Baby Is Here

Christmas 2008

2008-12-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

I would like to wish each and everyone of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We have had another amazing year with lots of blessings and of course a few challenges. I am able to type this today because I am home with McKenna because she got sick yesterday while we were Christmas shopping. It kind of worked out in my favor because I was able to come home with her and get out of shopping. Other than a few little illnesses, she has been very healthy. We had her 3 yr check up a couple days ago. She is still hovering around the 30 lb mark but is 37 inches tall. Just since her birthday she has grown about an inch. We realized it when she didn't need our help to turn off light switches anymore. It's great & sad all at the same time when I see how grown up she is. We still really need to work on important things like "please" & "thank you" but otherwise she does pretty well with her manners. Dr. Nau reminded us again that we are so lucky to have such a normal little girl. There are a bunch of little ones out there that will never get the chance to be as fortunate as she is.

As we prepare McKenna for Christmas this year, we try to teach her that just because there are wrapped presents in our house that she can't open them and that all the stuff we bought can't be played with because it's for someone else, there is still a large part of our family missing. This morning as I was making McKenna breakfast I read this poem that we put on our fridge each year...

**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 dear ones, you know I hold you dear,

and be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus 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 blessing 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, we love you dearly and miss you. The words above help though when I think about you spending Christmas with Jesus and all of those we have lost. Please guide us and protect us in 2009.

All our love,

The Feltons

To sum it all up...

2008-08-12T08:43:00.001-07:00

Someone (who's name shall remain anonymous) told me that tomorrow will be 1 full year since I've typed anything on this blog. So, as the title says, I will sum up the last year in the Felton house...

When I last left off, we had some hearing tests, eye exams, & the March of Dimes RIDE. Hopefully not to sound like a broken record, but the only thing I will leave out is the hearing test since there hasn't been a repeat performance of that. We have had another eye exam since then and we were told that McKenna has astigmatism. What that could mean is that she will probably wear glasses at an early age.

If February, we moved to a different house. We couldn't have been more fortunate by selling our old house 'For Sale By Owner' which saved us a lot of money. We moved to the Southwest side of Cedar Rapids to a beautiful newer home in a much more quiet neighborhood. Since the move we have been busy with getting settled, figuring out a routine, meeting neighbors (who don't like listening to music at 1:30am when some rowdy college friends come to visit), and putting in some landscaping. I have a much smaller yard now which takes 45 minutes to mow instead of the 2 1/2 hours it used to take me.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably all know about the severe weather that has slammed Iowa this year. Cedar Rapids was flooded beyond anyone's belief. On Wednesday, June 11th, I walked downtown for a bit of "gawking". Where I was standing that afternoon, if I would've been there 24 hrs later, the water would've been over my head. All of downtown Cedar Rapids was flooded and shut down. My office was closed and we were to work from home until further notice. That turned out to be 5 full weeks. There was 1 way to get from the West side of CR to the East side and that was I-380. Normally 3 lanes wide, 1 lane was shut down for emergency crews to get through, and the other 2 were backed up for miles and miles. Some of you in the "big city" are used to this, but in Iowa we still measure distance between A & B by miles, not by traffic jams, toll booths, etc. Suzanne had to leave work extremely early in the morning and it would take her just as long if not longer to get home at night after working her butt off. Oh yeah, Mercy hospital was also flooded and ordered to shutdown once the water reached their property 10 blocks from the river. This of course filled up St. Lukes hospital which is on a lot higher ground. Not only were they doing 1,000 more tests in the lab daily, but also had to make up for the staff who could not be there because their house was flooded as well. I thank God each day that I drive through the massive devastation that our house was not affected by this monumental flood. There are 4 water treatment plants in Cedar Rapids, 3 of which were flooded. Cedar Rapids as a whole was put on severe water conservation mode. We were not supposed to shower, flush toilets, use water to cook, etc. Only for necessity. By about day 4, showering with a baby wipe looses it's lustor. We had planned to go to a friends parents house in a different town to shower when they got hit with another storm causing power outages. As we got that call, it started to pour rain outside. On our deck, there is a 'L' shaped privacy fence and so we showered out in the rain with a little help from sump pump water. To all of you that are a bit squeemish, I smelled a whole lot better after that shower than I did before.

During this time, there was also a change in our family dynamic. Most of you know that we've had a dog since before we got married (6 yrs). Sierra for the most part was a really good dog and very loyal. It didn't matter the time, day, what happened the last time I saw her, she was always glad to see me/us. When we brought McKenna home from the hospital, she would usually be inbetween McKenna and the door in case anyone tried to come in. Sierra was a pretty scary dog sometimes. If she didn't think you were welcome in our house, she would back you out with some raised lips, growls, and some pretty mean sounding barks. I usually didn't worry about leaving on a business trip because I knew that she would protect Suzanne and McKenna until she couldn't fight anymore. On June 19th, a week after the flood, we were cutting her nails. Suzanne always did the cutting and I petted her and fed her treats so she would lay still. Suzanne was on the 2nd to last nail and all of a sudden Sierra jumped up barking and charging after Suzanne. She at one point had her entire hand in her mouth biting it until she could finally be distracted and Suzanne could get away. Sierra weighed 75 lbs and at last check McKenna weighs roughly 30 lbs. We just couldn't take the chance of anything like this happening to McKenna. I personally would NEVER forgive myself if it did so we had no choice but to humanely euthanize her. That day, I was playing frisbee with her at about 11:30am and by 2:00pm, she was no longer with us. It was a very fast decision, but we had to do it then or we probably would have talked ourselves out of it. For the most part she was a very good dog and we loved her dearly. We hope to get another dog some time down the road when McKenna can help take care of it. But Sierra was our first dog and will remain in our hearts forever.

Since it may very well be another year until I update again, here are some things that will happen in the near future...

This coming weekend, August 16th, we will again be the ambassador family for the March of Dimes RIDE. If anyone would like details to join us, the more the merrier. Otherwise, you can click HERE to sponsor us.

In October, one of my very best friends "Sleepy" will get married in Kansas City, MO. I am so excited for him and his absolutely wonderful fiance. The wedding and party afterwards will be a blast.

In November, Suzanne's college roommate is getting married in Cancun, Mexico. Jess is basically the reason that Suzanne and I are together. Long story short, I roomed with Jess' sister Rachel and we went to Ames for Veisha. Low and behold I met a beutiful blond that weekend who later became my wife. Pure coincedence but I thank God each day for allowing me to meet her.

Our love to each of you.

Random Thoughts

2007-08-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

There are lots of things going on right now in the Felton family. 1st and foremost is that a couple weeks ago, McKenna had an eye appointment and a couple days later she had her ABR hearing test. To our delight, both turned out to be good news. She no longer has Retinopathy of Prematurity which is what she has been tested for numerous times even before she left the hospital. The Dr. said that she might be a little near sided, but just as we thought, she sees very well. The ABR test was quite a circus. Since McKenna doesn't know how to hold still and be quiet for more than 1 second, they had to put her under General Anaesthetic so that she could be quiet and still for as long as they needed her to be. So we were at the OR at 7am so they could get her prepped for a 9am appointment. Just like any other time you have surgery or Anaesthetic, you can't eat or drink anything for 8 hours or so. By 8am when she got used to being in the hospital, she was very ready for something to eat or drink. It was not fun trying to explain to her that she just couldn't eat right then, but when she saw us next, we would have something for her. An hour and a half later, she was out and we met with the Dr. who was very surprised to tell us that her hearing is just fine. In the world of micro-premies, kids who breath, eat, see, and hear well are too few and far between. McKenna has come a great distance from that 1 lb. 12 oz. little girl she used to be. This weekend she'll be a local celebrity for the day on Saturday for the March of Dimes Ride. We are all really looking forward to the ride and I'll again tie my blue handkerchief on the back of my bike. The 1st year I rode in this ride was shortly after we lost Ian and I tied it there. Suzanne had to work and it just seemed right in my mind that some how, my son be able to ride with me. I had a warming feeling all day on the bike that he was with me every mile of the trip. I hope that someone I know (including me) wins that bike. I've sold a lot of tickets so we'll see. So, for any of you in the Cedar Rapids area, if you don't have a motorcycle, but want to come down to find out who wins the bike, come to the Chrome Horse on 8/18 from 3pm - 4:30pm.

On a different note, Suzanne and I have been keeping up on a little boy's "Carepage". His mother is a classmate of Suzanne's sister. Her little boy Grant has AT/RT which is a form of cancer. Thankfully, right now Grant's cancer is in remission. Since Grant's diagnosis, his mom has put us in touch with many other innocent children who for whatever the reason may be, have developed AT/RT. A lot of these kids are very young and it scares me to no end. I have asked a bunch of other times on here, but please say a prayer for all of these kids that are suffering from this. It is not fair in any way shape or form and it rips my heart out to read about these kids. The rambling I did above about our tests and time in the hospital is a drop in the hat to these families. If any of you would like to be put in touch with these Carepages, please click the email link to the right and send us a note.

