Babies are gaining weight. Well, Keaton hasn't had a weight issue since the beginning, but McKenna is finally gaining weight too.
Keaton weighed 8 lb 5 oz today. Almost three months old makes him seem small, but really he is just 18 days old corrected age, so that's great. He hasn't rolled over again or really done much as far as milestones go lately. He has improved on eye locking though. He will look at you and make eye contact for longer periods of time finally. And he is more responsive to sweet voices lately too. He lovvvves Grandma Deb's voice and just stares at her.
McKenna is up to 5 lb 13 oz. We are thrilled about the 8 oz increase this week, although she was just weighed after a feeding, but that would mean she still would have gained at least 6 oz. She looks bigger to us too. She enjoys staring at Keaton as he fusses and looking at herself in the baby mirror. So cute. She has kind of decreased on her feedings yesterday and today and seems really tired. This has been a sign of a need for transfusion in the past. Hoping she has just been overstimulated with all that is going on and that she will be more energetic and have her appetite back tomorrow.
McKenna had her blood drawn and we will hopefully find out in a few days if she is still losing blood and if she needs a transfusion or is starting to produce blood on her own.
We will keep you posted with what we find out, but thanks for the prayers on her feedings and weight gains!!!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
No Blood
Woo hoo...what a praise report...no blood in the stools for five days now. We are thrilled, but still nervous and waiting for blood to appear.
McKenna goes in tomorrow for a weight check. She has been doing great on feedings, hitting almost two ounces every three hours with an occasional two and a half ounces. She also had her intake increased to 24 calories (normal is 20 cal, she was at 22 cal). Hope all this helps her gain the necessary weight.
She had a heart drop during her feedings yesterday. She still has a few a day during feedings, but yesterdays was so low the monitor went off. Made us thankful we still had the monitor on her. I think the drop was due to her being so tired and not having the energy to eat.
McKenna is also having blood work done tomorrow to make sure her blood levels aren't still dropping and to verify another transfusion is not needed at this time. Keep prayers coming. We REALLY APPRECIATE THEM ALL!!!
McKenna goes in tomorrow for a weight check. She has been doing great on feedings, hitting almost two ounces every three hours with an occasional two and a half ounces. She also had her intake increased to 24 calories (normal is 20 cal, she was at 22 cal). Hope all this helps her gain the necessary weight.
She had a heart drop during her feedings yesterday. She still has a few a day during feedings, but yesterdays was so low the monitor went off. Made us thankful we still had the monitor on her. I think the drop was due to her being so tired and not having the energy to eat.
McKenna is also having blood work done tomorrow to make sure her blood levels aren't still dropping and to verify another transfusion is not needed at this time. Keep prayers coming. We REALLY APPRECIATE THEM ALL!!!
Bu Bye Monitor Number One
We got rid of Keaton's heart monitor. Yipee! We are thrilled that we can now pick up our son, carry him around the house or change his diaper or give him baths without carrying a machine with a super long cord everywhere we go. What a joy.
McKenna still has her monitor and will have it until things clear up with her bloody stools and we are sure she won't be needing more transfusions. We are more than okay with her still having hers because she is still so tiny looking that it makes us feel more comfortable and safe knowing she has it on.
The blood in McKenna's stools has gone away. She hasn't had it for two days - woo hoo- and that is while being on the "affordable" formula. We are not getting hopes up too high though. There have been days where she doesn't have blood in her stools and then it ends up coming back. So for now that plan is to keep her on this formula until she has blood. If she has blood, we immediately switch her to the more expensive stuff and she will go straight to KC.
We are temporarily able to avoid the KC trip Monday. The pediatrician thinks we will get there and they will tell us to try the other formula two weeks before doing the scan, so we are going to wait. If by miracle she truly doesn't have any more blood, we won't have to go to KC at all, so that is obviously our prayer.
Tuessday we take McKenna in for a weight check and another blood count to make sure a transfusion is not needed. So until then, those are all the updates we have. Thanks everyone for your prayers, love and support. As always, it is so wonderful knowing you all are holding us up in prayers. Thanks!!!
McKenna still has her monitor and will have it until things clear up with her bloody stools and we are sure she won't be needing more transfusions. We are more than okay with her still having hers because she is still so tiny looking that it makes us feel more comfortable and safe knowing she has it on.
The blood in McKenna's stools has gone away. She hasn't had it for two days - woo hoo- and that is while being on the "affordable" formula. We are not getting hopes up too high though. There have been days where she doesn't have blood in her stools and then it ends up coming back. So for now that plan is to keep her on this formula until she has blood. If she has blood, we immediately switch her to the more expensive stuff and she will go straight to KC.
