Scared to Share Any Good News

Well, will admit I am a bit afraid to admit that there is anything positive going on out of fear that something negative will happen as soon as I post it, but also want to make sure that I am giving God the glory for every miracle He does...that being said, here is the latest update.

Keaton is still in his little closet, or his suite as his daddy calls it. Kyle says we should consider it a blessing he gets his own room since that is what we would want. hahaha. Good way to look at it I suppose.

He has gained a few pounds. Was up two ounces yesterday and another today, so is now 3 lb 8 oz. This is really good since he was on a little bit of a pause there for weight gain.

Entered the NICU this evening and nurse informed me both babies are going to start breast feeding twice a day now. This is a huge step forward. They will both still be fed through the tube in their noses to make sure they get their full feedings, but if I was still pregnant they would be at 33 weeks, so this is the time they develope sucking/breathing/swallowing. Keaton can take a bottle or the breast while McKenna will be strictly breast for the start.

So tonight Keaton got his first bottle. He did GREAT! He drank 10 ml (out of 30 ml feeding) in about 30 minutes. It is a lot of work for them to eat and stay warm and we are told that it will most likely make them lose weight at the beginning because they burn so many calories while doing it, but this is one of the steps they have to complete to go home - eating full feedings and gaining weight consistantly.

McKenna was really vocal today. Went for an afternoon visit to find a couple nurses standing around her trying to calm her. They apparently didn't realize that she hates a dirty diaper and will scream until you change it and giver her the binky. As soon as they did those two things she calmed down, for the most part.

The IV in her arm went out, so they had to replace it. Yes, this is the IV they just put in two days ago. Took them three attempts tonight before they were able to get it in a vein. Poor girl. She did so good though and only screamed once. Of course, they gave her sugar water on her Binky and that calmed her.

Once she is back to full feedings (20 ml) she will no longer need an IV, so we are really looking forward to that. We need this one to last her at least 27 more hours (time of last feeding that will require her to get fluids still).

Yesterday she had gained 5 oz and was up to 2 lb 11 oz. Tonight she lost 2 oz and is down to 2 lb 9 oz and is expected to lose a little more. The main reason for the weight gain was the blood transfusion. It made McKenna's body swell a little bit. But you can really tell in her face that she is gaining weight. Can hardly recognize her as the little girl she was three weeks ago. We are so grateful for the weight gain and praying it continues.

As always, thanks for the prayers, and please let us know if we can pray any specifics for you! You are all in our prayers and we look forward to sharing with you continued progress.