Kayla day 52

Happy Shower day to me!! I got up and ready for this day that I thought would have been a lot different than how it turned out. Here I thought I would be almost 36 weeks pregnant, waddling around and trying to keep Kayla's name secret from everyone at the shower. Instead I came in clothes I was wearing before I even got pregnant, so weird. My shower was a 1:00p, thank you to my guests: Nicole, Traci, Meghan, Kim, Dottie, Mom, Lori and Brittany who came and celebrated my day with me. I was a little down that not more of my quests made it to the shower but I have another one coming up this next weekend, with my extended family. That should be fun, and I am already looking forward to that. After the shower Brittany and I set up a dinner date for the night to hang out. Then her and Blake (Brittany's husband) could go see Kayla again, they had last seen her when she was only two days old. So we went in at 6p for her cares Kayla was all ready for us, she had had a good day with bottles having one every other feed and drinking about half if not more of her bottle. She is just getting better and better at the bottle feeding thing. They had already bottled Kayla at 3p so we just held Kayla while she was being fed though tube while Blake and Brittany were there. Britt and Blake just thought she was so cute with her little yawns and tiny sounds. We then went to dinner with them after at On the Border, it was very delicious but really just so nice to see and catch up with them. So so nice, I miss them move back to Colorado. :) Thank you again so much to Lori and Brittany for putting my baby shower together for me, it was just beautiful and so much fun, love you guys. Oh and Kayla is again up in weight, now at 5lbs 5oz almost doubling her weight.

Kayla day 51

Exciting day for me today, Kayla's dresser came in Mom, Adam and I went to pick it up from babies r us. It is so fun to be finishing up Kayla's room, but hard because the more I do the more I want to bring her home. We were so excited when we brought it inside and I already filled it with some of her clothes. :) Mom and I had a good day today, Mom took me out to get a pedicure and manicure for my baby shower tomorrow. It was a little weird not going to see Kayla at 3p today but I enjoyed hanging out with mom. Mike and I went in at 9p to see Kayla she is having a good day with not a lot of big news. She is now at 5lbs 4oz she is gaining weight so quickly it's great, she really looks like a healthy baby to bring home now. We're getting closer, I'm looking forward to tomorrow can't wait for the shower and to see Brittany. My best friend from California came to do my shower with her mom Lori.

Kayla day 50

This ride is diffidently a roller coaster, I was so happy and excited yesterday but today I was down. We are just getting so close that I want Kayla to just be home, it's so hard to wait now when we are getting so close. I was also bummed today because day nurse fed Kayla at 12p and when she gets that she's not a hungry for her 3p feed when I come in. I tried to nurse but Kayla really didn't have much of an interest, so then I tried the bottle. She took 7cc's she was pretty tired so not really into the whole mama feeding her today. After feeding Kayla was pretty out of it and I was "out of it" as well. So I just got her all comfy on me and just rested, thinking about the future. Christmas she will be 6 months old already, what sports she might do, what type of attitude she may have? I love to think about the future and what I get to experience with her as my child now and I just can't wait, so that brightened my day a bit. Later Mike and I went in a little bit earlier to see Kayla because mom was bringing grandma. We brought Grandma today because Jill one of Kayla's nurse practitioners used to work with my Grandma in labor and delivery at St. Joe's 30 years ago. So they got to meet each other again tonight and catch up. It was so fun to listen to them remember all the names of the doctors they worked with, and other friends in labor and delivery. After Kayla was done with her feeding Mike and I decided to let Grandma hold her great grand-daughter. It was so sweet we turned up the lights so she could see Kayla's face, and Grandma just loved it we got it on video so I will see if I can share that on here for you all. It was so cute listening to her talk to Kayla and so cool for me to see my grandma as a great-grandma to Kayla. Mike also feed Kayla tonight, she is up to 46cc's of breast milk. It seems that whenever we get Kayla up to more than half on her feed they then increase her amount, we can't keep up but she did take 22cc's. The most exciting new of the day....we have a 5 pounder!!!!! Yes, Kayla is 5lbs and 1 oz today and she really is starting to look more and more like an infant than a preemie anymore. So, so sweet great way to end the night. Thank you grandma for coming I'm sure Kayla loved her visit.