New Pictures

2007-07-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it, 2 posts in a month? I am trying to go back to my old ways and update as often as possible. I wanted to let everyone know that there are new pictures in 2 different albums Summer 07 and Flying Baby. Please don't report us to DHS because McKenna really does like her "throw the baby" sessions. All I have to do is ask her, "throw the baby" and she says, "Yeah, yeah". So we go upstairs put down a landing pillow and toss her onto the bed. As soon as she hits the pillow, all you hear is, "again, again". As you can see by the smiles on her face, she really does love it.

I would like to send out a special congratulations to Tina & Randy who got married this last weekend, and to Josh & Abigail who will be married this weekend in DeKalb, IL. Take care and love to all.

Harley Giveaway

2007-07-11T07:23:00.001-07:00

Hello to All,

I know it's been a long time since you've heard from me but in our defense, we have been very busy and spending lots of quality time as a family. A month from today, Suzanne and I were on our way to Cancun, Mexico for a week long getaway. We had a very good time and I miss it every single day. If any of you are thinking about doing something like this, I know 2 (very nice) people that would love to do it all again. McKenna is walking like a champ and mostly running. She has quite a few words that she says. Shoes & please are her favorite, but she also says dog, socks, thank you. We have to take McKenna in on July 24th for an ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) to make sure she doesn't have any hearing loss and if she does, just how much. She never passed a hearing test when she left the hospital originally and now moves around too much and makes too much noise to get a valid result, so they will be putting her under for a short period of time to check this. It is my non-medical opinion that her hearing is fine or very close to it since she is talking and actually talks pretty well. As far as corrected age, she should only be 16 months. In the mean time, we've been to the Lost Island waterpark up in Waterloo and we all had a blast especially the biggest kid in our house (me). This past weekend we took her to the pool and she is quite a little swimmer. She had no problem going under, getting splashed, and we had a good time playing catch with her in the water and listening to her giggle. That is about all we have for now on her, but please keep reading.

This year there was a major change of plans with the March of Dimes and they will no longer be able to sponsor a motorcycle poker run but instead are partnering with Metro Harley Davidson and are giving away a 2007 Harley 883 Sportster. August 18^th from 8:30am - 3:00pm, Metro will be hosting a hog roast, music, and an observation poker run. Then we’ll head down to the Chrome Horse and will give the bike away at 4:30pm. Tickets are available at Metro Harley Davidson and at Chrome Horse. You can win free entries from Bike Nights at Chrome Horse on July 12^th, 19^th, 26^th, and Aug. 2^nd, 9^th, and 16^th from 7pm - 9pm. We have also been trusted with a book of 25 tickets and I hope to sell way more than that. Ticket prices are $5 each or 3 for $10. Even if you're not biker, you don't care to own a Harley, or you don't like this particular motorcycle, it can be traded for another model or the winner can receive a cash payout. So, if you want to buy tickets please send me an email and I'll know how many more to get. We have set a pretty high bar for ourselves the last 2 years by being the biggest fundraisers and with your help we would like to be able to say we've sold the most tickets. All of you already know what the March of Dimes is about and without their help, McKenna wouldn't be getting into everything and running around our house. We would love nothing more than to know that other parents out there would not have to go through what we did when we lost Ian. Below is a picture of the bike they are giving away.

Also, for all of you in a giving mood, please check out my cousin Amber Carroll's blog and donate to her walk for the American Cancer Society. We all know far too many people that have been affected by cancer and it keeps getting worse instead of better. So with that being said, lets try and do something to help out.

Evan Joseph Felton

2007-05-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

Evan joined the ever growing Felton family Sunday night (5/6/07) at 7:15pm. He weighed 8 lb. 3 oz. and is 20 inches long. He was delivered via C-section and it turns out that may have saved little Evan's life. The cord was wrapped around his neck 4 times. He struggled to breath right out of the gate but they didn't waste any time getting him going. He was under an Oxygen hood up until last night when Dan and Amanda were finally able to hold their beautiful little boy. Amanda is quite a trooper. She has barely complained of any pain even though this baby has been kicking her butt that last couple of weeks. If all continues to go well, they all should be heading home tomorrow some time. Dan, as your "little" brother, I've been waiting patiently for a long time to see you as a Daddy. "Squiggs" couldn't be any luckier than to have you as his Dad. Take care of that little fella! I'll be posting pictures of Evan as soon as possible. Love to all.

Long Time No See

2007-04-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

Yes I know it’s been a long time since I’ve updated this site, but thankfully there hasn’t been much to update on. There have been a couple ear infections but that has become the ‘norm’ with her. Nothing that antibiotics can’t handle. She is eating all table food now so no more baby food. She drinks milk like she’ll never see it again. “Hello, my name is McKenna and I’m a milk-a-holic” “Hi McKenna” After our first battle with juice, we’re just going to steer clear of that stuff for awhile, and if she likes milk and water like she does then I see no reason to give her juice. She is so close to walking but isn’t mostly because she’s a chicken and too afraid to fall (on her padded butt). She walks well when holding on to our hands or on anything else, but just to scared to do it on her own. I know what most of you with kids are thinking…enjoy it while she’s not walking because she’ll get into everything. My defense to that is…she already does. This kid can climb like nobody’s business. If she can’t get something, she’ll move something she can climb on over to where she needs it and climb up to get whatever she’s after. She knows 5 or 6 words in sign language. More, dog, light, milk, duck and I might be forgetting some, but more and milk are her favorites by far.

We also just returned from Kansas City. We went to see some of my college friends and their girlfriends/wives and a very cute baby girl. McKenna did pretty well playing with Rylee except when it came to being gentle. She thought Rylee wanted to rock really fast in her chair or swing as fast as possible or wrestle when she was lying on the floor. The wiener dog Brandi was the only one who didn’t care much for McKenna while we were there. She did well while riding in our new mini-van. Yes that’s right folks, Suzanne and I are the owners a Kia Sedona that we bought in January. So, anyway, she slept a little over 2 hours on the way down and around 3 hours on the way back. It made having the van 100% worth it this weekend with the extra room to bring half the house with us for the weekend. Well, that’s all for now. Hopefully I can update more than once every 2 or 3 months but we’ll see. Also, in case any of you are interested, new pictures are posted in the Spring 07 album which also includes some from Christmas. Take care and love to all.

P.S. - Happy Birthday to my cousin Amber Carroll

Goodbye 2006, hello 2007

2007-01-03T08:44:00.000-08:00

What a year we’ve had both good and bad. Needless to say, I am quite alright with putting 2006 behind us and starting the New Year. We had a wonderful Christmas with all of our family. Suzanne, McKenna, Sierra (the dog), and I headed up to the Ohrt household on the 23^rd, stayed until Christmas morning and then we were off to “Granny’s” house for the Ries Christmas. It was very nice and all, but we sure did miss Papa Herb. We stayed Monday night at my parent’s house and then Tuesday we went out for a tour of my sister’s beautiful new home. Everything was moved in this past weekend and they were finally able to spend the night. Then on Tuesday we headed back to Cedar Rapids to complete our Christmas tour and somewhere around 300 miles, we were home and able to sleep in our own bed and get our little girl back on schedule.

Even though we are only 3 days into the year, a major event has occurred in my family. Yesterday my Dad went under the knife to remove his prostate after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. According to the Doctor, the surgery went very well and when we went to see him yesterday he was in very good spirits and again this morning when I talked to him on the phone. I am very happy that the surgery is behind him and now on the road to recovery. The healing process will take some time but I am very confident that he’ll get through this with flying colors. Also, Suzanne’s Dad Randy goes back up to Mayo at the end of this month for scans. So please keep our Dad’s in your thoughts and prayers.

We have taken numerous pictures of McKenna over the holidays and I will post them just as soon as I’m good and ready ;). She is turning into such a big girl. She really likes to feed herself even if not much of it makes it into her mouth, and she is still having a hard time learning to use the sippy cup. I think that she is very close to walking but is very scared of falling so she doesn’t like to let go of things. Well, we hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season as well. Have a better 2007.

Fall Pictures

2006-11-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

I realized when I downloaded pictures that I have not done so since before McKenna had her tubes put in. That has been quite awhile ago so I guess I am slacking just a little bit. So on the right side of this web page, I have added a link to 'Fall Pictures' in which you can see McKenna in her Halloween costume(s), the pumpkin her mommy carved for her, her birthday party, and our newest family pictures. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I know I ate too much, but then again, what's new?

1 Year Old

2006-11-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

So maybe I’m a couple days late but in my defense, I’ve been checking all sorts of things off of my “honey do” list.

