Before you read the next sentence, let me clearly state that Emily is doing well. It was kind of a disappointing day today as I had been told I would get to hold Emily when I got there...I was soooo excited. I tried with all my might not to get too happy - just in case, but I couldn't help it. Sure enough, when I got in there, there was a big machine in her incubator and I almost started to cry on the spot. They were giving her a blood transfusion and it was going to take 8 hours...not today.
Let's not dwell on that disappointment. Emily has doubled her weight...she is 2 pounds, 12 ounces. She looks a LOT bigger to me. And, I have been able to hear her cry. It is such a soft sound that I had to ask the nurse if that is what she was doing. She is hoarse from the tube down her throat for 6 weeks. As we always compare her to animals, we have officially graduated from looking like a baby chimp to looking like a chipmunk...the tube squashes her cheeks out like when chipmunks have food in their cheeks. Hope you all like that visual image.
The life and adventures of two former MK's...and their new additions. Our first daughter was born full-term on Jan 19, 2009 and 10 short months later, our micro-preemie was born Nov 6, 2009 at 24w3d and 1 pound 6 ounces. Read her story and our journey below.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
32 WEEKS!!
Merry Christmas one and all! On this day, Emily is exactly 32 weeks gestational age and has been outside my womb for 7 weeks. In celebration of this day, this morning I took her little ornament in and hung it in her incubator.
She is doing good, which is NICU code for no changes, so I call it okay...not great but not bad. Her right lung is still having troubles but she is getting enough oxygen so they are optimistic that her left lung is doing better than before. She still has residual (food coming back up) and it is slightly green so they will decide what to do today about feedings. She is also still on the new vent and doing well. I guess we are just waiting...imagine that.
Kylie had a great Christmas...she is finally back to her normal self after being constipated, getting a tear on her rectum, two days of a high fever and one trip to the ER because we thought she had a UTI (crying every time she peed) and they had to admit her if she did. On the way in, we were praying and just told God we were done. We are "glad" He thinks we are strong enough to handle all this but we're tired and 'done, done, done,' as Kylie tries to say. When there is so much drama in your life that taking your kid to the ER in the middle of the night generates no adrenalin, there is a problem. I feel like our whole house is under attack, especially in regards to health. We appreciate all your prayers and ask you not to grow weary in praying for ALL of us. Thank you. Anyway, now Kylie is pushing three teeth through and taking about 2-3 steps at a time. It is such a FUN time in her life, we are LOVING it!!
God gives us soooo many gifts in our lives and it is good to remember his GREATEST gift that was given to us - Jesus - and through him the promise to forgive all the crap we think and do and let us live in heaven for all eternity instead of what we deserve. Praise the Lord! I know I am grateful and really don't understand how people make it through this cruel world without that hope. God bless you all!!
She is doing good, which is NICU code for no changes, so I call it okay...not great but not bad. Her right lung is still having troubles but she is getting enough oxygen so they are optimistic that her left lung is doing better than before. She still has residual (food coming back up) and it is slightly green so they will decide what to do today about feedings. She is also still on the new vent and doing well. I guess we are just waiting...imagine that.
Kylie had a great Christmas...she is finally back to her normal self after being constipated, getting a tear on her rectum, two days of a high fever and one trip to the ER because we thought she had a UTI (crying every time she peed) and they had to admit her if she did. On the way in, we were praying and just told God we were done. We are "glad" He thinks we are strong enough to handle all this but we're tired and 'done, done, done,' as Kylie tries to say. When there is so much drama in your life that taking your kid to the ER in the middle of the night generates no adrenalin, there is a problem. I feel like our whole house is under attack, especially in regards to health. We appreciate all your prayers and ask you not to grow weary in praying for ALL of us. Thank you. Anyway, now Kylie is pushing three teeth through and taking about 2-3 steps at a time. It is such a FUN time in her life, we are LOVING it!!
God gives us soooo many gifts in our lives and it is good to remember his GREATEST gift that was given to us - Jesus - and through him the promise to forgive all the crap we think and do and let us live in heaven for all eternity instead of what we deserve. Praise the Lord! I know I am grateful and really don't understand how people make it through this cruel world without that hope. God bless you all!!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
12-22 Update
They are going to begin feeding, again, this evening. The doctors said Emily's stomach seems to be okay. As you can see, they have extubated Emily, so she no longer has a big ole breathing tube down her throat, just a little one to her stomach. She has maintained her oxygen levels since yesterday evening when they extubated her, so that is a huge answer to prayer!
Now she is going for the "wrapped up like a mummy" look, instead of Darth Vader!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Breathing?
Well, Emily has been breathing using only a nasal breathing apparatus for three hours now. The nurse called just before noon to let me know they were going to extubate (remove her breathing tube)Emily on a trial run to see if they could get her going and said that if I got in there right away, I could see her face without anything on it (tape included). Thanks to M's willingness to go without sleep, I was able to go in, but sadly another baby had more pressing issues and they delayed her procedure so I was not actually able to see it...the joys of being unable to plan anything. Anyway, the nurse promised a cell phone picture for me, so I hope it is good and I will show you all as soon as I have it.
The nasal tubing is a big step if she can manage to breathe well enough to maintain her blood gas levels. And, if she can stabilize, it will only be a matter of time before we get to hold her. I am learning not to get too high, so we will just continue to wait and see but I wanted to share this awesome news with all of you. Keep praying, we are seeing some positive results.
