6 Weeks

A month and a half already, where has the time gone? Once were the days of holding our breath every time a monitor made a noise, getting teary eyed every time we got to see our little girl, getting teary eyed every time we had to leave her, and wondering what it would be like to be this far. Well, here we are. Now we hold our breath every time we get to hold our little girl, we get teary eyed when she does something cute, and we get teary eyed when she cries. We are so happy for the progress that McKenna has made in these “short” 6 weeks. We have been so wrapped up in all of her progress that the time has seemed to fly right by us. Christmas has come and gone. Soon it will be 2006 and to be real honest, I don’t know where 2005 went. Thursday morning, McKenna was switched to the Nasal Canula and early Friday morning went back to CPAP because her blood gases weren’t exactly what the doctors wanted to see and she was getting very tired very fast. Her CPAP pressure settings are pretty low and her Oxygen requirements are right around 30%, which is very good. She is continuously gaining weight, and with every bit of weight she gains, she gets more food. As of this morning she weighed 2 lbs 12.8oz and is getting 24cc of breast milk every 3 hrs. We like to compare that to eating a Thanksgiving dinner every 3 hrs. I think we’d all get big if we ate like that. Early this week McKenna had to say goodbye to her neighbor who has been her with her since birth and was born just a little over a month prior, now today, she has a new little neighbor. He was born at 24 weeks and 2 days and weighs 1lb 6oz. We have been completely overwhelmed and blessed by all of the people out there that have prayed for us and we ask that you please pray for this family and their little boy as they travel down this long and scary path.

Nasal Canula

Good afternoon! Mommy and Daddy left the laptop out when they were here last and I have decided to update all of you because they haven’t done so since Christmas. This morning Dr. Nau spotted a pocket of air in my chest when they did an x-ray. He isn’t exactly sure why it’s there, but he did tell me that it is very rare that a baby my age has this happen. I also over heard him saying something about putting a needle in my chest to draw the air out if it doesn’t take care of itself, which I certainly hope it does. So because I have a bit of an air leak, the wonderful NICU staff has decided to take me off of the CPAP and put me on nasal canula. Instead of putting pressure into my lungs like the CPAP did, this thing is just a tube that comes from the back of my head up to my nose and is just blowing air into my nose. This system is much more comfortable for me than the CPAP. I had to wear that hat, so the straps would leave indents in my head, and the mask that went around my nose wasn’t the most comfortable thing. I have kind of started to smile a little bit, so I’m sure Mom and Dad will get all camera happy again. I did hear them say that they would be posting new pictures soon so that you could all see how cute I am. I’ve had lots of visitors in the last week. Saturday night, this big fella dressed up in a red suit with a big white beard came in here and left me a teddy bear, which was very nice of him. I’ve been able to meet all of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, some of my cousins, and cousin to be again the last couple days. There have been 3 times recently where I’ve been put into this tub of water and they put soap all over me, wash my hair, and get me smelling good. I haven’t quite made up my mind if I like that yet. The first 2 times, I’ve gotten pretty worked up and had a couple accidents in the tub. For some reason that makes Mommy and Daddy laugh. I don’t think it’s funny at all. Well, it’s time for me to eat again, and then I’ll take a nap for a while. Talk to you all soon. Love ya!!

Merry Christmas

This year we obviously have plenty to be thankful for. Our little girl is making tremendous headway. Of course we would like to have her in Mommy’s tummy still, but we have to play the cards we’ve been dealt. This morning she was switched back to the original CPAP that she had on Tuesday. She seems to be doing much better on it this time and hopefully we don’t have to do anymore switching around until she comes off of this.

Even though we are very joyful and thankful for what McKenna has given us, our hearts are still very heavy this Christmas as we spend our 2nd one without our son Ian. We were given this poem last year and it’s called, Christmas with Jesus.

Christmas With Jesus

I see countless Christmas trees around the world below
With tiny lights, like heaven’s stars reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular; please wipe away the tear,
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear, but
The sounds of music can’t compare with the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me; I see the pain inside your heart,
But I am not so far away, we really aren’t apart.
So be happy for me love ones, you know I hold you dear,
And be glad I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I send you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above,
I send you each a memory of my undying love.
Remember love’s a special gift, more precious than pure gold,
It was always more important in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do,
For I can’t count the blessings or the love He has for you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear,
Remember I’m spending Christmas with Jesus this year.

