Just Venting...

Back and forth has been the story the past two days. Dr. Nau switched her to the conventional vent on Tuesday. This was the same vent she started out on. It gives her longer breaths, forces her to breathe more on her own, and is easier to wean her from this vent. Clinically, she showed no problems with the change but her blood gas results weren't as good as previous. They made some adjustments but were not satisfied so the doctor placed her back on the oscillator today. The oscillator gives McKenna short puffs or air and this is not considered a step back, it is important to protect her lungs. She is doing great with feedings and her calorie intake keeps rising. She is now on 8cc every 3 hours and usually doesn't have much left over. She is weighing in at 760 grams or 1 lb 11 oz. We hope she hits and maintains birth weight soon.

Here's lookin at you!

Overnight, McKenna opened up her left eye, so now both are open. Yesterday was a BIG day for us!! We got to the hospital late morning and McKenna was doing pretty well. The Dr. came in and said that he really wanted Suzanne to "Kangaroo" McKenna. Kangaroo is when mom or dad holds baby skin to skin. It was quite a production to get this to happen. They had to be able to move all of her wires over to the bed that they brought in for Suzanne to lay on and they had to move her vent. Suzanne got to hold her for over an hour and McKenna really seemed to like being with mommy. After Suzanne was done holding her, it was the same production getting her back to her Isolette but did so without a problem. Suzanne really enjoyed her time with McKenna and this was the first of many times to come for her to "Kangaroo".

One of the NICU doctors came to talk to us yesterday about McKenna's progress and told us that they have kind of hit a Plato with what they can adjust. When she is ready, they will make the necessary changes. This is certainly not a bad thing, it was very expected. On a really good note, they have yet again upped the amount of milk that she is getting to 5cc’s every 3 hours and that is up from 3.5cc’s every 3 hours that she was getting yesterday. They have given her more of the All in One IV which contains all the sugar so that means her blood sugar is all out of whack again so back up on the insulin that she gets. It is definitely a roller coaster but if we hang on and stay patient, we’ll get through.

As easy as it is to be happy for the progress that our little girl has made in just over a week, I am very sad to have to attend the funeral services today for my co-worker and her son. Love to all.

1 Week Old

How time flies when you're having fun!! It's hard to believe that a week ago today McKenna was rapidly brought into this world. How I had what the nurses call the "Deer in the headlights look" when I ran into the hospital. How I was half undressed when the nurse took me to the recovery room right across from O.R. and when she told me that I wasn't going into the room with Suzanne I decided that I best put my clothes back on. How I watched as the NICU staff hooked our beautiful little girl up to all of the machines, put wires down her belly button and down her throat. Then once I couldn’t watch what they were doing to my little girl anymore, I went down to the recovery room to see my wife and the first thing she says to me is “Sorry I screwed up your plans today” because I was supposed to go over to a friends house to watch the Iowa football game. We cried together as we talked about the newest addition to our family. I tried to remember everything the doctors and nurses were telling me at the time so that I could relay that info back to Suzanne. A short while later, Suzanne was brought up to see and touch her daughter. It was a very emotional time for both of us as McKenna squeezed mommy’s hand for the first time. Later that day, Fr. David O’Conner from All Saints Catholic Church, came up to baptize McKenna. He splashed quite a bit of water on her, but she didn’t seem to mind at all. Her vital stats were the best they were all day after she was baptized. How time flies!!

In the past week we have seen McKenna through a few bad times but mostly she has had a really good first week of her life. Over night they turned down the amplitude on her vent a little more and it is at 10 now, they went back to feeding her 3cc’s of breast milk every 4 hours instead of every 6. McKenna has had her first Thanksgiving and we are all so thankful for her and her health.
Since we have received so many prayers, I would ask all of you to keep my co-workers family in your thoughts and prayers after her and her son were tragically killed in a car accident last Friday the 18th. She fought for her life for almost a week down at the U of I hospitals and her son was dead instantly. As both Mother and Son are laid to rest this coming week, please say a prayer so that her family can make it through this very trying time.

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.

"Something to smile about"

This morning, Suzanne and I went up to see our little girl. We walked into the room and saw her laying on her belly, which is very cute to see, and her nurse basically followed us in the room. She told us that McKenna had a very uneventful night. Her stats continue to be good, her blood sugar is becoming stable, she is breathing a lot on her own, and just seems to be doing great. They have given her medication to close her PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus). They will probably do another Eco-Cardiogram (Ultrasound of her heart) to make sure it is closed but they don't expect any problems. She is 80 hrs old now and as our doctor said this morning, "she is doing good and you have something to smile about."

She's a Fighter

Today shortly after my last post, McKenna took a turn for the worse. Her heart rate was down and she wasn't breathing on her own much if at all. She had hastled the nurses pretty much all night. Basically everything is working really well with her and she is very active with her arms and legs. The biggest problem she has is her breathing. Her little lungs just weren't ready yet, but with time and patience, she'll be doing good. The biggest issue today was that her lung blood pressure was really high and not allowing blood to get to her lungs. They used the bag on her to inflate her lungs and after that she seemed to be doing really well. We just got news that they did some more testing and her blood gases are good, she's breathing more on her own again, and without a bunch of meds, she pulled through on her own and is doing great again. The doctors told us that she would take 2 steps forward and 1 back. Now we need those 2 really important steps forward. I will add the new pictures of McKenna that we were able to take today. She squeezed our fingers today when we put them in her hands, and she even got to wear daddy's wedding ring. We will let you know any updates as we get them.