Kayla day 49

Fantastic day today, i went in at 3p wondering if I could still breast feed with Kayla since I had just pumped an hour and a half before. But Joy our nurse for the day said it should be fine and got us all set up. Kayla did amazing, she latched on right away today and did five minutes on one side. Then latched on right away on the other side as well and stayed latched for 10 minutes. She did so great, we then put 30cc's of breast milk into a bottle to see if she might still be up for it? (She has 44cc's usually, we took out 15cc's for the breast feed.) So after the breast Kayla made me the proudest mom ever by finishing her bottle. Kayla took a whole feed today!!!! I got so excited, I was all giddy, I left Mike a message saying he needs to catch up at work because Kayla is going to be coming home soon. I was overjoyed for the rest of the day. It got me all motivated to get more stuff done at home so we are ready for Kayla when she really does get to come home. Mike and I went in at 9p Kayla was a little tired and took 15cc's for Mike, still good. She weighs 4lbs 15oz, there is a good chance Kayla could be 5lbs tomorrow and she is still a month away from her actual due date. Such a big girl.

Kayla day 48

Fun day today, I went in to see Kayla today at 3p. I told the nurse I want to breast feed with Kayla when I come in from now on so Kayla gets some good practice before she comes home. Kayla is just learning the whole latching on process, so today it took a while for her to fully latch on. But we did get some good time with it, so I am pleased. After that I decided to try a bottle with Kayla, again in hopes to get some good practice. This is the last thing Kayla has to learn before coming home. She was pretty tired when I gave her, her bottle but she still took 7cc's. Mike and I came in again at 9p, Kayla got some visitors tonight both Uncle Adam and Uncle David came in to see her. I think Kayla wanted to impress them with how well she could bottle feed because she took 33cc's of her 44cc's bottle. I told Mike he had the magic touch, he's so calm and patient with Kayla and usually always get a good feed. 33cc' is the highest she has gotten yet, what a big girl. She is also still gaining good weight and is at 4lbs 14oz, she will diffidently be at 5lbs by the end of this week!

Kayla day 47 (35 weeks)

Great day with the most exciting, anxious, did you have to say that news yet. Dr called this morning, Kaylas red blood levels (bone marrow) are back up to 31. Very great news, this should just continue to go up as she gets stronger. It will also rule out a blood transfusion, hooray thank you for the prayers. Kayla has been gaining weight wonderfully so she is now at 44cc's of breast milk, gotta keep up. More great news she is below room air on her oxygen, 12% this is a great sign in hopes that Kayla will not need to come home on oxygen. :) Next week will be a very big week so we will need lots of positive prayers. Kayla will get an ultrasound on her head and kidneys, she will get a skeletal x-ray and her last eye exam. It's almost like the dismissal tests, these will be the last she will need to get before coming home. And the biggest news that you want to hear, but yet don't want to hear so you don't get your hopes up. Dr said 35 weeks tends to be the point to where babies will click with bottle feeds. She then said so Kayla could be home in......7 to 10 days!!!! Oh my goodness, I got so excited but yet it still doesn't seem completely real. So our hope is that the bottle feeding will click?? Then Kayla gets so come home, come on Kayla, you can do it!! :)
I went in at 12p today to breast feed, Kayla wasn't very awake so she didn't get much. Instead they just fed her through the tube. Mike came in at 3p and held her while being fed through tube. This got me thinking we need to start trying the bottle more when we come to see Kayla instead of just doing the tube feeding because she is tired. Nurses have told us that many of the babies can sleep/eat, so we need to at least try more often. Lastly even though Kayla had a massive weight gain last night she gained another 20 grams tonight making her 4lbs 13oz now. I bet she will be 5lbs by the end of this week, wow, that is awesome.

