are back down again. Because of this they are going to start increased Kayla on every other feeding they give her. I am so excited to get her on more and more of my milk and watch her start to grow. :)
I called later tonight to get an update on Kayla and the pic line that had to put in. Nurse said the pic line started well but they had to realign it a couple of times to get it in the right direction and right line. After they were done with that they had to take an x-ray to make sure it was running through the right line. Thankfully it was, then the nurse did Kayla's first increase in milk from 1cc to 2cc's. But right after she had done that the ultrasound tech came in to get some shots of Kayla's head/brain again. We won't know results of that until tomorrow but when the nurse had checked Kayla when they were done she said Kayla hadn't kept down the 2cc's of fluid. So she decided to try 2cc's again instead of just doing one for her next feeding. She said she thinks Kayla wasn't able to keep it down just because of all the activity she had gotten before and after she had given to her. So I hope that she has been able to keep down the second dose of 2cc's so she can start gaining some weight. They say once we can get Kayla past 3lbs she will start to put on the weight quickly, but it's just hard to get them to that point.

Kayla day 11 (29 and 6)

Happy Fathers Day to my wonderful husband Mike today. We went in around 2 today to do Kayla's care and then of course for Mike to hold his little girl. Kayla is doing well but they noticed a spike in her blood work showing that she might be getting an infection. They took an x-ray in the morning to make sure her chest and lungs looked good and they did. So they are just going to watch the culture from the blood work they took to see if it grows in the next 72 hours. The nurse said that Kayla is not showing signs of infection or showing that she is not feeling well. So we just pray everyday that she will continue to get better and hopefully start growing. We won't know more about the blood work results for the next couple of days.
Grandma and Grandpa Moot came by to visit Kayla today as it was my dad's first fathers day as a new Grandpa. Happy Grandpa's Day daddy. :)

Kayla day 10 (29 and 5)

Another great day for Kayla today. Mike and I went in to go see her around 1:45pm with Papa Fye, I got to hold her right away today. She had her eyes open for close to 10 minutes while I held and talked to her. I kept telling Kayla how I can't wait until I get to bring her home some day. I was having a hard time with that today realizing that it will be so long until we actually get to bring her home. But I know I can do it and once life starts to get a bit more normal and I am able to get back to a normal active life it will go a lot quicker than it is now. It is exciting to know that she will be 30 weeks on Monday! The other exciting news for today was that Kayla did so well on her feedings every six hours yesterday that they started doing feeding every three hours today. So far so good, she even had a good poop so we know things are going through and working well. Kayla was also able the get the big velcro circles off the sides of her face, they checked her jandice levels and she is at a good enough level that she shouldn't have to be under photo therapy again! Mike got to hold Kayla after I had my turn for almost 45 minutes today, Kayla did so well. They have you check her temperature to make sure she is staying warm and she was doing great. While Mike was holding Kayla Papa got to see his son holding his daughter it was so sweet watching him watch Kayla and get all excited when she made her small movements. We just keep praying that Kayla will continue to have these great days and she just grows, and grows nice and healthy.

Kayla day 9 (29 and 4)

Kayla had a great day today! Mike and I went to see her around 1pm, Jojo visited her today and bought Kayla her first preemie outfit. We later found out from the dr that Kayla's heart vessel had closed!! Answered prayer, they say they hope it will stay closed so that is our prayer now. Sometimes they can re-open if they are really stressed or not feeling well, so we are trying to just let Kayla get all the rest she can. Because Kayla's heart vessel had closed they started to give little breast milk feeds through her feeding tube again. She will get 1cc (very little amount) every six hours and see how she takes it for the rest of the day. When we were there they tried to do one of her tube feedings and the tube was clogged with mucus they had to put a new tube in. That was such a weird thing to watch they just put this small tube down through her nose and continue to push it down down and down, Kayla did so well while they were doing that I can't imagine what that would feel like. They also had to take her blood today for the chromosome level test to see if her back issue was genetic or not. They had already sent in one sample but I guess it wasn't enough so they are needing to send in another sample. Kayla had to be pricked twice I was holding on to her hand with my finger in Kayla's hand, she squeezed my finger when they put the needle in. I just felt like Kayla's mom when they were doing that to her, I was telling her how well she was doing while they were taking her blood. I just loved being there for her while she had to go through the whole process. Mike got to do Kayla's diaper today and take her temperature he did so well, it's hard to do when they are so small and have all those wires attached to them. Kayla also got a wonderful visit from her honorary grandma Jan who loved seeing Kayla little hands, little fingers, and little feet. It was a great day for Kayla today, we told the doctor it would be great to get news like this every day! :)

