8/19/08 - What a day :)

Happy Kayleigh, :)
And not so happy Kayleigh :(
Enjoying her paci,

And Enjoying Cynthia's finger :-0
Aimee's awesome milk supply is getting bigger.

I almost forgot what a great day felt like. I mean, it has only been a little over a week that she started having rough days, but the stress level gets so high that a great day feels like a million dollars. I am certain that she is going to be spoiled because when Kayleigh is happy, everyone is happy. (And that is an understatement) ha-ha!

When we arrived to the NICU today, our primary nurse was holding Kayleigh and it was just an amazing site. You would think we would get jealous that another person was cuddling with our little girl, but not at all. It just goes to show how much these nurses care about Kayleigh and the other babies. They do such an outstanding job!

I just called up there to get an update and she weighs 973 grams (2 pounds - 2 ounces). She is on 4 ml of fortified breast milk and tolerating her feeds so far. She has not pooped which I am still concerned about, but they said her bowel sounds are great. She has been breathing 3 liters of flow at 21 -25% all day long and only having a couple apnea episodes. She was a little grumpy today at times, so I am not sure what may be causing that. I think it is the same thing causing her apnea spells, so hopefully we can lay a finger on it. It could very well be that she has not pooped. I am hoping the new feeds will start to push things through though.

Aimee and I got to hold her for quite some time today. She was much more comfortable laying on Aimee than me, but we figured out the reason for that. Unfortunately, it is something I can't change and if I did, I would have to start wearing a bra. Sorry Kayleigh, you are just going to have to put up with being a little less comfortable with Daddy :) We got some really good photos of Kayleigh today. She decided to perk up and be very active at 6:25, and at 6:30 is when they have a shift change and close the NICU for an hour, so we had to leave. It is really tough to leave when she is up and active. Kayleigh sleeps so much that it is a rare site to see her open her eyes more than a couple minutes at a time.

I talk and talk all the time about how good or bad things are going with Kayleigh that I sometimes forget to mention how awesome Aimee is. For all of you who didn't read the full story, you will know that Aimee was having a hard time getting any milk supply for Kayleigh. We tried and tried different things to make it work and it seemed to be a losing battle. Finally, we met some wonderful people who sent her some Domperidone and it works wonders!!! For those who never experienced this, Mothers who can't supply food for their children go through an emotion like no other. It is a feeling that you are failing your child when they need you the most. To see Kayleigh fighting for her life and everything needs to align perfectly for her to make it through this journey, not having the breast milk, "liquid gold", or food God intended your child to have is heartbreaking. After busting her tail to do what it takes, we have more than enough supply for Kayleigh since she doesn't need that much anyways right now. She has (81) 3 ounce bottles in the freezer. The good thing is Aimee is ahead of the game and can continue to help Kayleigh for when she comes home. I am so proud of her hard work, pumping every three hours and not missing a minute. She is truly an inspiration to this family.

Thank you all for everything and let's all pray for Kayleigh to poop. Like I said before, I feel that once she starts to digest and poop what she eats, she will start to take off and never look back.

God Bless,

The Freemans :)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Adam and Aimee - Kayleigh looks amazing! I check your blog every night and love the updates. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing story with the rest of us. Keep up the good work!!!

lovinmystar said...

I've been following Kayleigh's story for the past couple of weeks. Your daughter is just amazing!

As the mother of a former 1 lb, 6 oz miracle, I can relate to much of what your family is going through. We were told that once they hit the two pound mark, they start gaining weight at a much faster rate. It took my daughter a month to reach two pounds. When she was discharged at three months old, she weighed 5 lbs, 8 oz! She filled out right before our eyes. My daughter is now 2 1/2 years old. It's hard to believe she was ever that small.

I wish your family all the best and look forward to more good day updates!

meant2havejustgirls said...

Still amazing us everyday...keep up the great work Aimee. Kayleigh loves you!!!

Trish said...

Hi Aimee and Adam,
I ran across your pics on Parents.com and had to check out your blog. Congratulations on the milk supply Aimee! You are doing an amazing job as a Mother to Kayleigh! To keep it up through the rough parts is awesome! I as a stranger and very impressed by you! I had micro preemie twins back in November, born at 800 and 810 grams. You all will be in my prayers. Good luck with everything, and I hope she will start gaining weight more quicky!
Trish

Anonymous said...

I am one of those mothers! My supply never fully came in and after 7 weeks of pumping, I finally decided it was time to stop. I was making myself sick over it and just didn't want to do it anymore. Parker wasn't quite at the point where he was breast feeding so I just knew it would be best.

I cried many tears over it and for a long time felt like I was letting Parker down...it was so hard, but in the end, made the difference.

I am so glad things are going well with you guys and that Amy has an awesome milk supply! :)

Love you guys

Anonymous said...

Aimee you are doing awesome... and Kayleigh is looking so good!!!! She's got beautiful bright eyes.....

Keep growing Kayleigh...

Love Kelly

Timbra said...

happened upon your blog because i saw your photos on the american baby photo contest site. . . . hooray for your huge breastmilk "store" for your little little one. she's getting the best possible start and nourishment possible because of your commitment in that way. my prayers are with you. . . doubling her birth weight by the point of this blog, that's some kind of record!!! our family blog is wii3mcfamily.blogspot.com (just a fun family blog) timbra