Kayla day 46

Busy day today for Kayla. We first met up with Papa Fye, Bobby, Michelle and the boys at 12pm. Bobby and Michelle first came in to see Kayla, Michelle had not seen Kayla since she was a day old and Bobby last saw her at a week old. So she has grown a lot since then and looked so different. They both held her little hand and rubbed her head, so sweet. Bob came in after them and since Mom had held Kayla on Friday we wanted to let the other grand parents hold her as well. So Bob held his very first grand daughter, so sweet he said she felt so light, and that even though she probably won't remember this day he will remember it forever, AHHH. :) We were later able to go wireless, meaning we detached all of Kayla's cords and oxygen and took Kayla to the window so Aaron and Jason could see her. No kids under that age of 14 are allowed in the NICU. They put their little hands up to the glass and we put Kayla's up to theirs and it was so cute to see how small her hands are. You forget how small she is until you compare it to others, like little kids hands like Aaron and Jason's. We later put Kayla back and tucked her in. Went to see the Gilmore's at their good bye party, they are moving to Kentucky. We will miss them so much, I used to watch their little Matthew in my child care. Then we went to dinner with my parents, mom and dad came to the hospital with us for 9pm cares and dad was able to hold Kayla for the first time today too. He actually thought she was heavier than the thought she might be, Kayla did gain some good weight...2oz in one day. Kayla is now at 4lb 12oz and since last week she is now 17 and 1/4 inches long. Nurses say she is growing just as she sould. We really think we might be bringing Kayla home in a couple of weeks. I hope so.

Kayla day 45

Slow Saturday, Mike had a huge event today, the Silly Olympics. He had only gotten a couple hours of sleep as we had stayed up late finishing the water balloons. He woke up early I slept in, so we waited until 9pm to see Kayla. She was having a great day with nothing new from the Dr. When we came in at 9pm Kayla ate 21cc's from her bottle, way to go Kayla. She is 4lb 9oz not much else to say. She's just growing and looking cuter every day. :)

Kayla day 44

Fun Friday for me today, Mom has been taking some Friday's off for the summer so we can hang out. We originally thought we would be taking the day care kids out on field trips but it has just turned in to mom/daughter days instead. So I went in to see Kayla at 3pm to give her her bottle. Kayla has gone up another two cc's on breast milk and is now at 42cc's. She drank about 20cc's from her bottle today, very good for her she has been doing about 10 to 13cc's these last couple of days. After I was done feeding Kayla her bottle I surprised mom by asking her if she wanted to hold Kayla. Well of course she said "YES" and got so so very excited. We hooked Kayla up to get the rest of her feeding and mom held her grand-daughter for the first time. She has waited 44 days for this and couldn't be more excited, the smile never left her face that day. A precious moment she will always remember. Mike and I went in for her 9pm cares Mike gave her a bottle she had about 10cc's and now weighs 4lb 8oz.

Kayla day 43

Quiet day today for Kayla, biggest change of the day was that Kayla went up to 42cc's of breast milk today from 40cc. I went in at 2:30 today to give Kayla a bath, she did so good. I think she enjoys her baths, it was nice to do that and it helps make me feel a little better about things as well. After her bath we put on lotion and a new outfit for her then I gave her a bottle. She ate about 15cc's which surprised me because she had already had a big day. Then we just cuddled for awhile before I put her back in her crib. I dreamed about the day I get to bring her home and cuddle with her for hours straight if I want too. :) Mike and I came in for 9pm cares, Mike gave her a bottle she had already had a pretty big day so she feel asleep pretty quickly but eat about 10cc's. So over all it was a good day for us and Kayla is now 4lbs 7oz, growing girl.