I honestly cannot believe our little girl is 1 year old already. As many said at her birthday party on Sunday, “what a difference a year makes!” It’s hard to believe that she’s the same girl that lay helplessly in her Giraffe bed as her doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and her Mommy and Daddy took care of her. She is now crawling all over the place getting into stuff faster than you can even imagine. She is also pulling herself up onto whatever she can get her hands on. Now she just needs to learn how to fall gracefully and learn that she doesn’t need to scream bloody murder every time her toosh hits the floor. She is nearly 20 pounds and nearly ready for her forward facing car seat. We’ve been putting her in her walker lately and she pretty quick on that thing. Chasing the dog, running over your toes, crashing into things I’d rather she wouldn’t, but what do you do?

A year ago we weren’t sure just how happy to be since we didn’t know what McKenna’s future held for her. We were very scared and now we are still very thankful for everyone’s thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement. I promise I will post some pictures soon. We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Love to all.

Prematurity Awareness Month

2006-11-14T08:41:00.000-08:00

We were sent this email today about Prematurity Awareness Month. Quite fitting since both of our babies were born in November and both very premature. Along with the email was a video that someone has put together to add awareness for the March of Dimes and what they are trying to help prevent or stop all together and that is premature birth. Click the link on the right side called 'Prematurity Awareness Month Video' and it should start loading. The video may take a little while to load, but for any of you that have been following our story, it is definitely worth the wait. As I watched this, I couldn't help but to cry. Maybe some day McKenna can be on a video like this and unfortunately there are way to many babies like Ian. The March of Dimes is doing a wonderful thing. If you come across any of their activities please participate. I am certain that we will be participating in the RIDE again next year. Take care and we send our love to all.

2 Years Ago Today

2006-11-10T06:30:00.000-08:00

2 years ago today an angel was born. His name was Ian Joseph Felton. We only got to know this angel for a very short time before he was taken to a better place. 2 years ago today I received a call very early in the morning that my wonderful wife had gone into labor and I was going to have to endure the longest flight of my life back home. 2 years ago today, Ian’s doctor was telling us it was going to be a long road ahead and to expect some set backs of course not knowing the set backs that he encountered. Last year this time, he was watching over his mommy and new sister to be. I truly believe that Ian helped McKenna get to where she is today. That being just 1 of many things this little boy has done since we met him 2 years ago today. Happy Birthday buddy!! Mommy, Daddy, and McKenna love you very much and miss you every day.

11 Months Old

2006-10-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hello, Suzanne here. We decided it was my turn to give everyone an update on McKenna.

It is hard to believe McKenna is almost a year old. She has come a long way. She is weighing in around 18 pounds. She is scooting around, but not crawling quite yet. She is starting to get the hang of waving bye-bye, and she loves to babble. She had tubes put in her ears recently. That went very well and we hope that keeps all the ear infections away. One change we have already noticed with the tubes is she sleeping through the night for us.

I think back to a year ago when we had our first 3D ultrasound. I was 21 weeks and had just started having weekly ultrasounds. We didn’t know it then that we had a little girl who would arrive only a month later. What a fighter she is.

Recently we got to see all the doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, developmental specialists and lactation consultant that all had a hand in helping our little girl at the NICU family reunion. We got to see a wide range of ages of NICU graduates, from 7-year-olds to recent patients. We know we are so blessed with McKenna’s health.

We are still not sure what McKenna is going to be for her first Halloween. We have some options so look for some pictures posted soon. Plus, we have a birthday party to plan so stay tuned!

“Papa Herb” Ries

2006-09-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

I regret to inform any of you reading this that my Grandfather, Herbert Ries, passed away yesterday afternoon 9/25/2006. I was blessed to be able to spend quite a bit of time with him this week. Out of all of the people in this world, this man was probably my favorite person to make laugh or smile. When ever I saw him that was my number 1 goal was to find him and give him my best ‘1 liner’ and see if I could get him to laugh or smile and usually it worked. I have so many fond memories of Papa like when mom and I drove him to Kentucky. We left before 5am and before we even got out of the driveway he told me to put my bright lights on and watch for deer. So I did, and after that, he and I enjoyed a 13 hr. drive to eastern Kentucky smoking like they were going out of style. He even said that I was a good driver and that isn’t a compliment that he just throws around. There was also the time that I was on his team playing Canasta and I started a 2^nd ‘wild one’ and I thought he was going through the roof. We ended off pulling it out and all was well, but if it hadn’t I would’ve never heard the end of it. Papa always enjoyed talking about farming, crops, and the good-old days. He could and would talk for hours about things like that and I enjoyed every second of those talks. Papa always loved babies and when we were there Sunday night to see him in the hospital, he held McKenna even though he was in a terrible amount of pain. I don’t know what came over her, but she was fine just laying there and kindly touched his face like she knew what was going on. That is a picture I will never forget. When we were leaving the hospital and saying our good-byes, he said “you’re a good man and take care of your family.” Those were the last words that he spoke to me and even though I will never be able to make him smile or giggle again, those words were better. Papa, you will be missed by so many!! May you finally rest in peace. We love you!

September Pictures

2006-09-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

I have added a new link to the side under McKenna Photo Links called September Pictures. We had these taken Friday night and I think she did a great job. It is not hard to get her to smile which makes getting her pictures taken a pretty fun experience for all involved.

We had a great long weekend. Mom and Dad came down Saturday morning and put up all new screen doors on our house. Again, thanks to their help we were able to check off another project on the never ending list of things to do, so thanks again Mom and Dad we really appreciate all of your help.

UPDATE:

At this point, we have raised $1,520 for the March of Dimes RIDE. Thank you to all of those who have donated and for those who have not yet done so, you can donate up to September 23rd.

We hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

There And Back

2006-08-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a big one, so hang on and for you people that fall asleep when reading, hopefully it’s not to long for you.

Two weeks ago, Baby Butikofer was given the name of Aaron Eric. He and Charlotte are doing very well. He eats like a champ and we are so excited for them and can’t wait for McKenna and Aaron to be able to play together.

We had a very good trip (all things considered) to Kentucky. We left Wednesday the 9^th after we both got off work and arrived in Kentucky at about 2:30am. Suzanne sat in the back with McKenna and fed her when she needed to and about 9pm she was out until we got there and our “baby doll” wouldn’t be quiet. The next day we traveled to Martin KY for “Pap’s” services. The Kentucky State Police posted an Honor Guard each day of the visitation and before the funeral. On our way to the burial, there were 30 police that escorted us and blocked off intersections for their brother to go to his final resting place. What an honor it was to be involved. I knew that LouAnn and Rodney had a lot of friends, but the procession to the cemetery was at least 3 miles long. Then Saturday afternoon after the burial, we went back to Georgetown, KY. It was very nice to sit, relax, and have some good conversation with everyone that made the trip. I would again like to thank LouAnn, Lois & Barry for putting us and everyone else up during our stay. The trip home was a little more eventful than the way down. We got to Champaign, IL and McKenna must have gotten car sick and we had sweet potatoes and a couple bottles of formula all over our car. We stopped to clean that up and the rest of the trip home was fine.

Last week on Friday, we had a NICU follow up with one of the NICU doctors and two of the physical therapists. McKenna did very well and they were pleased with her development. They tried to do a hearing test on her since she still hasn’t passed and she moves around and makes to much noise for them to get a good reading so we may have to bring her in sometime when she’s sleeping.

This week has already been crazy. As most of you know, Suzanne and I are participating in the March Of Dimes RIDE again this year. I have added a link to that website under the ‘Links’ section on the right side of this page. March of Dimes picked Suzanne and I to be the ambassador family for this ride and we got to film a short part in a commercial which will air on KCRG starting tomorrow and randomly after that up to the ride on September 23^rd. I got to view it today and it was pretty cool. Hopefully I will be able to get a digital copy of it and post it on here. The fund raising efforts have been going very well so far. There is a month to go and have collected almost $1,300. Last year I collected $2,200 and I would love to go way over that as this year I have 2 really good reasons to ride. So if you’d like to donate, either follow the link on the right or goto www.marchofdimesride.org/dsfelton

And now for today, McKenna had her 9 month check up and all is well. She weighed 15 lbs. 6 oz. and was 26 inches long. She is actually on the growth charts now for full term babies. Hopefully the way she’s growing, she might be all caught up by the time we take her in for her 12 month check up. We did however find out that she has a double ear infection. She hasn’t complained or given us any reason to think she had this, but her Dr. saw it in both ears and gave her some antibiotics and we’ll go back in 3 weeks to see if it helped or we may need to have tubes put in. Dr. Nau was very happy with her progress and said to keep doing what we’re doing.

I have a few new pictures of McKenna playing with all the other girls down in Kentucky that I will get posted in the ‘August Pictures’ link. I have also added a link under 'Nieces & Nephews' of Sophia's Baptism. Take care and hopefully everyone is enjoying their summer.

