11/16/08 - Baby Shower

The baby shower was a blast!!!! We had many friends and family come by to celebrate Kayleigh and we couldn't ask for a better party. All I have to say is that Kayleigh got spoiled! She got so many great gifts that we can't wait to either dress her in the clothes she got or play with her and her new toys. And...we are completely stocked up on Desitin in case Kayleigh ever gets diaper rash. HA :)

Aimee and I were so overwhelmed for all of our friends and family, and for all the people who have mailed Kayleigh gifts that only know us from this blog. That is just so amazing and we are THANKFUL for everyone! God has certainly blessed Aimee and I with an amazing amount of people who care so much for our precious little girl. We are just blown away by the generosity.

We completely forgot about taking tons of photos because we were so busy chatting with everyone, but here are a few that we did take:





After the shower, Aimee and I were beyond excited as my oldest brother, Scott and his wife, Rebecca both came up to the hospital to see Kayleigh. They don't live in town, so this was their first time getting a chance to hold Kayleigh. The last time they came in, Kayleigh was much smaller and we weren't letting anyone hold her. Here are their photos with Kayleigh:


Okay, now for Kayleigh's update. She is doing awesome! They figured out what was going on with her feedings and why she didn't seem interested in her bottle at some of her feeds. We thought maybe she was just too tired or didn't like the taste of the foritifer, but a nurse realized she was having troubles when she is swallowing the milk. The tube from the vent must have rubbed her throat raw which was causing Kayleigh to hurt a little while swallowing. They gave her some medicine to fix that problem and she is now downing every bottle with no problem at all.

She also had her follow up eye exam today and everything looks perfect. Our next follow up is not for another 4 months, so that must mean her eyes look really good!

Other than that, nothing else is new and nothing else is wrong. That is awesome news and we are moving right along!!! Aimee and I have our CPR class tomorrow, so that is going to be fun. We are looking forward to it, but we pray we won't have to use it :)

Thank you again everyone for coming to the shower and for those who sent us gifts. One major thing we have learned from this experience is that being a support system for anyone, no matter if you know them personally or not, it makes that person feel so amazing. No matter what, we will continue to reach out and be a shoulder to cry on or a celebrating fan for everyone we come in to contact with that needs it. It touches our hearts so deep and we are so blessed to have every single one of you pulling for Kayleigh and lending a helping hand to us.

God Bless,

The Freemans :)

13 comments:

Kimberly (Anthony's Mom) said...

So happy you guys had an awesome baby shower! I myself never had one. I was just so scared the first year of Anthony's life I didn't want to jinx anything. I also wanted my little man there for the celebration. My husband is so funny he goes "well we have to have another kid because you need to have your baby shower!" LOL Maybe some day I will.

I'm soooooo excited that Kayleigh will be coming home any day now!!! I can't wait to see all the pics of her thriving at home! She's going to do awesome!

Kim

Anonymous said...

So glad that the shower went well, and that more family got to meet your daughter and hold her - and that she is still doing so well, Its all such good news and makes me smile for you.

I have a question - well a suggestion I guess...I mentioned to you before in a few comments that I'm a grandma of a 33 week 5 day preemie born October 21, my daughter and my grandson are living with me right now - and I'm loving it. My daughter was on bedrest for 11 weeks and was parked in her bed in my living room, and after I found Kayleigh's story I've been telling my daughter her progress every night - since before my grandson was even born, and now we talk about her nightly.... Anyway - I was showing her the pic of your cake from your shower, and I LOVE the picture of your ring on Kayleigh's wrist - and I'm wondering if you would consider taking another picture of Kayleigh - with the same ring, maybe in her hands... (if you can do that safely without her eating the ring!!!) Just so that we can see how far she's come! (even though we see how far she's come - the ring is a huge indicator - When my grandson was born here in NY - my son and his wife had their 2nd son in Ohio - my daughter and son wanted to compare pictures of their baby's and wanted to take a picture of their baby with something universally know - so they each put a Hershey bar on their son - and then traded pictures, so we could see the baby's size as oompared to the Hershey bar.... My son's baby was 9 lbs 1 oz and my daughter's son was 5 lbs 6 oz - so that was quite a difference, and seeing the Hershey bar across their tummy was so cool!! Just seeing a pic of Kayleigh with your wedding ring in her hand would put it all the more in perspective! (I'm a huge fan of taking tons of pictures of your kids... we have already over 700 of Tayveon - and he's only 25 days old!!!!)
Take care and I'll keep praying and reading your updates!!!

Breanna said...

It looks like you guys had a great time! Im so glad Kayleighs eyes are doing great! I am so excited for you guys that kayleigh will be comming home any day now!!!

Anonymous said...

Wish we could have been there! We're sending Kayleigh a little gift in the mail.

Ali said...

Love the cake!

Jennifer said...

It looks like you guys had a great shower.It's wonderful to hear Kayleigh is still doing great. I bet everyone is getting so excited that she is so close to going home.

Anonymous said...

Baby showers are so wonderful. Not only do you get wonderful gifts but its a way for friends and family to get together and celebrate your new baby. You all have so many people that love you and your family. I am sure the shower gets you that much more excited for Kayleigh to come. I am so glad to hear how well Kayleigh is doing! She is a true miracle!!! Thanks for all the updates!
Katie
Baltimore, MD.

Amanda-The Family News! said...

Hi, I saw your blog address on Annabelle Lynn's blog. I had to leave you a comment to tell you what an adorable little girl you have!! What a sweet little miracle! Many prayers and blessings for your family!
Amanda - South Carolina

Robin E. Kitson said...

I am so glad the Raleigh Freemans from Raleigh got to come up. I hear she may be coming home soon. I can't wait for the next family reunion when Miss Kayleigh gets to go meet all the cousins.

Nani

Adam said...

Lorena,

She never had problems with the bottle feeding before, but Kayleigh does not like the OG tube to be in her mouth. Instead, we put it in through her nose so she doesn't realize it is there and we don't have anymore problems with her pulling it out. That could be causing her problems. Check on that and let me know what you find out. Kayleigh has been getting tired, but they still want her to eat as much as possible and put the rest down the tube. They are not counting it against her, but they don't want to take blame for her not growing if they feed her ever so often either. I can understand. Let me know what happens.

God Bless,

The Freemans :)

iheartbowheads.blogspot.com said...

Hooray - that looks like a good day!

Cristi said...

I just found your blog. Wow your story is a lot like ours. The pictures of Kayleigh look so much like Averys photos of months ago. I cannot imagine the sight of a baby being half Averys size which is what Kayleigh was. Avery was so tiny at 2.2 I have read tearfully through some of your story and will go through more later. You are in my prayers. God Bless your family.

Baby Shower said...

What a wonderful story! Did you play any baby shower games at your shower? Did you get the men to play? It is always more fun when the men join in.