Kayla day 42 (6 weeks old)

Kayla is six weeks old today, so weird to think we have been at the hospital every day for nine weeks now. I believe it is 60 days today of Mike going to the hospital starting from when I went on bed rest. Crazy! Quiet day for Kayla this morning, rough day for me. I am sure all preemie moms have these days, but I was just down. I didn't want to go to the hospital today to see Kayla I wanted her home with me. I didn't want to pump today I just wanted Kayla to breast feed. I was just down, and in a bad mood. Kayla always makes my day better and I was excited to go in to see her and possibly breast feed today again or maybe just do the bottle. But Sue her day nurse had fed Kayla at 12p and they don't like Kayla to get feeds one after the other. So I wasn't able to bottle or breast feed when I came in. :( Sue did feel bad and forgot that I usually come in at 3pm everyday. But it didn't make my already down day much better, so Sue said Kayla and her will make it up to me by doing a bath tomorrow. I enjoy doing anything that makes me feel even more like a mom so I am already looking forward to tomorrow. So like I had said Kayla has had a pretty quiet day, a couple of desats but none of them needed extra oxygen. She took two bottles one of 12cc's and the other at 15cc's, they feed Kayla a bottle every other feed now, she's slowly learning to wake up and know it's time to eat. Soon enough she will start to cry for her feeds when she gets hungry. She was able to stay at 25% oxygen today and is still getting 40cc's of breast milk. Mike and I came in at 9pm, I told Sue to tell night nurse to skip the bottle for Kayla 6pm feed so Mike could bottle feed at 9pm. Jeremy and Liz came in tonight to see Kayla, first time they have seen her in her open crib and watching us get her out. They really enjoyed seeing Kayla move and make all her new cute sounds. Kayla took 18cc's of her bottle but had a little bit of a hard time with her desats. This was expected because right before we had come in Kayla got her eye exam, and great news came with it. Still no ROP which is the best news, the rest is that the eye Dr said Kayla's eyes just looked wonderful, and so pretty. :) So Kayla will get one more eye exam in two weeks, this will be the last before she gets to come home. Kayla also skipped 5oz and is 4lbs 6oz now, so very happy news to end the night.

Kayla day 41

Got a call from the Dr. today, remember how I had talked about Kayla making her own bone marrow? Well they checked her levels and last week her red blood count was 29 (they want preemies to be around 35.) Dr wasn't to concerned knowing that Kayla could be a little anemic because she was making her bone marrow. I guess usually that can be made in a week, well when they checked her blood work again this week Kayla was down to 25. So they have decided to help Kayla out, she will get a shot once a day of a drug that will help her make her bone marrow more quickly than she is making it now. She will get this shot once a day from five days, then get her blood drawn again next week to check her levels again. So we hope and pray that she will be at a good level and no longer anemic, if she is still low and anemic Kayla will need to get a blood transfusion and we don't want her to have to get that. So prayers sent Kayla's way. Also on a very, very happy note the Dr. also told me they took Kayla off her pressure oxygen. I have been very excited and nervous for this day to come. Excited because she will be off the big machine that stands next to her bed, but nervous because Kayla seems to like her pressure. When she would desat, nurses could turn up her pressure instead of her oxygen and Kayla would come back up. This was good because when preemies get to much oxygen it can hurt their little eyes, but pressure doesn't hurt them at all. So when I went in a 3p for Kayla's cares there was no big machine, Kayla was on blended flow now. She is still on oxygen, which is blended with a flow so she still had a little bit of the pressure she likes. But Deb her day nurse was told to try and take Kayla off the blend by the end of the day depending on how well she was doing. Well Kayla has been doing pretty well, I gave her, her bottle she again did wonderful and ate 30 cc's of her 40cc bottle. No desats during her feed which is amazing, and of course just so cute. Deb and I chatted for a while about Kayla and how slow the NICU has been. It is only Kayla and one other baby in there right now. Which is great because preemie babies are considered sick babies, but bad for nurses because they have to take turns on shifts. If the NICU isn't busy, they don't get shifts to work. So after chatting for about an hour after Kayla bottle. Deb said, "let's try and move her to the wall," meaning take her off the blended flow and go on oxygen alone. Deb took Kayla off and put her on 100% wall oxygen, Kayla did great sating at 100% herself, so we went down to 75% again Kayla doing wonderful. So Deb put her down again to 50% thinking that may be Kayla's stopping point after just getting off her pressure oxygen this morning. But Kayla proved her wrong by sating at 100% again so Kayla is at 25% wall oxygen, 21% is room air where she wouldn't need oxygen at all. I might start sounding like a broken record when I say we are so proud of our little one, she is not only surprising her parents but the nurses as well. So amazing. :) Way to go sweet girl.
Forgot to mention that Kayla took a full bottle for her night nurse this early morning at 3am. Mike and I came in for her 9pm cares, Kayla is at 4lbs 4oz now, I was able to nuzzle/breast feed Kayla for the first time tonight. She did very well and latched on pretty good, she still isn't strong enough to get enough from breast but she will get there. We will continue to practice everyday and I am sure Kayla will just get better and better. It is just so neat to see things leaving her room and her levels stay so nice and high. :)

