Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Losing It


Our first family picture. Kyle is holding Keaton (who looks huge because he has three blankets swaddling him) and I am holding McKenna.

Keaton - He is so fun to watch and seems to change a little every day. He makes these faces where he looks so concerned and serious all the time. It's adorable.

He lost one ounce yesterday, which was to be expected since he had a five ounce weight gain the night before. We expect he will continue to lose an ounce or two the next couple nights as he has bowel movements or releases fluids. Nurses say this is completely normal and not something to worry about.

Keaton's tummy is pretty round and extended. It is cute because he is so tiny and his arms and legs are so skinny but then there is this huge belly. Nurses say that is just part of being a preemie, and also that it will go down when he loses the liquids.

Also, he lost a few cords yesterday. WOO HOO!!! Because he has not had any problems with his breathing for several days now, they took off the machine that told us if his heart or oxygen levels drop or stop. This is awesome to see this gone.

McKenna - She loves her sleep. Yesterday whie trying to read to her she was so still it scared me. I tried to get her to grab my hand or respond to touch but not a thing. Went away for thirty minutes and tried doing the same thing but still no response so I called the nurse over and she reassured me that was normal and nothing to worry about.

McKenna gained two ounces again last night. That is two nights with a two ounce weight gain, putting her up to 2 lbs 5 oz. Not sure you can completely tell the weight gain, but I think she does look a little less boney in the rib area. And, while putting the lotion on her chest this morning I couldn't feel her rib cage as much, so that was really comforting. While Keaton is losing weight, McKenna is gaining it.

McKenna still has all her tubes, cords, wires and machines. She has several episodes throughout the day/night where her heart rate and oxygen levels drop, and the nurses expect that will last for several more weeks.

While kangarooing McKenna this morning she started snoring and her oxygen levels were dropping for short periods of time. Nurse came over and suctioned her throat out with a tube. Poor girl! But it seemed to really help. Apparently they get gunk stuck in the back of their throat occasionally.

No comments: