Today was a real fun day. Mommy got her chance today to hold Kayleigh for quite some time. Kayleigh was so cute because when we first got her out, she was fussy but quickly got situated and took to a pacifier. The funny part was when she was sound asleep and every now and then she would start sucking on the paci. If you watch the video close towards the end, you will see what I am talking about.
We had a really good visit today and good visits really make the days go by much better. Aimee and I left laughing and enjoyed the rest of our day stress free. From the first time we got bad news about Kayleigh, we would leave that hospital barely talking because our minds were spacing out about the unknown. So things have really taken a turn in the right direction. I don't think Aimee and I laughed as hard as I did today in a long time.
Kayleigh is up to 12 ml on her feeds, but they had to cut back the breast milk because Kayleigh's blood sugar count was low. They are giving her more formula to increase the calories and sugar. The crazy part is that Aimee has been able to stock up around a full months supply for Kayleigh if she fed on 12ml a day. Has anyone experienced this in their situation? From what I hear, breast milk is like liquid gold for Kayleigh, so is it bad to take that away from her even to give more formula?
I am not sure if the weight is correct for tonight, but they said she weighed in at 782 grams which is one less than last night. We will find out later to check again, but the great news is she only had one minor desat all day long. Even when Aimee was holdng Kayleigh, she was getting upset, but never desaturated at all. That is really good, especially on the nasal cannula. Let's keep up the good work. Since they have her feeds up high, I am ready to start seeing some major growth soon. This not growing a whole lot over the last couple days isn't going to cut it.
I have a good feeling that she is going to take off before you know it and just grow grow grow.
Thank you all very much for your support through all this. We are just so happy to have some good days and we hope to keep it that way.
God Bless,
The Freemans :)
10 comments:
Aimee and Adam
I started following Kayleigh's story since just after her birth. I was lead here from BBC.
I check in daily to see how Miss Kayleigh is doing. I followed her good days and bad and cannot express how happy I am for you all that she is doing so well and has come so far!! She is an amazing little girl! She truly has god on her side and a ton of us praying for her.
The video of her with the paci is just priceless and I look forward to seeing more of those precious moments : )
Cathy
Cathy,
That's okay. You can post annonymous and put your name on the bottom. Alot of others have done that too. Email me Adam@TeamFreemanProperties.com if you are still having trouble creating an account and I can help. Thanks so much for posting and God Bless!
Adam
Switching her to formula is aboslutely no problem as long as Kayleigh can handle it. Like I had written earlier(a take it or leave it advise) make sure Amiee doesnt eat any raw veggies or meat, or potatoes or beans that cause gases cause that will cause gas in Kayleigh. If Amiee could eat asparagus it helps make the milk better.
Otherwise it is so nice to see the great progress your little tigress is making each day.
god bless and good luck
your well wisher
Aimee and Adam -
While breast milk IS liquid gold for Kaylee it is more imporatant right now for her to get the nutrients, calories and sugar she needs. She'll go back to drinking more breast milk as soon as she can. In the meantime, Aimee, keep pumping! Isn't it glorious to know you have enough milk for her? We have a huge freezer stocked full of my milk because while Zachary drinks a lot (about 30 ounces a day), he just can't keep up with my production, plus he prefers fresh.
You guys are amazing and sweet Kayleigh is just so incredible.
Take Care!
I wouldn't worry too much about the formula. I wasn't making enough breast milk for Anthony in the NICU and they had to supplement with formula. Then when he came home I stopped giving him breast milk cause it was giving him gas. Thankfully my supply never dried up completely so after he was home for a few months I started mixing some in with his formula. Also I think Kayleigh needs the calories right now compared to the antibodies. She's already been getting those, so a little time away from them won't hurt her.
She's looking so good lately! She's really turned the corner.
Kim
I don't know if anyone has pointed this out to you or not, but the fact that Kayleigh takes a pacifier is FABULOUS news!! I hope she continues to do this - because when it comes time for her to suck from a bottle, it takes practice for them to learn. David was on the vent for so long, he was nearly four months old before he took his first bottle. By then, he had forgotten how to suck, and ended up with a mickey button. Maybe Kayleigh won't have to go through that!!
BTW, have they talked about bottle feeding her? I'm curious as to what has to happen before they do that. For David, they waited until he was off the vent... but like I said he was four months old by then.
Super cute video. Kayleigh is a doll! As far as the breast milk goes. Carly was taken off my BM early on because of low blood sugars. I think I seen Carly's get into the low 40's once. So they put her on formula and some extra bolus doses of gloucose. It help tons. And the weight she gained off the formula was unbeleivable!! When they decided it was time to try BM again she stopped growing again. So they put her back on BM and added more calories. I think before she passed they had her up to 27cal. They told it to me like this....they can only "assume" that BM has 20cal. But not every womans BM has that amount. I think giving Carly the formula was better than giving her my BM which did nothing much for her. So I gave up on pumping but had my ENTIRE freezer at home full of nothing but BM (seriously...NO FOOD!!! LOL). I also had good stock in the freezer at the NICU too! So I stopped pumping as was going to use the milk to add into cereal when the time came just so it wouldn't go to waste. But only you and her doctors can make the decision on wether staying on BM or formula is best. I do know that the formula help her low BS and she never had another issue with it. Good luck with getting her sugars leveled out. I keep that as one of my top prayers for little miss Kayleigh. Hope you all have a wonderful day today.
Rachel
Well in my case, I had no choice but to switch Parker to formula. I lost my supply. He did fine...I mean, he had some issues with pooing after the switch but that got worked out.
Yes breast milk is liquid gold, but if formula makes more sense, then its your decision. One thing I learned was that because Parker was a preemie, my breast milk is made especially for his needs as a preemie. It happens with moms who have preemies, their breast milk is formulated differently.
I had to make a decision to stop pumping because I was making myself so sick...but as I think about it, Parker got all the breast milk he needed when he needed it most and I couldn't have done anything differently.
Pray about it. Cry about it, do what you TRULY believe what is best for your daughter. I can't tell yu what to do, just relay what I did. Kayleigh will be fine either way. God is taking care of your little miracle and what ever decision you make, God will give you peace about it.
And babies go up and down weight..Parker did it right before we left the hospital so don't worry too much about a gram. He once gained like 33 and lost 13 the next day.
And yes, she will take off...and you won't believe it.
Hang in there...if you need to talk, you know where to find me...let AImee know she can email me too!
Omg...she is just so darn cute! I'm so glad that she is doing so well. I will pray for more good days to come.
~emily
Hey guys,
Just wanted to post on this particular day real quick.
I watched the video and it gave me chills. She sounds so cute when she cries and she looked so adorable with that paci in her mouth. Just to let you know I still have Calebs paci from the NICU and that is the ONLY one he will take. I almost bought myself to death with pacifiers and decided that nope this is the one he wants, so I hold onto it like it is gold.
Oh and I found a way to check on Kayleigh on my husbands PDA. Thank God for unlimited KB usage!!!!
I will check on her later.
Jennifer
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