Kayla day 40 (34 weeks)

Wow 40 days in NICU, 34 weeks gestation and almost 6 weeks old. What a journey we have been on but thankfully we really are getting closer to bringing our little girl home. Today was the day I have been waiting for, Kayla meets with Beth to see if she is ready for bottle feeding. The reason I am so excited is because once these babies get to bottles it seems they are home in the weeks following. It's one of those final steps Kayla has to accomplish before she goes home. So at 12pm today Mike and I went in for the TEST!!! Beth was wonderful and showed us some stretches we can do with Kayla for her back and neck as she grows. She watched Kayla with her pacifier to see how well she rooted and see if she had a good suck. After that assessment she said, let's try the bottle. Knowing that Kayla has only nuzzled, we were unsure how much Kayla was going to eat from her bottle. I was thinking a couple cc's would be great, the nurses and Mike were thinking the same thing. We put Kayla in a side laying position much like nuzzling and she caught on. Kayla took 25cc's from her 40cc of breast milk, more than half her bottle!! :) She blew away Beth and the nurse by how well she did. Not only did so do so amazing on her first feeding she also didn't desat, she was getting the suck, swallow, breathe technique down pretty quickly. Wow, what a big girl our little Kayla is, nurses before thought it would take her awhile to get used to bottle feeding and they would only be doing one a day. But after today and because Kayla did so well they will just go off her cues. So if Kayla shows signs of hunger, (rooting, awake, making noises, little cries) they will let her try the bottle.
Hooray, and if all that isn't exciting news by itself, we have more good news. Kayla is in an open crib, she is maintaining her temperature very well. Two big steps for Kayla today and she is passing them wonderfully. Oh so exciting, I'm getting so anxious about her getting home soon. Other updates, Kayla is still at 4lbs 3oz but still gained in grams. She is getting 40cc's of breast milk and is now getting it in 30 minutes if not bottle fed by us, yeah. She is growing fast, we love it.

Kayla day 39

Kayla had a wonderful day today. Anne, Mike's co-worker painted Kayla's room for us and was able to finish the border today. It looks so great, it's just perfect! Thank you so much for creating such a beautiful space for our little girl. I can't wait to fill it with furniture, and some day watch Kayla grow up and play in her own room. After we were done with the rooms, Anne had painted our bathroom as well. :) Mike and I finally had our anniversary dinner. We went to Macaroni Grill very yummy, then went to see Kayla after wards. Because of Kayla's great weight gains she is up to 38cc's of breast milk through her feeding tube. But tomorrow is our big day, Kayla gets to try the bottle. We are so excited, it's like Christmas for me I can't wait to sleep just so tomorrow comes quicker. I think she will do great, she does so well with nuzzling and sucking on her pacifier so we will see. Kayla had another great hold and #5 of no desats. I think her lungs and brain are working together and she is finally starting to get past this. We will see as we know Kayla is in charge. She is up to 4lbs 3oz and just doing wonderful. HOORAY!!!

Kayla day 38

Good day for Kayla today! Mike and I had a pretty busy day this Saturday, running around and doing errands. We were able to make it in to see Kayla around 5:30p and Kayla had a good day. When I chatted with the doctor this morning there was no big changes from her normal levels. I asked the nurse how many desats Kayla had had and she had only had five for that morning shift. Nurse had given Kayla a bath and she was pretty tired, when we got her out. I tried nuzzling but she wasn't very interested, but Mike and I were both able to hold her during her feeding, and success #4 of no desats during her feeding. I love it, it is so nice not to have the monitors beeping when you are holding your baby. Then when I had called night nurse Kayla had gained another ounce today so she is now 4lbs 2oz, and nurse said she has only had one desat since her shift had started! Plus she didn't have to help Kayla with oxygen or pressure, Kayla was able to bring her levels up all on her own. Hooray for a good day!

Kayla day 37

Happy Anniversary to us today, five years and loving each other even more each year. :) To celebrate tonight Mike and I went in to see Kayla. But before that I had gone in for Kayla's 3pm care, my mom had also come today to see her grand-daughter. Kayla had a pretty good day, she has slowed down on the desats since we had regressed in the last couple of days. So we are back to having fewer during the day, yeah. I was able to nuzzle with Kayla today, she did really well I can't wait for Monday. Then I held her for her feed after her nuzzle, Kayla was a good girl and didn't desat for me during her feed that's #2 for no desats during her holds. I hope she might be able to keep that up? She did have a desat after her feed, but I don't count that one.
Mom and I talked to Kim, Gage's mom she was my neighbor when we were both on hospital bed rest, now Gage and Kayla are neighbors in NICU, very cute. But exciting news for them is that Gage may be able to go home on Sunday! It will be bittersweet as they leave so exciting for them to have him home but I'm also going to miss them. I think Kim and I will keep up with each other as this experience has really been nice for us both to have the other going through the same thing. I really appreciate her and her family.
I had also talked to the nurse about moving Kayla to her open crib, although she has hit 4lbs it takes a few days to get her used to room air. So hopefully by her 6 week mark next week, she might be in her open crib? Mike and I came in later that night to celebrate, we told her to be good during her hold and success #3 no desats during her hold with daddy tonight. So so proud, she just continues to get bigger and make more room for those lunges to expand. Speaking of bigger she gained another ounce tonight and is at 4lb 1oz. Kayla is growing fast but was the smallest baby of the bunch when we came in to NICU. I had talked to the other mom that was there tonight with her son and they are leaving tomorrow. So if Gage gets to leave on Sunday Kayla will be the last of her crew to leave, so that means that we are getting so much closer to our journey home!! Can't wait.
To finish our anniversary day Mike and I said our good nights to Kayla and went to Old Chicago's for their big cookie, yummy!!