Eugene Rodney Hutchinson

2006-08-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

This morning at about 1am, Rodney lost his battle with cancer. For those of you who did not know this man, let me just say, you missed out! Rodney was my Godfather along with a friend, uncle, and definitely a role model. Rodney served many years as a Kentucky State Policeman before retiring with his wife LouAnn. In January he was diagnosed with melanoma in his chest after just moving to a new home north of Lexington, KY. The doctors performed surgery and weren’t able to remove all of the cancer at the time, so off to Chemotherapy and Radiation. The end of May they got results that showed the cancer had moved to his lungs and so they put him on oxygen to help him breath. I traveled down to see him in June when I was in Cleveland on business and he had just got back to the house after a battle with the dentist and he was in a lot of pain. He told me that day, “it’s not the cancer that hurts, it’s everything else that is going wrong.” The end of June, his PET scan results showed that the cancer in his lungs hadn’t progressed, and had possibly even shrunk. Off to Iowa they came for my Mom and Dad’s anniversary party with a fairly good prognosis. The end of July came around and back to the doctor for monthly scans and this time it showed that it had advanced. It was now on his pelvis, spine, shoulder, liver, and in his abdominal cavity. After that, there was basically nothing anyone could do except to keep him comfortable. Day by day, his body started to shut down. This morning as Rodney went on to a much better place, all of his kids were there with him, and once the funeral home got there, Rodney got a police escort back to Martin, KY which will be his final resting place. Rodney, may you rest in peace. You will be missed by many and thank you for being the best Godfather one could ask for!! We love you.

Announcing Baby Butikofer

2006-08-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning at about 3:45am, Charlotte Butikofer (Suzanne’s sister) gave birth to a little boy. He weighed 7lbs. 1oz. Charlotte and baby are both doing great and I will post pictures of him as soon as I can. Congratulations Charlotte and Eric.

8 Months Old

2006-07-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

I can’t hardly believe it myself, but McKenna is 8 months old today. It really seems that time is a big blur these days. Last Friday, McKenna had an eye checkup which went fine. There were some changes, but nothing that the doctor seemed to be too alarmed about. Last night I stepped on the scale with her and it read 14.5 lbs for her. Recently when we’ve done that before a doctors visit, it’s been about 1 lb off, so I’m guessing she’s somewhere over 13. We’ve been giving her cereal a couple times every day and I think she showed us last night that she wants more of it. She had 2 bowls and did very well for me. She opened up her mouth just like she should, gobbled it up and down the hatch. So, as Grandma Felton would say, “she’s growing like a weed.” She is also really learning how to grab things and play with her toys. For the most part, she usually knows what she wants and how to get it but really is a good baby.

We have been pretty busy lately leaving home almost every weekend which we are not used to yet. But thankfully we have a pretty good little traveler. Hopefully that keeps up since almost every weekend from now until the winter of 2035 is booked. I would really like to thank Bob & Amber for their hospitality on Friday night last weekend and also Ryan and Cari. We had such a good time this weekend as it was very nice to get out of Cedar Rapids. I have added some new pictures. A couple new ones under McKenna’s July Pictures, and also added a link to pictures from Mom and Dad’s anniversary party. We hope everyone is enjoying this heat. Thank God for AC!! Take care.

July Pictures

2006-07-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

I have added a new link under the McKenna Photo Link section called 'July Pictures'. We had her pictures taken last night and they turned out really well. It was a very tough choice with all of them in front of us, but before we spent too much, we got out of there only choosing 1 pose. I hope you all enjoy them as much as we do.

Other news, Mom and Dad's big party this last weekend was a blast. It appeared that everyone had a really good time. It was nice to get together with all of the family and friends that attended. After speaking with Mom the other day, everyone had made it back home safe and sound. Also, Randy received great news up at Mayo Clinic last Friday. We are obviously very happy and we would like to thank all of you for your prayers. Hopefully everyone had a great 4^th. We celebrated with some of our friends and their kids. McKenna woke up for a little bit during the fireworks, but fell back asleep during the finale which seemed to last for about 10 minutes. Take care and have a great weekend.

It's Official

2006-06-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, McKenna is now an official member of All Saints Catholic Church. Sunday after 10:30am mass, Fr. David O'Conner did a 'Welcoming into the Church' service for McKenna since she was baptized in the hospital the day she was born. This service was very personable and Fr. O’Conner did an absolute wonderful job. He has us start out by the front doors of the church to symbolize her coming into the church and then we made a couple other stops around the church until we got to the baptismal candle where he then put oil all over her head. And when I say all over, I mean he didn’t miss a bit, but he did say that he wasn’t going to be stingy with it and he wasn’t kidding. Then we took a bunch of pictures, all of which are in McKenna Volume 4. After church we had our families and a few friends over for a meal. Thank goodness the weather was excellent so that everyone could be outside. We went through a lot of food and I don’t think anyone left hungry and if they did, it’s their own fault!

I would like to ask each of you that are reading this to take a few moments and say a special prayer for my father in law Randy. He will be traveling back up to Mayo Clinic for tests to make sure the cancer has stayed away. Also, there will be a lot of my family and a lot of family friends that will be traveling great distances to celebrate my parent’s anniversary this weekend. Please drive/fly/walk/ride safe. I can’t wait to see all of you. Take care and love to all.

7 Month Checkup

2006-06-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Suzanne took McKenna to her checkup. Dr. Nau is very pleased with her progress. She weighed in at 11lbs 14oz which is up a pound and a half in a month and a little over 10 lbs in 7 months. That means she is nearly 7 times the size she was when she was born. I was probably in 5^th or 6^th grade when I was 7 times my birth weight. Granted I weighed 10 lbs 8 oz when I was born. But anyway, she still has a bit of fluid in her one ear, but she didn’t even cry when he was looking at them. We got clearance to start giving her baby cereal as long as she tolerates it. In a month we can start giving her fruits and veggies. She doesn’t have to go back to see the doctor until her 9 month checkup. I cannot put into words how fortunate we are. Happy belated Father’s Day to all the dads out there. Unfortunately I had to fly to El Paso, TX on Sunday so my day with McKenna was cut short, but at 33,000 feet in the air, I was that much closer to Ian. Love to all.

7 Months Old

2006-06-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

I know I’ve said it before, but how time flies when you’re having fun. Suzanne and I couldn’t ask for a better behaved baby than McKenna. She is hardly ever fussy unless she’s hungry or needs a new diaper. She smiles all the time and is really cooing and making all sorts of fun noises. She has learned how to blow bubbles and drool all over everything. She goes through outfits like she goes through diapers. I have posted a bunch of new pictures of McKenna and her newest cousin Sophia in McKenna Volume 4. We have a doctor’s appointment next week for her 7 MONTH checkup. I will let you all know her weight and how the appointment goes. Also, I have added some pictures to Ian’s Photos. Sunday June 4^th, Suzanne and I held a special blessing at Ian’s gravesite with the help of both of our families and Fr. Kopacek. We were finally able to get his stone in place and needless to say, we are very happy with how everything turned out. Fr. Kopacek did a very nice job with the service and we certainly appreciate all the help and support that he has provided us and our family with. I would also like to thank my parents (Denny & Glady) for holding a lunch after Ian’s service. It is always nice to be able to gather with both of our families. So, thanks again Mom and Dad!! We hope everyone is enjoying the great weather that we are having right now. Love to all.

Sophia Marie

2006-06-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have finally gotten the 'Portrait ID' for Sophia's hospital picture. She is doing well and a very pretty little girl. I don't think her big sister has let her out of her sight yet. If you think the parents are proud of their new little addition, you should see how proud Cameron and Clare are. So here is the link:

http://www.mercydubuque.com/WebBabies/searchBabies.asp

Portrait ID - 002694

I promise I will get new pictures of Sophia soon. We bought Sophia and McKenna matching outfits so we'll have some very good photo ops coming soon.

McKenna went in for a check up this week and her Dr. said that she looks and sounds 100% better after a week long cold. She was coughing, sneezing, and weezing. Of course during that time she wasn't eating well, but that didn't stop her from weighing in at 10 1/2 lbs. Now she is where her daddy was when he was born. She has also started daycare this week. I think that once she develops her routine, she'll be just fine at daycare. I would like to thank all of those that came to our house to watch her. I know it was tough, but we all got through it. Thanks again. Take care.

6 Months Old

2006-05-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 19^th, McKenna turned 6 months old. It is very hard to believe that our little girl is that old already. It seems like just last week she was born, just yesterday since we brought her home from the hospital and now, we’ve been home almost as long as she was in the hospital. It is true what they say! Time does fly when you’re having fun. In that respect, Suzanne and I are having a blast. We couldn’t dream of having such a good baby. McKenna is very well behaved and we usually don’t hear a peep out of her unless she’s hungry. She is starting to “gibber jabber” a lot more now as well as show us her new trick of blowing bubbles. The bubbles are only fun when she has a mouth full of milk and then tries it. She had another eye appointment on Thursday with a very good report from her doctor. He says that her eyes are pretty close to what a “normal” newborn’s would be. He also said that he would be very surprised if she would have to have the laser surgery. Of course we are very happy about that. She also saw her Pediatrician, Dr. Nau. She was very happy to see him until he started messing with her ear. She does NOT like that even a little bit. Otherwise, he is very happy with her progress. She weighed a whopping 10lbs. 2oz. and was 23 ½ inches long. He told us that with her corrected age, she is right on track for development and maybe a little ahead of schedule with the rolling over.