Kayla Day 8 (29 and 3)

Today was a good day Mike and I went in to see Kayla around 2pm, I had gotten a call earlier from the doctors saying her heart sounded a lot better today. We are hoping and praying that means that after her antibiotic Kayla's heart vessel has closed on it's own. We won't know for sure until the doctor comes in to do an ultrasound on her heart tomorrow. The only down side to today was that Kayla wasn't taking her feedings well, she had spit up what they had given her in the morning. Because she did spit that up they want to wait on her feedings until the heart vessel is figured out. So we pray now that the vessel will be closed tomorrow and they can try and start feeding her my milk again. Then hopefully she will take the feedings just fine and Kayla will start gaining some weight. The other wonderful thing about today was that Kayla was able to stop her photo therapy, the jaundice lights they have been keeping on her since her first day. She was able to have her little sunglasses off all day and now gets a bed cover for when she sleeps, she's just getting better and better. :)
I felt like mom today when I got to change Kayla's diaper for the first time, just a wet one, is it weird that I look forward to changing a poopy diaper??

Kayla day 7 (29 and 2)

Hooray, Kayla is one week old today!!! The doctor told us this morning that they were going to start doing breast milk feeding every six hours today. Kayla will get a very little amount through a feeding tube they have put in her nose. The doctor also told us that Kayla will have an ultrasound today of her heart to see if the blood vessel has closed yet. Mike and I went in to see her around 3:30pm, she was doing well. Kayla had Uncle Bobby come visit her today, it was very sweet Bobby thinks she said his name when she was making her bubble noises. After Bobby had left Mike and I were there when they came in to do her ultrasound, unfortunately they noticed that the blood vessel to her heart was still moderately large, he said it had closed a little from her last antibiotic but not enough to not worry about it. Kayla will have to be put back on an antibiotic at 8pm, 8am, and 8pm tonight through tomorrow in hopes it will close up on it's own. Mike and I are praying that the vessel will close on it's own because if it doesn't she may have to have surgery in order to get it closed. We have started another prayer chain. After the ultrasound Mike and I were able to do Kangaroo care, (holding skin to skin) with Kayla. What an amazing feeling that was for the both of us. We wear a button down t-shirt and they place Kayla on our chest, the warmth is good for her and she gets to hear, smell, and feel her mom and dad while she lays on us. When they placed Kayla on my chest in that moment I knew I was Kayla's mom, it just felt completely natural and right, she is so little she fits between our belly button and nipple line. It was so amazing to feel her breath against our skin to feel every movement she made, a moment we will never forget. Mike feel in love with this as well and told Kayla, "you can have what ever you want." Mike was able to hold Kayla a bit longer today and we loved that because as we had left Mike showed me that Kayla's imprints were still on his chest. You could see where her head, hand, and legs were when he was holding her, it was so sweet. Kayla later got a visit from Grandma, we had a little bit of a rough evening because the nurse was not able to get the heart antibiotic to work correctly and Kayla's machines were going off. This put me and mom in an uncomfortable place because the nurse wasn't telling me what was going on and why Kayla's machines were beeping to much. We ended up staying until about 10:30pm after Kayla's antibiotic had finally finished and all her IV's and other fluids were set up. I would not leave my daughter until nothing beeped for a least five minutes. It's so hard to leave when you are feeling uncomfortable with the nurse taking care of your child. But I was able to get back into the mind set of Kayla being in God's hands and that she be all right and will have a good night.