Kayla day 36

No call from the Dr this morning, which is fine no news is good news. I went in today around 3:45pm, Kayla has been having her desats when she gets a full tummy during her feeds. I wanted to see if Kayla still had desats when she wasn't being held, well she does so I felt better I was hoping she wasn't one of those babies that doesn't like to be held when eating. Nurses say that some babies are just like that, but Kayla does the same thing if she is being held or not. So when chatting with the nurse, because of her desats she wants to try and have us come in earlier to hold Kayla before her feed then put her back in before she finishes her feed, since that's when she normally desats. Since we were chatting about eating, I had asked when the developmental specialist would be able to come see Kayla to see if Kayla is ready for bottle feeds. I was so excited to hear that I am able to be scheduled with her on Monday at 12pm, I can not wait. I was sharing with the Dr that it will be so nice to be needed, to really feel like a mom. Because when Kayla starts breast feeding I have to be there, Kayla needs me not just the nurses but her mom! So this Monday will be an exciting Monday of the Fye family. Beth is the name of the developmental specialist and she will come in to watch Kayla nuzzle, then we make a plan for practicing breast feeding. If Kayla can pass all her little tests, we get to start one bottle feed a day and move up with the more she learns the suck, swallow, breathe technique. Hooray, I did a little dance in the elevator on the way down from seeing her, such a big step to get Kayla ready to come home. :)
Mike and I came in for her 9p cares tonight and guess what....we now have a 4lb baby, YEAH KAYLA!!! She did it, she is getting so big we just love it. Maybe she will get to be in an open crib for our anniversary tomorrow?? After the big 4lb celebration Mike held her and Kayla did awesome, she didn't desat during her feed. Mike and I counted down as she hit 10 seconds and I did a little cheer for her. What a great night, some day soon we get to give hold her and no longer hear those beeps and that day I think is coming sooner and sooner. Love it.

Kayla day 35 (5 weeks old)

Kayla is 5 weeks old today!! When I went in for Kayla's 3pm care today the nurse told me that she has not had to turn Kayla's oxygen or pressure up once today. I was hoping and praying that meant we were past these desats, this was the day 7/14. I was happy to see that Kayla's giraffe cover was off and they are slowly getting her ready for the open crib, yeah! I went in and looked at Kayla, her face was kinda scrunched up and when I saw her I knew that today wasn't the day yet. I then told the nurse we might be getting some desats during her feeding I could just see it in Kayla's face. When we had gotten her out to hold her, she pooped right then and it was a good big one. So I thought well maybe that was why her face was all cute and scrunched and we will have a really great day? Kayla did well for the first half hour of her feeding and then desated, and desated big time. Kayla had spit up some of the milk but instead of actually spitting it out she choked on it a bit instead which caused her not to breathe. So her level went down to 7, that is low too low. The nurse and I were able to get her back up but Kayla didn't want to stay up and going from having little to no desats in the morning Kayla had seven in 40 minutes. How rough is that, you think your out of the woods and BAM reality hits. So I put Kayla back in her incubator and waited until all her numbers came back down again. Kayla normally sits at 25% oxygen and one on her pressure. Because of her episodes she was on 45% oxygen and 3 for her pressure. After about 45 minutes we were back at Kayla normal numbers and I felt comfortable leaving her alone. Later when we came back for 9pm cares, Kayla wasn't to naughty after I had left and was at about 27% oxygen when we got in, so not to much higher than her normal. Mike took her temp and changed her diaper, then we weighted her. Kayla has skipped 13oz and is now 3lbs 14oz only two ounces away from 4lbs. Maybe she will give Mike and I a 4lb anniversary present on Friday? Mike told Kayla that she had to be really good for him while he held her during her feeding tonight and Kayla listened. She did very well during her feeding she desated around her normal time which is about a half hour into her feed but was able to get back up without having to go to high on her numbers. Kayla was holding on to Mike's finger as we were about to put her back into her incubator to say good night, but when Mike tried to take his finger from her she squeezed it back into her hand, she did it five times. I will quote Mike again by him saying, "Okay Kayla, yes you can have what ever you want." Kayla then let go of his finger and we were able to put her back, so Kayla has daddy officially wrapped around her finger already and she knows it. :)

Kayla day 34

Great, great day today. Kayla did amazing during her 3pm cares today while I held her. Very little desats, non of them too low. Left feeling very good and excited again to get to the next big steps. When Mike and I came in for 9pm cares, we got to give Kayla our first bath. Kayla has been given a bath by the nurses before but we have not gotten to do it ourselves yet. Mom was also there to see Kayla and she had called us because our night nurse wanted to let us give Kayla a bath. So fun, Mike and I got to put her in a little basin of warm water. We washed her little arms and feet and rubbed her cute little belly. Kayla did so good, she made a little bit of cry when we first put her in the basin of water but didn't make a peep for the rest of her bath. After washing her body I held Kayla in a football hold and washed her hair, she has so much hair it's just so cute, then we got to brush it and dry her off. Then of course you need to put on the lotion, so sweet, Kayla was getting a little massage when Mike and I put her lotion on I think she enjoyed it, I know we did. So our first official bath for Kayla so neat, we then put her in a new cute outfit, it was so nice to not have all the cords hooked up for a moment too. We weighted Kayla after her bath and she is 3lbs 12oz she is getting so big. What a fun, good day it was for us and Kayla today. :)

How are mom's of preemies choosen?