So, enough about McKenna, I would like to announce the birth of Sophia Marie Klostermann. She was born Saturday evening at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque. She weighed 7lbs. 5oz. Mom and baby are doing great. Sophia is very cute and I will post pictures of her as soon as I can. Congratulations Dawn and Jim, we are so happy for you guys. It will be fun for McKenna to have another girl cousin so close in age. I am happy to release “the smallest member of the family” award to your beautiful little girl. Congrats again!! When I get the portrait ID for the hospital picture I will post that so you can see my precious little niece. Take care and love to all.

Happy Mother’s Day

2006-05-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

I know it’s a couple days late, but I wanted to post something on here to wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day. We (Suzanne, McKenna, the dog, and myself) traveled up to Dyersville Friday night. We spent the night there with Mom & Dad. My sister and her family came in so that we could all have supper together. Speaking of my sister, her and Jim will be adding a new member to the family pretty soon. We wish her all the best and can’t wait to hear the news when the stork arrives. Good luck Dawn, we will keep you and ‘little one’ in our prayers. Saturday we had Rachel & Jason’s wedding. What a beautiful service! We had a great time at the reception. It was the first time we were away from McKenna and needless to say, it was very difficult to go out and have fun and leave her with Grandpa & Grandma. Sunday we celebrated Mother’s day a couple times. We hit both the Felton side and the Ries side and we didn’t go hungry. Before we headed back to Cedar Rapids, we stopped at the cemetery to visit our little Ian. It was very difficult to be there, but at the same time we know that he helped take care of his mommy and his little sister in their time of need.

Most of all I would like to thank a couple of the very special moms out there.

Suzanne – You are my best friend, a wonderful wife, and a GREAT mother. I know that Ian is looking down on you and very proud of his mommy and McKenna couldn’t have been more blessed than to be born into your loving arms.

My mom – You are a great role model to what a parent should be to their child. Even though I am “all grown up” now, you still mean the world to all of us and I look forward to McKenna growing and having a wonderful relationship with her Grandma Glady.

Cindi – Also a great parent role model. I can not put into words how thankful I am to be part of your family and how much you mean to Suzanne and I. Thank you for all of your support and I think your strength is an inspiration to all of us. After raising 3 wonderful daughters of your own, I can’t imagine how good you are going to be at spoiling our little girl.

All of our Grandma’s – Either with us or on the other side of Heaven, we thank you all for the love that you’ve shared with Suzanne, Ian, McKenna, and myself. Also thank you for giving us our parents. We love you all.

To all the other mothers, Happy Mother’s Day. I will be adding new pictures soon. We are still being kind of selfish and not seeing all the fun moments through the view finder of the camera. But let me tell you, every time that little girl smiles, it is the most beautiful thing. We received a shirt for her the other day that said, ‘My finger might be small, but I have my daddy wrapped around it.’ How true!! Love to all and take care.

Take A Look

2006-05-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

I have yet again added more pictures to McKenna Volume 3. I know I'm probably not doing it fast enough for some of you, but hey, it's better than not doing it at all. You will see that she is growing quite rapidly. She has changed so much lately. Smiling all the time, a giggle here and there, rolling over, and all the other good stuff babies do. You will see a couple pictures of her with Cael. Cael is obviously (by the big #1 on his cake) turning 1 already. Happy birthday Cael. Needless to say, he needed a bath after he called it quits on his cake. He had frosting all over the place. It's hard to believe that in just over 6 months, our little pumpkin will be celebrating her first birthday. Take care everyone and have a great rest of your week.

Thank You!!

2006-05-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

Suzanne and I would like to thank all of you that donated to WalkAmerica 2006. Even the really wet weather couldn't slow them down. Suzanne and McKenna, along with some other brave souls, walked a better part of a 8.5 mile walk. McKenna stayed warm and dry while that was not the case for Suzanne.

We would also like to thank those who have volunteered to watch McKenna through the month of May. We ended up filling up all the days. This really means a lot to Suzanne and I and it's hard to put into words. Thank you all very much!!

Last, I would like for all of you that read this to say a prayer for my uncle Rodney who lives down in Kentucky. Rodney is battling cancer and needs all the prayers he can get. It seems that they have yet found more in his body. I can't say enough about the kind of guy he is. No one deserves to go through this and especially not him. Rodney, Suzanne and I wish you all the best and we love you!! Get well soon.

What A Ham

2006-04-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

McKenna continues to do very well with her eating, growing, and changing every day. The smiles are coming more regularly now. We got an email today with the first professional portraits that McKenna has ever had taken. They are pretty darn cute of course and hopefully the next pictures we have taken there will be more facial expressions. If you'd like to check them out, here are the instructions.

To get to McKenna's pictures, click the link below and enter customer name (Suzanne Felton)

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTP33102060017JCP

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we have. We have ordered pictures for our immediate family, but if anyone else would like to order any, you can follow the instructions on the left side. Take care and love to all.

On A Roll

2006-04-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Last night when I returned home from bowling, Suzanne had the video camera out and told me to look at what she recorded. At first, I thought that maybe she said daddy or something like that, but it turns out that she had learned to roll from belly to back. We were both very shocked especially since she did it 4 or 5 times. After checking a couple websites about ‘Your baby’s first year milestones’ she’s not supposed to be doing this until 4 to 5 months. She is actually that old, but since we to go by her “corrected age” she is actually only 7 weeks corrected, she is way ahead of her time. We also had a couple doctor’s appointments yesterday. She met with Dr. Nau and he is pleased with her progress. He especially liked seeing that she weighed in at 8lbs. 14oz. Almost 9lbs!! I think she is in a major growth spurt. We also had a NICU follow up appointment where they checked her hearing in the left ear where they were seeing fluid. She is still having that problem but everyone involved believes it will clear. We also took her up to her old stomping grounds. We brought her up to the NICU to show her off to all the wonderful people that helped her get this far. It was very odd being back up there, but it was great knowing that we just there for a visit. Anyway, that’s all for now, take care.

WalkAmerica 2006

2006-04-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the long delay in posts, but we have come to use our time and energy in a different way these days. McKenna has now been home for a little over a month. I can’t believe it’s been that long already. We had her weighed last week and she was up to 8lbs. 1oz. She continues to eat well for us, especially at night. I think she enjoyed her first Easter even though she was sound asleep a better part of the day. We think that is her little way of “tuning out” all of the other distractions because once I got her home, she was wide awake and very fussy. The Ohrt family did enjoy seeing her and she got passed around plenty. Last night when we were giving her a bath, we both took a step back and admired how much she has grown since we’ve brought her home. It sounds kind of goofy, but it’s quite rewarding in certain ways to put clothes in the “Too Small” bin. Outfits that she used to be able to swim in are now tight and on their last trip into her wardrobe.

Now, onto the next order of business, I have put a link on the right side of the website titled “WalkAmerica 2006”. Suzanne and McKenna will be participating in this walk for the March of Dimes. You can access the webpage that Suzanne has set up using the link or by going to http://www.walkamerica.org/dsfelton If you would like to donate, that is great, but more than anything, we would like to have you walk with the girls. But, go to the website and check out the details on the walk and decide what you’d like to do. We will also be participating in the motorcycle ride this year and we’ll be collecting donations for that. So, the more the merrier for the walk, I know there are quite a few people already participating so it should be a good time. Take care and we hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

McKenna Volume 3

2006-04-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

If you look real close, I have added a new volume for pictures. I have decided to start a new volume of pictures taken and HOME!! She is eating really well for us and gaining weight really well. As of 3/31 she weighed 7lbs 10oz at Dr. Nau's office. There hasn't been any change in her eyes and the doctors still aren't convinced that she needs the laser surgery. Everything else is going well at home except when we lay her down at night. She sleeps well during the day, but once it's time for bed, she is wide awake and sometimes until 3 or 4 A.M. Needless to say, Suzanne has been running on empty for the last couple days. Thankfully she slept really well last night. Not much else new besides empty bottles, dirty diapers. We still have plenty of openings in May. If any of you would like to volunteer, we would certainly appreciate it. Enjoy the new pictures. Love to all.

A Favor To Ask

2006-03-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

The 2nd week was just as good or better than the first week home. We really enjoy being home with our little girl. We are of course busy with taking care of her, but it seems like we have so much more time since we can now be at home with her. Being able to leave work and go directly home was really kind of fun. She continues to impress us with her progress and with all of her changes. She is a lot of fun to be around. The only time she cries is when she’s hungry. Otherwise she’s pretty laid back like her daddy.