Ian, Mommy and Daddy love you and miss you very much. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas with Jesus.

Merry Christmas to all of you and may God grant you peace and happiness in the New Year.

5 Weeks Old

This morning, McKenna turned 5 weeks old. This week, it seems that almost everything has changed in one way or another. Earlier this week, she was still hooked up to the oscillator vent. Tuesday she was taken off of that to try the conventional vent for the third time. She did very well with the conventional vent according to the monitors, but her blood gases just weren’t what they wanted them to be. They thought that maybe this could’ve been caused because the breathing tube that she had at that time was too small for her throat now that it has grown. They tweaked the settings a little bit and her gases then went in the direction they wanted. Wednesday morning when Dr. Nau called, he told us that she had been switched to the CPAP basically just to try it and see how everything goes. Wednesday night, Thursday morning, she was having a real hard time breathing so they switched her to a different type of CPAP. The first one she had was the two little prongs in her nose, and if she had any boogies, it wouldn’t allow air in through her nostrils. Now she has a CPAP tube a couple centimeters down her nose and that seems to be working just fine. Her PICC line was taken out on Thursday and now she is on straight breast milk. The only thing going into her body is the breathing tube in her nose, and her feeding tube also in her nose. Last night we were able to give our little lady her first bath. She didn’t really care for it, but since some of her patches weren’t sticking to her anymore, it was time. She has really figured out how to cry and it’s certainly a very cute little cry though. We have also switched rooms. McKenna was the only baby on the one whole side of the NICU, so we got moved over to the other side where there are more babies, but now a couple of her neighbors have been sent home. Pretty soon parents are going to be fighting over who gets the rooms closest to McKenna so they can get sent home. We hope that everyone has a very merry Christmas. If you are traveling, please drive safe. Our love goes out to all of you!

McKenna's new pictures will be posted in the 'McKenna Volume 2' link. Also, to get a really good idea of how much she has grown, goto McKenna Volume 1 and scroll down until you find the picture labled 'Holding onto her tube all sprawled out' taken December 5th and compare it to 'Thanks for fixing my shirt dad' taken on December 19th.

CPAP

Suzanne called me this morning after speaking with Dr. Nau. To my surprise, it turns out that her breathing tube was taken out and McKenna is now getting her Oxygen from a CPAP. This is very exciting for us since it is 1 more step in the right direction. There is a chance that she may have to go back onto a ventilator depending on how her blood gas results are, but as of right now she’s doing just fine. The best part of all this is that we finally get to see her whole face. We are so excited right now that it is hard for me to put it into words. I can’t stop thinking about how cute she is going to be without that tape on her upper lip and the tube in her mouth. She was beautiful before, I can’t imagine how cute she is now. I will post photos and video as soon as I can. Say a prayer for McKenna so that the tube will not have to be replaced and that she can continue to do well on her CPAP.

Disclaimer

I have decided to take the website to the next step with adding videos. I have currently added 1 video that I have of McKenna under the “McKenna Video Links” section and 1 video that I have of the Felton Christmas Pool Party under “Nieces and Nephews” section. None of them are very long, but at least you can see more than just a picture.

The actual disclaimer that I have titled this post after is this:

The website that these videos are stored on contains content that is not suitable for everyone. I chose this website for one reason, because it's free!! I can not control the content that others post onto this website. The only way to ensure that you do not go anywhere that you shouldn't is to ONLY follow the links I have provided. I apologize in advance if this offends anyone, but again, since it is the "best" free video host I could find, that's where it is. If anyone knows of a "better" site, I am certainly open to suggestions.