I have a new friend from this whole experience her name is Kim, she and I shared a wall together while on bed rest in the hospital. She was trying to keep her little boy Gage inside her, while I was trying to keep baby girl Kayla in me. We were about a week and a half apart and after close to two weeks of living next door to each other we finally met. How amazing it has been to have someone so close going through the same stuff I was having to go through. Our babies are one day apart, I think she missed me when I had Kayla because she joined us the next day with Gage in NICU. Now we are neighbors again in the NICU I love it. :) She also has a blog with updates as well as this wonderful story she found about who God chooses to give preemies too. I wanted to share it on here as well, it's a good way to brighten my day.
Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?

God is hovering over Earth, selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.

Beth Armstrong, son. Patron Saint, Peter.

Marjorie Forrest, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia.

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles. “Give her a preemie “

The angel is curious. “Why this one, God? She’s so happy.”

”Exactly,” smiles God. “Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel.”

”But does she have the patience?” asks the angel.

”I don’t want her to have too much patience, or she’ll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she’ll handle it. I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I’m going to give her has a world of its own. She has to make it live in her world, and that’s not going to be easy.”

”But Lord, I don’t think she even believes in you.”

God smiles. “No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just the right amount of selfishness. “

The angel gasps, “Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?”

God nods. “If she can’t separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says ‘mama’ for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see as ignorance, cruelty and prejudice and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing My work as surely as she is here by My side.”

”And what about her Patron Saint?” asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.

God smiles. “A mirror will suffice.”

Thank you Kim , I am glad we have been able to go through this journey together, we will be forever linked. :)

Kayla day 33 (33 weeks)

Kayla is officially one pound heavier!!! 3lbs 11oz we are so proud of her she is growing so fast. When she gets closer to 4lbs they will move her to an open crib, we can't wait. That could be at the end of this week?? Updates for today, Kayla got a blood draw to check her counts, as well as red blood cell count to check to see if Kayla is growing bone marrow. I guess all babies including term babies get anemic at 5 to 6 weeks old because their blood is used to create their bone marrow. In most preemies Dr. will have to give them a medication to help them build up these red blood cells, but Kayla is anemic and it's not a worry but a good thing because she is creating her bone marrow. So exciting! Although they are not positive that she is doing that they check again in two weeks. They also checked to see if her bones were growing, she has good high levels, so at this point it seems she is growing well there too. But again a two week check from now is needed to make sure things are all growing correctly. Kayla still has her desats, I can't wait for the day they disappear I am getting anxious to not hear that beep anymore. Still on one with pressure, but is doing very well on oxygen usually around 24%, 21% is room air so she is doing very well with that.
Kayla is one week away from her 34 week mark so I had asked about when we could start her on nipple or breast feeds. I guess there is a whole process to it with a specialist that comes in and watches Kayla get her feeding via tube for 30 minutes. She will offer Kayla her pacifier and see how well she sucks and for how long. She looks to see if Kayla is swallowing, and then will put a tiny bit of breast milk in Kayla's mouth to see what happens. If Kayla swallows, does she gag, will she desat, choke? So Kayla has to pass these visual tests before we can move on. So we need another prayer chain to start, let's pray for Kayla to show off. That she will show great signs with feeding and we can move on to the next step. Or you can just pray for me to stop being so anxious about her getting to these steps and have more patience either way is fine. :)