“If there is anything we can do to help, let us know.” We have heard that probably hundreds of times since McKenna was born. The reason I’m telling you this is because we have come up with a way to help. It is closing in on time for Suzanne to go back to work and we’re going to need people to watch her for a couple of weeks until we get the go ahead to put her into daycare. So what we’re asking is, if you’d like to watch McKenna for a day or week or whatever, click the link on the right hand side of this website to send us an email and let us know what days work for you and we’ll start a calendar and email you back or call you with when we’ll need you. The hours that we’ll need someone will be from 7:30am – 4:00pm. She will probably go back to work full time in May. So let us know what works for you. We appreciate any help that you can offer us. Thanks in advance. Love to all, have a great week.

What A Week

2006-03-18T09:07:00.001-08:00

To describe this week in one word, ‘wonderful’ comes to mind. Suzanne and I have really enjoyed being home this week learning what it’s like to be a family. A couple of the days we didn’t even go outside, a couple of the days we didn’t get out of our pajamas until close to noon, and a couple nights we didn’t get to sleep very early (mostly Suzanne). For the most part, McKenna is a very well behaved child. She really only cries if she’s hungry or when we plop her into her bathtub. She sleeps anywhere from 3-5 hrs at a time. She is really getting the hang of the bottle. Lately she’ll have 2 ounces of milk gone and a couple burps in about 10 minutes. We’ve got a couple doctors’ appointments this coming week, and this last week she had another eye appointment. The eye doctor wants to be aggressive with her treatment, but doesn’t want to treat her needlessly. Next week if he sees any progress in her eyes, he will probably do the laser surgery. We really don’t know how invasive that surgery is or how much time she’ll spend in the hospital, but it is definitely scary. Something very amazing happened to us when we were leaving the hospital last Saturday. One of the couples that we shared our South Africa experience with, who also lost a son, told us that every time they find a coin, that means their son is thinking of them. As they were telling us this, Steve looked down and saw a coin. So, Suzanne and I have taken that on as well and we have found coins when we’ve least expected it, or really needed to find them. Well, when we were in the elevator leaving the NICU, there was a penny on the floor. It was very hard to keep our composure, but it just proves to us that Ian has been watching over her this whole time. I can’t wait to tell this little girl about her very special brother. She will always have her very own angel. Have a great week, unfortunately I have to go back to work. It’s been real, it’s been fun, it’s been real fun!!!

Home Sweet Home

2006-03-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

Saturday afternoon about 2pm we left the St. Luke’s NICU to show McKenna the big, big world that has been waiting for her. It all happened so fast, when we got the go ahead to leave, we wanted to say goodbye to everyone, but we also wanted to get out of there before they changed their mind. She has been eating pretty decent. It is such a great feeling to finally have our little girl home with us. At the same time, it is very strange to have such a fragile being solely under our care. It is everything we’ve ever dreamed it to be. There are thousands of people that we would like to thank. First of all, this would’ve been a lot harder without the support and love our families and we can't thank you enough. All of our friends that have been there for us. The wonderful doctors, nurses, therapists, and other caregivers from St. Luke’s who took excellent care of her during her short (112 day) stay. We would also like to thank the large amount of people from all over the world that have prayed for this very special little girl. It is quite an honor for people to email or send us a letter that we have never met but tell us how they have prayed for McKenna every day. I sound like I’m giving an acceptance speech at the Oscars but this is much bigger!! Thank you all so very much. As much as Suzanne and I would like to invite you all here to ooogle over her, we ask that you give us some time to adjust and to have some quality “family time.” I am going to end with a poem that Suzanne wrote that we will place on our front door which is supposed to help keep germs and sick people outside our home since it can be very detrimental to McKenna’s health… Thanks again and love to all.

If you are ill
Or have a chill

McKenna can tell
If you feel not so well

I beg you please
Don’t come in if you sneeze

A cough is bad
It will make me sad

A fever is terrible
A bubble suit is unbearable

I don’t like germs
These are my terms

Thanks
-The Management

Almost there

2006-03-11T07:33:00.000-08:00

We’re getting closer and closer with every day that goes by. It’s just a feeding here or a feeding there that is holding us back. She has not had an NG tube feeding since Wednesday. Her weight gain wasn’t up yesterday, which is very odd for our little girl. That is one of the things that she has always excelled at. This morning she was up a half ounce to 6lbs 12.5oz or 3080g or a total of 3.85 times bigger than when she was born. She had another eye appointment this week with no change. It’s too early to tell if McKenna will need to wear glasses, but I know a couple really good people that had to when they were children. The hospital has finally come to take our birth announcement picture. It can be found on St. Luke’s website. The address is:

http://www.crstlukes.com/body_exp.cfm?id=557

Once you click on it and the screen comes up, go down to the area that says ‘Other Dates’ and put in November 19, 2005 and then click ‘Go’. You will then have to click on McKenna’s name and you’ll be there. If you look real close you will not see the NG tube in her nose anymore. She was cute before, but she looks so much better without that thing in her nose. Love to all, have a great week.

-Mr. & Mrs. Patient

1 Day Old

2006-03-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Some of you may wonder if I have fallen off of my rocker with a title like that. But since she was so premature, her corrected age is 1 day old since yesterday was Suzanne's due date. So now she is "officially" supposed to be here. Her real age is 15 weeks, but since she isn’t the same as a baby born on the same day that was full term, we have to have an adjusted age. She is still having difficulty taking full feedings by mouth. Once she can take all of her feedings by mouth with no NG feedings for 24-48 hours, we will then be considered to go home. Every time she has to use the NG tube, then basically we start all over. She has yet to even have close to a full day of oral feedings, but each day she does take a little more and does get a little better. I would love to tell you that by the end of next week that we’ll be out of here, but I can’t guarantee anything. We are playing by McKenna’s rules because she is definitely the boss here. Enjoy your week, spring is almost here.

Where Have You Been The Last 100 Days?

2006-02-27T11:42:00.001-08:00

I can tell you where we have been. Today marks 100 days that McKenna has been in the NICU. It’s crazy to think that it’s been that long already. I am certainly not going to lie and say that our stay has been a walk in the park since it’s been far from that. But, as far as set backs go, we have been pretty lucky.

Some times we forget how far McKenna has come in her first 100 days. The 2 pictures shown here are quite a bit different. The one with her in the pink shirt was taken December 5th, and the other was taken on her 3 month birthday February 19th. Obviously she has changed a lot. It’s crazy to think that at the point of the picture being taken, we thought she looked really good. She looked good and all, but not as good as she looks now. It’s nice to see her chubby cheeks, her legs and arms filled out, more stable movement, her eyes open, and everything else she has amazed us with. Now that she is so close to coming home, these older pictures have given me a boost to better take on another day or another week, or whatever it takes to get her home. I feel that if I could get through the beginning stages of her life, now that the going has gotten a lot easier, we should be able to get through this stage in her life. This weekend, she ate like a champ (obviously since she’s over 6 pounds now) and has also taken a liking to her pacifier. It’s kind of funny to watch her with it since she looks and sounds like Maggy from the ‘Simpsons’. I’ve taken some video of it and I’ll get that posted as soon as possible. Also, she got to wear her first dress this weekend. My cousin Samantha gave her a cute little butterfly dress. Let’s just say that she’s got some growing to do in order for it to fit perfectly, but she did look pretty cute. Have another great 100 days.

14 Weeks

2006-02-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

So there I was sleeping sound as could be. Waiting for another day to pass. I had a big day planned to spend with some of my friends. Then at 2 a.m. I get a call from my surprisingly calm wife. She says, “Dale, they are taking me into O.R. right now, we’re going to have the baby. You need to get here!” So, I ran around the house getting dressed, getting the dog in her kennel, and getting out the door so I could be with my wife as she had our 2nd child. Unfortunately, the 15 minutes that it took me to get from a very sound sleep and into the hospital wasn’t fast enough. When I got there, I was greeted at the door and we made it back to the O.R. as fast as possible! I think I’ve told the story already about how I thought I was going in with Suzanne so I started to get undressed so I could be ready to put on scrubs. Since they didn’t have time to give her an epidural, they had to put her out and intubate her. That meant that this child’s very scared and very anxious daddy couldn’t be there for her birth. Since I wasn’t going in there, I was told very nicely to put my clothes back on. You all know what happened next. We became the proud parents of this beautiful little girl. She has become our ‘pride and joy’ to say the least. Our days, nights, and weekends were filled with making trips back and forth from home, NICU, and work. It has now been 14 weeks and we’re still here. McKenna has made progress by leaps and bounds. She is nearly 3½ times the size of what she was 14 weeks ago. The only tubes and wires still being used are her NG tube which is what they pump her milk down into her stomach, there are 3 wires on her chest that monitor her heart rate and her respiratory. Last but not least, there is a monitor around her foot that measures her blood oxidation and heart rate. She is in an open crib instead of the isolette. She is breathing 100% room air with no help. Needless to say, like my Grandma Felton used to say, “she’s growing like a weed”. She had another eye appointment yesterday. The doctor says that they aren’t any worse and they aren’t any better. They will continue to ‘keep an eye on her’ to make sure that she won’t need some sort of corrective surgery. Our current answer to the big question of “when is she coming home?” is, next week. That way if she doesn’t come home next week, we can say, next week. Sometime we’ll actually be right. Have a great week.