1 Month

Today marks the 1 month hurdle for our little McKenna. I can't believe how fast time has gone by as our little one continues to grow and impress us with her strength and will. If anyone would've told me a month ago today that things would've gone this smoothly and that she would make the progress that she has, I don't think I would've believed them. We haven't always gotten what we wanted so to speak, but certainly have gotten a beautiful little girl that we love dearly. As you can see, on the right hand side of the page, I have added a section of how much milk she is consuming. As of the morning, Dr. Nau upped it from 9cc's to 11.5cc's every 3 hours. The last couple of days for her have been great. She is breathing well, her Oxygen needs are very low, her vent settings are very low, and she is obviously eating well. She will receive another blood transfusion today, and hopefully will be able to remove the PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) line by the end of the week which is used for giving fluids or drug treatment into your bloodstream. She still continues to do very well when either of us "kangaroo" with her. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow depending on how she does, there will hopefully be a vent change to either the Conventional vent or to a CPAP. It would absolutely thrill me for her to be able to move to either of these and stay on it without having to move back to the oscillator vent. Love to all, I hope all of you have a very merry Christmas. Travel safe and take care.

4 Weeks Old :)

Holy cow, can you believe little Miss McKenna is 4 weeks old already? She is gaining weight, she’s eating well, she’s pooping well and often, and just all in all doing well. Suzanne and I are very pleased with the progress that she has made this week. We had a minor set back this week when the vent change didn’t produce the results they were looking for, and when they put her back on her current vent, she didn’t seem to want that either. She had a really tough afternoon on Wednesday, but after she got her blood transfusion, she did much better and has been doing well since. She is getting 6cc’s of milk every 3hrs. They will re-examine her progress tomorrow morning to see if she is able to get more and possibly try the vent change again. She is up to 2lbs 5oz or 1060grams. Her cheeks are starting to get a little chubby, her legs are filling out more, and she’s just getting bigger. It is certainly amazing what 4 weeks time has taught us and brought to us. It is an extremely good feeling to be this far, and I can hardly wait to update you in another 4 weeks. Hopefully by the end of the December, she’ll be close to or at 3lbs. That is what I want for Christmas if anyone is wondering what to get me. We hope you all had a great week, we certainly did. From St. Luke’s NICU, I’m signing out for now

Ups and Downs

As McKenna has reached 3 ½ weeks old today, there have been quite a few ups and downs. On Saturday, they had started her back on the milk and on Monday took her back off of it because they say a change in her bowel on the x-ray. Tuesday they took her off of the oscillator vent (short puffs of air) and put her on a conventional vent (big deep breaths) to make her breath more on her own which she has been doing a great job of. Last night through the night they decided that because of her blood gas results weren’t what they wanted, they switched her back to the oscillator. After talking to Dr. Nau this morning, he doesn’t consider the vent change a bad thing. She just wasn’t ready for that kind of a change yet. You really don’t know how she is going to react to these changes unless they try. The good news is that there was another “deposit” in her diaper last night and her bowel looks good on the x-ray so they are going to start her back on the milk again today. She will be getting 2cc’s every 4 hours. It’s not that much to start out with, but as we know, they will increase it as much as possible when they can. As long as they can keep giving her as much milk as she can handle, it won’t be long until she makes it to 3 pounds.

Got Milk??

Yesterday on McKenna’s 3-week birthday, she started to receive her mommy’s milk again, just like she asked. The doctors are starting her pretty low again so that her body can adjust to back to that yummy stuff. As she tolerates the feedings they will increase and then begin decreasing her PVN and lipids. Once she is on full feedings they will be able to remove her PICC line and she will start having a lot less wires and tubes attached to her. On Saturday they were giving her 2cc’s every 6 hrs and now they are giving her 2cc’s every 3 hrs, so they have already doubled her milk. Also, babies that are receiving mother’s milk tend to become less dependent on the vent. So, hopefully there will be some changes soon for McKenna. Dad just completed his 2nd “kangaroo” session and it was just as great as last time.