The nasal tubing is a big step if she can manage to breathe well enough to maintain her blood gas levels. And, if she can stabilize, it will only be a matter of time before we get to hold her. I am learning not to get too high, so we will just continue to wait and see but I wanted to share this awesome news with all of you. Keep praying, we are seeing some positive results.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
11 Months!!! Thanks Mom!!!
This is the second time my mom has made it down to help me out and all told she has been able to spend over a month with me. I cannot express what a HUGE blessing that has been!! Besides everything else she did, just knowing someone I know and trust is 100% here for my daughter takes a huge burden off me! Not to mention the freedom to visit Emily whenever I want.
We did the practice run for pics for K's 11 month pics (tried outfits and different lighting) and never did the real one so this is just a collage of the events. Congratulations my little love!
We did the practice run for pics for K's 11 month pics (tried outfits and different lighting) and never did the real one so this is just a collage of the events. Congratulations my little love!
A side-bar...
Let me tell you the story of an undercurrent in all this. When my sister was here just 10 days after this happened, she told me, “I don’t know why but the Lord keeps telling me you are Noah.” We joked about it for a little cause it didn’t make any sense. Not only was I not building a boat, I don’t think anyone was mocking me while I obeyed a ‘crazy’ command from God. But, later, I started singing that kids song…”The Lord told Noah to build him an arky, arky…It rained and poured for forty days, days,” and I stopped. I went and reread the story of Noah and discovered that not only did it rain for 40 days, it took an additional 150 days for the water to recede. 190 days for new life to appear. Over the past several weeks, I have taken this as encouragement to remind me that this is just a time in my life and it WILL end some day. Don’t get me wrong, I have the days marked on my calendar too, just in case. (April 5). :)
Each night, I read a psalm before I go to bed. About 10 days ago, I read Psalm 29 and I don’t remember much except verse 10: “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood.” Yes, he does, I thought and went to bed.
Two days later, the day before someone posted Psalm 27:13-14 on my blog, I wrote it in my journal. “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
A couple of days ago, one of the ladies in my Bible study posted on FB this message: Becky, I was praying for ya'll this morning and felt led to share this thought with you: Emily Grace is in God's perfect healing, but this will take time, just as she is supposed to still be in your womb to grow, you will need patience through all the ups and downs as God heals and grows her to perfection during these next few months.
I know it is hard to tell, but I think that just maybe God has been telling me something. Unfortunately, I hate waiting and I don’t really understand the huge significance in waiting, so I decided to look up some verses about waiting and I was taken to Isaiah 30…I can’t type it all so I will pick highlights, but if you have time, you should read from verse 15-26. The Lord is speaking to Israel: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength but you would have none of it…Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!...How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’…The moon will shine like the sun and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.”
And then, as if I needed more, last night, the sermon was about seeing miracles in our lives. Step one is to hear a word from the Lord and step two is to obey it. Step three is to WAIT and serve while the miracle works itself out in your life. I am fairly certain I know the word for me, and it is literally one word. WAIT. So I will obey the word. I will praise my God and remember his goodness while I wait for the Lord. And I will wait in patience and hope, until the day he reveals to me that I need to wait no more.
I think Psalm 140:5-6 sums it up better than I could. “I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in his Word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord. More than a watchman waits for the morning. More than a watchman waits for the morning.” I love his sense of anticipation here. I will wait. I am not sure what for, but I will wait. And live life in between.
I hope this encourages you as it encourages me. Thank you for your prayers and God Bless you all!
Each night, I read a psalm before I go to bed. About 10 days ago, I read Psalm 29 and I don’t remember much except verse 10: “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood.” Yes, he does, I thought and went to bed.
Two days later, the day before someone posted Psalm 27:13-14 on my blog, I wrote it in my journal. “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
A couple of days ago, one of the ladies in my Bible study posted on FB this message: Becky, I was praying for ya'll this morning and felt led to share this thought with you: Emily Grace is in God's perfect healing, but this will take time, just as she is supposed to still be in your womb to grow, you will need patience through all the ups and downs as God heals and grows her to perfection during these next few months.
I know it is hard to tell, but I think that just maybe God has been telling me something. Unfortunately, I hate waiting and I don’t really understand the huge significance in waiting, so I decided to look up some verses about waiting and I was taken to Isaiah 30…I can’t type it all so I will pick highlights, but if you have time, you should read from verse 15-26. The Lord is speaking to Israel: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength but you would have none of it…Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!...How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’…The moon will shine like the sun and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.”
And then, as if I needed more, last night, the sermon was about seeing miracles in our lives. Step one is to hear a word from the Lord and step two is to obey it. Step three is to WAIT and serve while the miracle works itself out in your life. I am fairly certain I know the word for me, and it is literally one word. WAIT. So I will obey the word. I will praise my God and remember his goodness while I wait for the Lord. And I will wait in patience and hope, until the day he reveals to me that I need to wait no more.
I think Psalm 140:5-6 sums it up better than I could. “I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in his Word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord. More than a watchman waits for the morning. More than a watchman waits for the morning.” I love his sense of anticipation here. I will wait. I am not sure what for, but I will wait. And live life in between.
I hope this encourages you as it encourages me. Thank you for your prayers and God Bless you all!
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