Home???

2006-02-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

The title says it all. We have no clue when McKenna is coming home. That is definately the million dollar question. I wish I had the answer, and I wish my crystal ball would give me a better answer than "When she eats". Another week has gone by and there isn't that many things to report. This morning when mommy was feeding her, she did very well. She latched on just the way she was supposed to, she sucked really well, and was very alert. If we could get her to do that consistantly for 24-48 hrs, then we would have a chance of going home. She is still gaining weight very well. If she keeps this up, she might be walking out of here on her own. Thursday she had another eye appointment. The doctor says that her eyes are progressing a little bit and her ROP condition isn't getting any worse for right now which is very good news. I'm just not sure I could handle her going through eye surgery right now because they would have to sedate her which would mean back on the vent for at least a day. Right now they are telling us that they doubt she'll have to have the eye surgery so that is definately a good thing. We hope that everyone is staying warm. Have a good weekend.

A New Look

2006-02-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

After looking at the website this morning to see if anyone left us a message, I decided that there was no good reason why McKenna's website should be blue. So, it is pink now as you can see, and matches everything in her dresser. I hope you all enjoy it, and maybe that it's changed it will help her come home sooner. Hope you have a good rest of the week. There will be new pictures coming soon.

God's Cake

2006-02-14T13:22:00.001-08:00

One of my co-workers who has lost her 1 year old grandson recently due to Leukemia had sent this to me today and I really thought that it applied to my life, and probably lots of lives! It is called 'God's Cake' and here is the recipe!

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."

"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers. "Yuck" says her daughter.

"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"

"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" "Mom, those are all yucky!"

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

If this can go out to even one person who is having a bad day, and this helps turn their day around, I've done my job. So now the saying makes sense....life is a piece of cake.

5 POUNDS!!

2006-02-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

Hopefully there are some of you reading this that enjoyed the title as much as I enjoyed hearing the news last night when we called McKenna's nurse. What a wonderful birthday present that our precious little girl gave to her momma last night. Not only did she get to 5lbs, she is at 5lbs. 1.3oz. WHAT A WHOPPER! So, she has definitely proved that she can gain weight and now she just needs to learn how to eat. This morning her nurse gave her a bottle since she was wide-awake, low and behold, she took 25cc. Currently, she's getting right around 50cc's every 3hrs so we are very impressed that on her 2nd try, she took half of a feeding from a bottle. If she keeps this up, she'll be 6lbs and home with us. She gained this pound in just under 2 weeks. It's hard to believe that nearly 3 months ago, this little girl was battling for her life and well under 2lbs. We have come so far. Like someone told me this week..."Pretty soon, you'll know what it's like to be a real parent." In so few of words, I said, "I think I already know." Not many parents our age know what it feels like to have to bury one of their children, or know what it's like to spend week in and week out in a NICU wondering for many of those weeks if our second child was going to make it, much less both. Even though I am a bit biased, maybe we are the real parents. Thanks for listening to me vent, but I am going to step down off of my soapbox now. I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful week.

A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

2006-02-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

That’s right folks, it’s just a little glimpse of this beautiful light, but we see it. Of course it will probably still be a week or two until the big day gets here, but we’re trying to stay patient and trying to stay focused. McKenna is gaining weight like crazy these days. As of this morning, she weighed 4lbs 15.5oz. Sorry to disappoint, but just hitting the 5lb mark doesn’t immediately mean that she gets to come home. She needs to learn to take her full feedings by either breast or bottle. Her and mommy have been nuzzling a couple times a day to give her some time to practice and then on Friday, McKenna got her first bottle and she took 11cc’s on her very first try!! It’s not much to most of you, but this is major league business in her world. We were very happy with how that went and hope that her progress with eating can go as well as everything else. She is still 3 weeks away from being a full term baby, so she’s not supposed to know some of these things yet, and like anything else in life, it’s just going to take time, practice, and patience. If I had a dollar for every time the word patience went through my brain or rolled across my lips, I’m pretty sure I’d be a pretty rich man. Right now more than ever, the P word is wearing thin. Since today makes McKenna 12 weeks old, today is also Suzanne’s birthday. I won’t tell you how old she is, but happy birthday honey. I love you!!

11 Weeks

2006-02-04T12:53:00.000-08:00

This week was a very eventful week for our little girl. First and foremost, she got above the 4 lb. mark. Now that she has gotten that far, she's putting on weight like nobody’s business. I have a feeling that she won’t be 4 lbs. for long. The next big step she took this week is that she has been off of oxygen support since Sunday night/Monday morning at midnight. They thought that she might have to go back on occasionally, but that has not been the case so far for McKenna. Her doctor is also weaning her off and taking her completely off of some of the drugs that she is on like caffeine to help her breath, diuretics to keep fluid off of her lungs, and some other things. Last but not least, she has been moved to a new house. Monday evening, her nurse placed her into an open crib. Now to add to her list of things to do, she needs to keep and maintain her temperature. We were told that since she was in and open crib that she may not add on weight very fast since she will be burning calories to maintain her temp, but thankfully we haven’t seen that yet. Hopefully when she is an adult, she won’t get mad at us for begging for her to gain weight. So, needless to say, she has jumped over numerous hurdles this week. Basically at this point, she needs to learn how to eat and it’ll be HOME SWEET HOME!! New pictures will be coming soon. Have a wonderful week.

4 lbs.

2006-01-30T06:15:00.000-08:00

She's a whopper!! Last night when we left the hospital, we asked if we could weigh McKenna since she was so close to 4 lbs. the night before. To our surprise, when it took both of us to lift her and put her on the scale, she weighed 4lbs 2.3oz. Dr. Nau gets back today, so I'm sure he'll be very happy. They will more than likely increase her feedings since she's so big now, and maybe within the next couple days, she'll get moved to an open crib. That's all for now. Have a great week!

10 Weeks

2006-01-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

Happy 10 week birthday to you, happy 10 week birthday to you, happy 10 week birthday dear McKenna, happy 1o week birthday to you. I think I write almost every week something about how time flies. I think that it' s finally starting to slow down maybe because being up here in the NICU is finally starting to get to us. We know that the end is near and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We obviously don't know exactly when that day will come that we get the word that it is OK to take miss muffin home. But when that day comes, you might see this fella doing kart wheels down 1st Ave. I can't wait for the day that we do not have to come to the hospital to see her. The day that we can stay at home and watch her grow and grow. The day that she gets to lay on my chest as we both rest our tired eyes with the TV on. Needless to say, we're ready to bring her home. The Felton family threw a baby shower today for Suzanne and McKenna. We may have to trade in the car for a moving truck if these things keep happening. Thank you everyone who attended and thank you also for all the really nice stuff that Suzanne brought home. It was very exciting for Suzanne to have her first baby shower after having 2 children.

McKenna has had her feedings increased to 33.75CC every 3 hrs. She will be getting weighed her in just a little bit so I'll have that for you tomorrow. They are still playing around with her oxygen. She'll go for an hour or so with nothing and then awhile with a very low setting. It mostly depends on McKenna's mood that day and also the nurse. Her doctor will probably give her another week in the isolette and then she'll be into the open crib. She does pretty well some days with breast feeding, again it depends on her mood. She's 10 weeks old, 35 weeks gestation and already has a "mood"!! What the heck am I going to do when she gets older?

Thankfully we got to go see Grandpa and Grandma Ohrt last night. Grandpa is on the road of recovery and after everything he's been through, I think he's doing pretty good. Just like our little girl, he's going to need some time to heal up and get better. We wish him luck and send our prayers. Also today, my father came down to help again with the bathroom. We now have a functional bathroom again. Due to the rain, we were not able to put the window in, but there were some major improvements/changes made. Love to all, have a great week.

New Pictures

2006-01-23T08:01:00.000-08:00

For all those people that have been begging for new pictures, I have posted a bunch of them today. Even though I am a little biased, they are some of her cutest pictures yet. Not much new to post. Her weight continues to go up at a very rapid pace. Won't be long and she'll be a 4 pounder.

9 Weeks

2006-01-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry that I have been slacking on the website lately. Dad and I have been working on remodeling our bathroom so that McKenna doesn’t have to come home to a yucky bathroom. I thought it would be a lot worse than it was, but I’m still not sorry that we tore the whole thing apart. We have to put the texture on the walls yet, paint, put up trim, install a new window, set the toilet and sink, and we’ll be about finished. In a little more than a week we’ve tore out, replaced all the walls, fixed the plumbing in the shower, moved some things around and then rebuilt it all. I can’t say how much it means to me to have my parents there this whole week to help do this. It hasn’t been easy, but thankfully my father was up to the task of helping us out. Thanks again mom and dad!!