3 Weeks Old

Daddy and Mommy decided that their little girl should write the update this week because I am the one that knows exactly what is going on with me these days and to give them a break. First things first, I would personally like to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers. I never thought I could touch so many of you. OK, back to me. I am getting a little bigger these days. On Wednesday night, my nurse weighed me and I tipped the scales at 2lbs 1oz. Even without Mom’s milk, I am growing and gaining weight. This past week, as you all know since Dad told the whole world, I had a poopie diaper. I can’t say that I was as thrilled about it as he was, but who am I to tell him that he is a little odd sometimes. I do feel a lot better this week after they got all that yucky stuff out of my tummy. One of the other things I like to do is “kangaroo” with Mom and Dad. I have been fortunate enough to be able to do this with Mommy 4 times now and once with Daddy. I was very surprised about how hairy Dad is, that stuff tickled my little face and it was kinda fun to try and pull it out. Once in awhile, just for something to do, I quit breathing. A bunch of lights start flashing, alarms go off, and the nurses come to my rescue. I’m not exactly sure why I do this, but it’s always amusing to get everyone’s attention. Daddy told me the other night that he’ll give me all the attention that I want and that I don’t have to do that anymore. I really like all of my nurses and doctors. They are very nice to me even though I don’t really care for all the poking and prodding that they do to me. All those heel sticks to draw my blood and test my blood sugars are getting a bit old. The results have been fine the last how many times, so why do you have to keep doing that to me? You have all gotten pretty used to my behaviors. I usually squirm around a bit if I don’t like the way I am positioned or I set off some of the alarms so that you come in and see me. On Thursday, Dad caught me scooting in my bed, so they had to wrap me up in a blanket. I usually like to stretch out and not be contained, but sometimes it is nice to be all bundled up. Hopefully for a birthday present, Dr. Nau will let me have mom’s milk again. That stuff was good and I really enjoy when they give me that. I promise that I’ll have more poopie diapers if I can PLEEEAAASSSE have my milk back. Last but not least, I really enjoy when Mom and Dad are there to spend time with me. I love to hear their voices. I keep hearing them talk about how cold it is. I’m not exactly sure what they are talking about since where I live it is always warm. Most of the time, unless my nurse puts one of those cute little shirts on me, I usually just hang out with just my diaper on. But, then again, I like being nice and toasty. Well, that’s all for now. I am getting tired and should probably get some rest. Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers, and hopefully in a couple months I’ll get to go to this place Mommy and Daddy keep calling “home”. I’m not sure where that’s at or what it is, but it sure sounds nice and I can’t wait. Stay warm out there because there isn’t room in here for all of you. Love to all.

The Big Number 2

As this post may gross some of you out, it may make some of you wonder my mental stability, or it may make some of you very happy. Last night when I stopped at the hospital to see McKenna after work, her Nurse Sandy who Suzanne and I have come to enjoy being around had me help flip her over and change her diaper. Low and behold, when I opened up the itty bitty diaper, we found what she called a “Meconium Plug”. I was a bit frightened by the looks of this thing, but I was soon very happy after seeing the nurse’s actions. She paraded this diaper around the whole NICU to show every body, but it seems as though her and I were the only 2 up there that were really happy about this. Finding this little surprise in her diaper is definitely a good thing and it shows that she moved this out all on her own and hopefully will start getting mommy’s milk again tomorrow. If she does go back on milk tomorrow, we certainly hope that she will be able to give her mommy and daddy more dirty diapers. Never in all of my life have I been so happy to see a dirty diaper and never have I wished more of them upon myself. Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that trip your trigger.

Yesterday was also another very special day for Suzanne as she was able to “Kangaroo” McKenna again. Both of them really enjoy doing this and there are so many benefits for Suzanne to do this. It’s amazing what the human body is possible of doing and especially what can happen by simply holding your child. Take care and God bless all of you.

I Won The Lottery

Ok, so maybe I didn’t, but I came very close. I got to hold McKenna today for the very first time, and I can hardly describe how I feel after doing so. I was anxious, nervous, and a bit scared, but both McKenna and I got through it. The hour and a half that I had her in my arms went by so quickly and it feels a bit unfair. I know there will be many hours ahead that she will be held tight in my arms as the days, weeks, months, and years go by. I was so wrapped up in the moment that it seemed a bit intoxicating. She was a bit curious about all the hair on my chest, and she was even able to find her thumb and suck on it for a little while. But McKenna is all tucked back into her Giraffe bed safe and sound. So, if I personally had the choice of winning the lottery or holding this little girl for the first time, it’s a no brainer that I would do this all over again in a second. That was one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced. McKenna was even able to get a couple kisses from mommy. The other times when Suzanne was “kangarooing” with McKenna, it was always me that got to give her kisses because it is impossible to do so when she’s laying flat on your chest. Another great day in the Felton family!! God Bless.

2 Weeks Old

This morning at 2:35am, McKenna Arlene Felton turned 2 weeks old. Suzanne and I are so happy to be at this point with our little girl. Here is her current status as of this very snowy December morning.

