26 Weeks Gestation

McKenna is 26 weeks gestation and almost 1 week old. There are lots of updates, so hang on. The biggest and most important update is her breathing. McKenna is breathing really well for her age. She is still on the "Oscillator Vent" which gives her the short/strong pulses of air. They have turned the machine way down to try and wean her off it. Just for an example, Sunday when she had her issues, the amplitude (how hard it pushes the air into her lungs) was set at 27 and today is at 12. Her Oxygen level on Sunday was at 100% and today is somewhere between 30% and 40%. You can see when watching her that her chest is moving and she is the one moving it, not just the machine. The 2nd most important update is her feeding and her weight. She is still on the Lippids (fat), an All In One IV which is her total parenteral nutritian (tpn) that contains protein, sugars, vitamins and salts , and most of all she is on the breast milk. Monday they gave her 1cc of milk and 6 hrs later is was fully digested so they kept up that feeding schedule. She is now on 3cc's every 4 hrs with sometimes not all of it gets digested in that amount of time. She gained 10 grams yesterday and now she is tipping the scales at 1lb 8.5oz for a grand total of 3.5oz lost after birth which is totally normal. As long as she is getting her breast milk and all the other stuff, she should continue to gain. The 3rd major update is that she is recieving blood transfusions every couple days (3 total) since they have to continue to draw from her, that blood needs to be replaced and she can't produce it fast enough. Once she stabilizes more, they will draw less blood, and she will get less blood. The other really cool update is that she has opened her right eye and is starting to open the left. We didn't get that good of a look at her eyes since they don't stay open very long but I'm sure they are the most beutiful blue eyes.

Dr. Nau was just in her room and is very pleased with her progress as are her parents. The best way to keep McKenna moving in the right direction is to keep her disruptions to a minimum. Suzanne and I have decided to limit her visitors, but anyone can feel free to come and see us. We will also keep the pictures up to date and we have lots of video of her already that when you stop to see us, you are more than welcome to see the video. The best way to reach us is leaving a message at our house or on our cell phones. We will do the best we can to return calls. Otherwise, we are checking our e-mail often. I can't thank all of you enough for your thoughts and prayers. Keep it up, we really appreciate everything.