So back to miss muffin, yesterday she turned 9 weeks old. She’s so big!! I know she’s still less than 4 lbs, but that’s pretty darn big to us. She has now more than doubled her weight. It takes a lot of babies much longer to double in weight than 9 weeks. She had another eye exam this week and it looks like her left eye has a little more ROP than the last time, and her right eye has a slight trace of it. Like I said in the last post, ROP is very common in babies like McKenna who were born very premature. They will continue to keep close tabs on her and when they feel the need she may possibly have laser eye surgery. There isn’t much more to update on. She continues to eat well, she’s growing like a weed, and we are thankful for that everyday. This week while I was at home working on the bathroom, every day when I got here, she had changed in some way or another.

To add to our long week, Suzanne’s father had a very extensive surgery performed up at the Mayo Clinic on Thursday to remove some cancer. He is on the road to recovery now and is doing very well with everything considered. Also, my uncle Rodney Hutchinson down in Kentucky went through surgery on Friday to remove cancer. They don’t think they were able to get all of it and he will have to endure some more very aggressive treatment. I know I ask for prayers quite often on here, but these 2 men need your help. We pray that God can guide them back to health and also guide the hands of the doctors working on them. As I watch my wonderful wife asleep on the chair holding our beautiful little girl who is also asleep. I can’t help but to thank God for these two wonderful girls to be in my life. Love to all, and have a great week.

2 Months Old

2006-01-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

Little missy is 2 months old today. Some days it’s hard to believe it’s been that long and other days seem like we’ve been here forever. Never less, our little girl is doing great. She is still on the nasal canula, only using around 25-35% oxygen. She is living in an Isolette yet, but maybe in a week or two, she’ll get moved to an open crib. As you can see on the right hand side, she is getting 1 whole ounce of milk every 3 hours, which is a pretty big deal. All things considered, that would be like me eating over 4lbs of food for 1 meal and she gets that every 3 hours. It’s no wonder that she is gaining weight. This week she had another eye exam and it looks like she has some ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). This is pretty normal in babies her age to have eye problems. Thankfully most of it can be fixed with a laser surgery. Hopefully the next 2 months will be as good or better than the last 2. We are so pleased with the care McKenna is getting and the progress she is making. Almost everyday there is something different about her. Have a great weekend. Love to all.

8 Weeks Old

2006-01-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

If they are too busy to do update all of you, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands again. Yesterday I turned 8 weeks. How time flies when you’re laying here doing nothing but eating and dirtying diapers. Matter of fact, I’m very good at both of those things. My daddy says I smell like a foot when I really dirty my diaper. With every day that goes by, I am growing in one way or another. Everyone that comes to see me says things about my chubby cheeks. I don’t think they are that chubby, but than again, I don’t have a mirror right here for me to look at. Last night when they weighed me, I weighed 3lbs 4.7oz. The staff is all very pleased at my weight gain and will hopefully increase the amount of milk I’m getting. My hair is turning a shade of blonde and seems to be getting longer. I am still on the Nasal Canula, which is my favorite yet. I can’t wait until they take those things out of my nose for good. I tend to get a sore nose from those things being in there, plus, they make me sneeze quite often so once in awhile I pull them out myself. I can’t see the meter, but I hear I am only requiring 25 – 30% oxygen which is pretty good if I do say so myself. Mom and dad continue to give me baths every couple of days. Hello, I don’t get that dirty laying in here!! I think it just gives them a good excuse to take my out of my little house. Once in awhile when mom is in my room with me and it is time for me to eat, I even get to try and practice getting the milk right from the source. So, another week has gone by with me making great progress. Hopefully this next week goes by as fast and as well as this one did.

This weekend, someone new got to hold me. Mommy said his name is Grandpa Randy. Mommy told me that he would be going away for a little while to a hospital up in Minnesota. I have no idea where that’s at, but I’m willing to make room in here so that I could share my room with him. I sure hope that everything goes well for him up there and I bet mommy and daddy will keep him in their prayers. From up here in my little house, I’m signing off for now. Who knows when you’ll hear from mom or dad next.

7 Weeks Old

2006-01-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

If McKenna were still in momma’s belly, we’d probably have a suitcase packed, a car seat ready, her room as close to done as it could be, and Suzanne would have a cute/big belly. Since that is not the case, we have to do things a little different now, but that’s OK. Little miss muffin has made tremendous progress this past week. She was put back on nasal canula on Wednesday and has been doing pretty darn good since. Her blood gases were a little different than they had wanted, but decided to stick with it. They drew another gas on Saturday and that was very good so they decided that no more heel pokes until Monday. She has been receiving diuretics so that there isn’t any excess fluid around her lungs, which in turn makes her pee a lot, which in turn makes her loose a little weight. She is still hovering right around the 3-pound mark, one day she’s a little over and the next she’s a little under. Her milk consumption is up to 26cc every 3 hours. She gets a bath about every other day, which she is starting to do much better with. Another big step for her this week was that they gave her a different type of bed. She used to have what they call the Cadillac and now she has the Hyundai. This one has less options, less frills, and is just smaller. That’s a good thing though because she doesn’t need all of those frills anymore, so she was able to give up her Giraffe bed in case someone like her happens to make a early appearance. Have a wonderful week, we have!!

3 LBS

2006-01-05T07:20:00.000-08:00

SHE'S HUGE!!! This morning when we called in to the NICU, McKenna's nurse told us that when she made her nightly trip to the scale that she weighed 3 whole pounds. That is a huge accomplishment. We need to get a couple more pounds on her, get her to maintain her own temperature, and get her to breath, suck, and swallow milk all at the same time. Also, due to her progress, she was switched to nasal canula at 11pm last night. When we talked to her nurse again at 3am, she said that McKenna was doing just fine. She was on about 40-45% oxygen at the time. I talked to Dr. Nau last night on the phone and he didn't suspect any problems with the conversion over to nasal canula. We will try to keep you up to date on everything going on, but for some reason that you don't hear from us for a couple days, please assume that everything is OK.

Why?

2006-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

This morning after we rang in the New Year, McKenna's newest neighbor up here in the NICU, lost his battle with life. Like all preemies, his lungs weren't ready. This was the young couple's first baby, they had no warning that he was coming, he got off to a rough start, and eventually there was nothing else anyone could do. Unfortunately, this all sounds way to familiar. I can't help but to hang my head low today, kind of knowing what those 2 wonderful parents are going through. A lot of the same questions come to mind after their loss as when we lost Ian. Why does this continue to happen? Why does this happen to such a nice couple? With all of the technology of today, how can this still happen? A lot of the same emotions are with me today as there were just over a year ago. I am angry, sad, and wondering why all of my prayers for him weren't answered. Some day this will all make sense to me, but for right now it makes NO sense at all. Now I ask that you pray for the family and most of all the parents of this precious little boy that they can stay strong as a couple, and that they can make it through this very difficult time. It pains me to say that Ian now has yet another friend in heaven.

Happy New Year :(

6 Weeks

2005-12-31T13:16:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-25T08:54:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

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 :)

2005-12-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

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??

2005-12-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-01T14:12:00.000-08:00

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!!

Just Venting...

2005-11-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

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!

2005-11-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

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"

2005-11-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-20T19:48:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

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!!!!

2005-11-19T06:42:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-12T16:03:00.000-08:00

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...

2005-11-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

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.

22 Weeks

2005-10-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Suzanne and her little sister Angela went to the doctor's appointment. After the cervical ultrasound, Suzanne found out that her cervix is measuring at approximately 3cm which is kind of sort of ok. The other issue is that there is slight funneling in her cervix. This could mean that she has an incompetent cervix which also could've lead to Ian's premature birth. There are many things that can be done to prevent this and to prolong the birth process. Our doctor didn't seem to be too worried about this which is leading us to be very hopeful. Nothing will change overnight, so we will see what happens at her next appointment on Friday 11/4. Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers coming so that this little one will stay put. I have taken it upon myself to ground this little boy/girl for the next 10 weeks at least. Depending on how he/she behaves, we will re-evaluate then.

Ultrasound

2005-09-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

We had our doctor's appt. today and everything went very well. They did the both ultrasounds (baby & cervix) and everything looks great. The heartbeat was around 146bpm which is very good. Suzanne's cervix is measuring in at 4+ cm which is also good. So, we have a couple more pictures of baby and we got see and hear the heart beating which is always a great feeling. Right now the baby is a little above average in size at ½ pound, but Suzanne has only gained a couple pounds so far which is ok with the doctors as long as baby keeps growing and obviously it's getting something.

18 Weeks

2005-09-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

As of Friday September 30th, Suzanne will be 18 weeks pregnant. I can't believe how fast this is going.