Thanks again to everyone for all the prayers we are recieving.

30 Hours Old

Miss McKenna is now 30 hrs. old. All in all she is doing pretty good. Overnight she was pretty active and kept the nurses hoping. Her vent has changed from a 'Conventional' vent to an 'Oscilator'. Right now she is doing what is called "riding the vent" which means that she is breathing a little on her own, but not breathing as well as she was yesterday. The doctor does not seem to be concerned because McKenna is probably pretty tired right now. When she was in Suzanne's tummy, she was very active at night which kept mommy awake quite a bit. The next days and weeks will show us a lot and hopefully everything will continue to go well. I never knew how easy it would be to get wrapped around Miss McKenna's little finger!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

At 2:35am, McKenna Arlene took her first breath. She weighs 1lb 12oz. We’re not sure exactly how long she is yet since right now that is the least of their worries. She is currently on a vent but is breathing quite a bit on her own. Her body is very pink and she is doing very well. We just met with the doctor and at this point, her vitals are extremely good.

Suzanne is doing well also. She is in a lot of pain right now due to the C-section. She is currently on pain meds and an IV. She had what is called a “classical” C-section where they cut her up and down. There was a lot of scar tissue from when Ian was born and they think that could be adding to Suzanne’s pain.

I will create a link to a couple of the pictures that we already have of our little lady.

Please continue to pray for the 3 of us, especially my 2 girls. That’s kinda fun to say!

25 Weeks

Today, 11/18, Suzanne is 25 weeks prenant. This past week seems to have flown on by. If the weeks can keep going by like this, maybe some of my already grey hair will go back to it's original color. Other than last Saturday, everything has been very calm which is just the way we like it. I will update the website as soon as there are any changes, but please do NOT freak out if you don't see anything new. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us, we all appreciate it so much. Yesterday Suzanne discovered a really good quote in her planner and we wanted to share it with all of you since it really hits home...

"This is the best day the world has ever seen. Tomorrow will be better."

-R. A. Campbell

No News Is GOOD News

The last 2 days have been pretty quiet. Everything has calmed down since this weekend and Suzanne is feeling pretty good. She is starting to get a little stiff and sore from laying in bed constantly, but she is still in pretty good spirits. She gets to have a massage today, so she is really looking forward to that. But, today is another day and thank God for that.

Another Eventful Day

A night with little to no sleep, side effects from the meds, only having clear fluids, and emotions running high, today has another very eventful day. The doctors were pumping her full of the Magnesium Sulfate and her body didn't like that a whole lot. They ended up taking her off of the Mag. and putting her on something that I can't spell. This afternoon, her blood pressure dropped a bunch and her heart rate picked up tremendously so they put her back on the IV and on an Oxygen mask for the time being until her stats pick back up. The doctor was just in here and said that there weren't any major signs of the baby on its way out. Every day and every week is more crucial now than ever.

More Stress...

Today, Friday 11/11, we had yet another doctors appointment with ultrasound. It seems that Suzanne's cervix has opened almost all the way. There was very little still partially closed. As a result, Suzanne was brought back to her room for the 2nd dose of steroids, Magnesium Sulfate to stop any contractions and to relax any smooth muscle, and also on an IV drip. She is also on antibiotics to protect her and baby from any infection. Due to the Mag. Sulfate numbing muscles, that means that she has to have a catheter which she does not enjoy since that means no getting out of bed at all. She is on a monitor to measure baby’s heartbeat and to see if she’s having any contractions. She has had very few and they are considered very small contractions. Of course this is not the news we wanted to hear today, but every day that baby stays in mommy’s tummy the better. Just pray that those days can turn into weeks and weeks to come.
We can also not forget that today marks 1 year since our first child Ian was baptized and later brought into the Kingdom of God. We are hoping that he will watch over his mommy and little brother or sister to keep them safe and healthy. Please continue to pray for the 3 of us as we get through this very trying time.

Bedrest

Just thought I would fill you all in on what is going on these days, these LONG days....

Friday, Suzanne was admitted into the hospital due to the fact that her cervix continues to shorten. They put her on the monitor to watch baby's heartbeat and to watch for contractions. They didn't see anything to really raise any eyebrows so they sent her home Saturday morning. Our doctor decided for us to go back in and have another ultrasound on Monday so I wheeled Suzanne up to the doctor hoping to get some good news. It turns out that her cervix was shorter yet than it was on Friday so we got another 1 way ticket to the hospital for more bedrest. We're not exactly sure why this continues to happen, but certainly hoping that the progress the cervix is making will come to a halt or to a major slow down.

On a good note, on Thursday 11/10 (Ian's birthday) she will be given steriods to help speed up baby's development. She will also be given another ultrasound that day so we will be able to know the progress that baby and cervix are making.

Please continue to keep the 3 of us in your thoughts and prayers as we go through this very trying time in our lives. We're not sure why this is happening, but we'll get through it one step at a time.