She is still on the oscillator vent (short puffs of air) to help her breath. There is the tube in her belly to help her keep the bile/stool out of her tummy. She is getting very valuable nutrition through her IV and currently not getting any of mommy’s milk due to her intestinal issues. McKenna is also receiving lipids (fat) to help her get big, and she is also on insulin to keep her blood sugar under control due to the high volume of sugar she is receiving. Since she does have the trouble with her tummy, she is also on some antibiotics to help with any sort of infection that may come her way. As of today, there has not been any of the bile/stool pulled out of her belly, which is a very good sign. Her x-rays have not shown any trouble with her intestines, so hopefully in a couple days we might get to hold her again and maybe put her back on a small dose of momma’s milk. The nurses weighed her last night and she was 1lb 14oz / 840g which is all of 2oz / 40g over birth weight. All things considered, that is pretty good. There have not been any dirty diapers yet since Thursday when they discovered the problem, but there has been bowel sounds heard. Hopefully there will be one soon and she can learn how to do that sort of thing.

As Dr. Nau mentioned last night, there are many positives right now. We all need to remember to stay positive, patient, and remember that we are dealing with a very strong little girl. God bless all of you, and happy 2 weeks birthday, Miss McKenna.

NICU Shuffle

This is a dance step that we have come to know very well...2 steps forward, 1 step back. It seems that it is time to take our 1 step back.

Yesterday, McKenna's milk was upped again and she tolerated all of the milk all night. During the day, the nurse was checking her belly to make sure she didn't have any milk left over in her tummy and pulled out greenish bile/stool looking YUCK. It seems that she is able to digest all of the milk we can give her, but her intestines aren't moving things out. So, since McKenna's body has thrown them a curveball they were able to make the change immediately which is always better than catching something later on. The medical name for this illness is "Ileus". The definition of ileus is a partial or complete non-mechanical blockage of the small and/or large intestine. Ileus or paralytic ileus, occurs because peristalsis stops. Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction that moves material through the bowel. Ileus is most often associated with an infection of the peritoneum (the membrane lining the abdomen). It is one of the major causes of bowel obstruction in infants and children.

What they have done to help her...They have taken her off of mommy's milk for at least 72 hrs, maybe a week, to stop anything else from going into her intestines, upped her IV nutrition which in turn ups her Insulin to keep her blood sugar under control. Started her on Antibiotics to keep infections away, and put a tube down her throat into her tummy to suck out all the yuck that is backing up.

Please pray that McKenna's body can get this plumbing problem figured out and we can take another 2 steps forward (our favorite part of the dance).

Premie Care For Dummies

We really don't think any of you reading this are dummies, but we thought we would give you an explanation of everything in English so that you know what all the wires and IV's are for that are going into McKenna and so you have a better understanding of her treatment.

She has four wires attached to her, one is a temperature probe to make sure she is staying warm and the other three monitor her heart. The red light that moves from different spots on her body is checking her oxygen saturation; this is the same thing that adults get placed on their finger. She had umbilical lines when she was first born, one in the umbilical artery, the other in the umbilical vein. The nurses were able to draw from the umbilical artery. Once those lines were pulled a PICC line was placed in her arm. She gets her parenteral nutrition (PVN) through this line. The PVN provides her if vitamins, sugar, protein, and electrolytes. She is still getting lipids (her liquid fat) also. Often she has an IV that gets moved around (currently she has one in her head). The nurses can give numerous medications through this line. She was on two antibiotics for the first week. Gentamicin and Ampicillian, as prophylactic treatment. Her blood transfusions utilize this line, and also her caffeine. The liquid Mt Dew is to help her remember to breathe. She has also been on insulin since her pancreas hasn't been doing the job completely due to her prematurity. The last line that she has goes in her nose, and that is called a NG tube which goes down to her stomach. This is how she is getting Mommy's milk, which she loves. I hope this helps you better understand all of McKenna's treatments.

I would like give a special thank you to my dear Suzanne. She has been helping me with the updates the last couple days and I have been getting a lot of good reviews. I am not able to take all the credit. Along with helping me with the updates, she has also been a great support for me through this very trying time. Thanks honey!!