Kayla day 6 (29 and 1)

I have been praying for this day, I have been praying that I would be able to hold Kayla before she was one week old. One day before one week the doctor called to let us know that Kayla is doing well enough to be taken off the ventilator today!!!!! We are so excited, this means Mike and I will be able to hold Kayla for the first time since she was born, I can not wait. They took the last X-ray this morning of her stomach and said it looked like everything was moving through fine. When I had called the nurse to see what time Kayla would get the ventilator out she said, "I just did it and Kayla is doing great so far." Mike and I would need to wait a couple of hours to see how Kayla does off the ventilator before we would get to go in and hold her. Mike and I leave for the hospital around 4:30pm when we see Kayla there is no big machine in front of her bed. She now has a oxygen pressure machine in front of her bed this is a machine that gives her pressure like the ventilator but is allowing Kayla to breathe completely on her own. The nurse then changes Kayla's diaper and as only parents can celebrate we get excited to see the first poop from Kayla. Nurses have changed them before but the was the first we had seen in person confirming to us that her digestive tract was working as it should. Changing Kayla's diaper caused her to get a little upset, Kayla cries and this is the first time we get to hear her cry. Her voice was a little horse because the ventilator was in for a while. But the little I hear makes me cry. We notice that with no ventilator Kayla loves to sleep with her mouth open just like her dad. How cute it is to find the traits Kayla has from each of us. At 5pm we get ready to hold Kayla for the first time, the nurse brings her out, wraps her in warm blanket and hands my daughter over to me I just cry and cry. This was something I have been waiting for my whole life, my own child and I am holding her right now. This day will never be forgotten and is up there as one of the best days of my life. Mike too gets to hold her after my 15 minutes is up, she is so tiny as she fits on his one arm. There is more blanket than there is baby she is so light. We love it she couldn't be more perfect, our own little girl. :)
The Dr also told us today that they are not going to worry about the bones in Kayla's back until she gets older. So while she is in NICU they will not worry about her back, but when she gets out and home we will go to a specialist at Presbyterian St. Luke's to have a look at her and the X-rays to see what it looks like for long term.

Kayla day 5 (29 weeks)

Happy 29 weeks today. Kayla is doing well but the doctors still have some concerns about her tummy. They decide to do an upper GI on her stomach today to rule out anything wrong with her stomach, that being her stomach positioned the wrong way or her have a hole in her stomach. At 2:30pm Kayla goes in for her upper GI, Mike and I get there around 4pm to see that Kayla is back and doing well. The nurse tells us the upper GI went well and she was out real quick at a quarter to 3pm. My mind thinks if it went that quick that means it went well. The Dr. later comes to tell us that Kayla's upper GI went really well and they are no longer concerned about her stomach or blockage in her intestines. What wonderful news, Kayla should now be able to start eating soon through a feeding tube. Kayla got a visit from Grandma and Uncle Adam today which also meant some good pictures as well.

Kayla day 4 (28 and 6)

We are told today that Dr's is still concerned about Kayla's stomach they see the air bubble in her tummy but want to see that it is moving through to her intestines. They take an x-ray in the morning and are going to take another one tonight to see if they air has moved or not. Mike and I know that Kayla has had a poop before all this stomach issues so we feel in our hearts that everything is going alright. We have started a prayer chain in hopes that there is no big stomach issues. Mike and I were able to get our first family photo with Kayla today. Kayla also got a visit from her Grandpa and Grandma Moot.

Kayla day 3 (28 and 5)

Today is the first day Mike and I come to visit Kayla with me not being in the hospital. I couldn't wait to see her, I was slow to get there because I am still a bit sore today but so excited. It is so great to see her again, but weird that I can't just walk up to see her when ever I want. She seemed to be happy today, we were able to get some of our first pictures with her. She is just so cute, sweet and wonderful! The dr's noticed that her belly was big today and have decided to take an x-ray to see why her belly looks so big. They notice an air bubble and are wanting to watch it to make sure there aren't any big issues. Kayla also got a visit from Grandpa Fye today, I think he enjoyed seeing his first granddaughter because the smile never left his face.