We are temporarily able to avoid the KC trip Monday. The pediatrician thinks we will get there and they will tell us to try the other formula two weeks before doing the scan, so we are going to wait. If by miracle she truly doesn't have any more blood, we won't have to go to KC at all, so that is obviously our prayer.
Tuessday we take McKenna in for a weight check and another blood count to make sure a transfusion is not needed. So until then, those are all the updates we have. Thanks everyone for your prayers, love and support. As always, it is so wonderful knowing you all are holding us up in prayers. Thanks!!!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Follow-Up
Kyle took McKenna in for her blood work today. Numbers are not low enough for a blood transfusion. We will find out tomorrow when her next blood count will be.
The new formula she is suppose to be on is not available in Springfield. We will have to purchase it online, and in a case rather than individual containers.
We are waiting for confirmation tomorrow but looks like Monday we will take McKenna to KC for conferral with nurse practitioner. Then will do a follow-up and scan with doctor at a later date. If we don't go Monday we will have to wait until August to get into the doctor. The longer we wait the more blood our daughter loses which means we will need more transfusions.
McKenna had her formula increased to 24 calorie instead of 22 calorie, but she has decreased her feeding amounts. She is only taking about 1 1/2 oz now instead of the 2 oz she was up to.
Please pray McKenna gains weight, starts to do better with her feedings, doesn't need any more transfusions, only goes to KC if we really need to and that scheduling is all figured out. Happy my mom will be here this weekend so if we need to go to KC we will have the help and my amazing mother-in-law will help with Keaton so he can stay home! Thanks moms...you both are amazing!!!
The new formula she is suppose to be on is not available in Springfield. We will have to purchase it online, and in a case rather than individual containers.
We are waiting for confirmation tomorrow but looks like Monday we will take McKenna to KC for conferral with nurse practitioner. Then will do a follow-up and scan with doctor at a later date. If we don't go Monday we will have to wait until August to get into the doctor. The longer we wait the more blood our daughter loses which means we will need more transfusions.
McKenna had her formula increased to 24 calorie instead of 22 calorie, but she has decreased her feeding amounts. She is only taking about 1 1/2 oz now instead of the 2 oz she was up to.
Please pray McKenna gains weight, starts to do better with her feedings, doesn't need any more transfusions, only goes to KC if we really need to and that scheduling is all figured out. Happy my mom will be here this weekend so if we need to go to KC we will have the help and my amazing mother-in-law will help with Keaton so he can stay home! Thanks moms...you both are amazing!!!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Doctor Appointment
Both babies passed their hearing tests today. We are so excited and grateful for this as we were a little concerned about Keaton's hearing. Apparently he just tunes us out. That's scary. Can't imagine how much more he will tune us out over the years. Hahaha.
Doctor's appointments went as expected. Keaton's hernia is okay as long as it doesn't get hard and we can continue to push it in. Keaton now weighs 7 lb 10 oz. He is SO big we just can't get over it. We no longer have to add formula to breast milk for calorie increases, which is huge too. And, we can go one 5-6 hour break between feedings at night. That's so exciting to us. Now trying to figure out how to convince him at night he can go that long without eating rather than sticking with his three hour feedings at night too. This will hopefully be a huge help and allow us a tiny bit more sleep.
McKenna...what's there to say? Still has the blood in her stools so they are having us switch to the more expensive formula. We already figured that would be the case, so we weren't surprised by that news. Assuming that this new formula doesn't work we will have to go to KC for the scan.
She only gained 5 ounces this week, so is 5 lb 5 oz. Keaton is now over two pounds heavier than her. She is going to have to see a nutritionist next week to see how we can increase her weight at a faster rate.
Called Friday for blood count results but they didn't have them. Monday called to find out we needed to call the heart doctor because he for some reason had the results not our pediatrician. Of course when we call the heart doctor he is out of town until Wednesday. We were rather frustrated because if she is losing blood at a high rate they decided they would have us go to KC rather than playing around with this other formula.
We got home this afternoon from a day of doctor appointments and got the call from the doctor that McKenna's blood count has dropped so quickly that we need to do another blood count tomorrow. Our pediatrician is out of town for two weeks so we are seeing her partner during this time, and the heart doctor is still out of town until tomorrow. So, we are working with a pediatrician we don't know and just hoping she knows what we are suppose to do and at what speed.
Tomorrow we plan to get blood drawn again and expect it will be a few days again before we get results. We are hoping that she won't need a transfusion again this week, but certainly want what is best for her. Trying to figure out how we will do the KC trip with Kyle's work and hoping he will not have to take too much time off work.
Please continue praying. We need prayers for McKenna's blood to start working and building on its own. Need prayer the blood in the stools goes away. Praying she starts gaining weight as needed. Praying for direction and help on scheduling everything. Thanks everyone. Love you all and we will update you once we get the results, but please note it will probably be a few days. Thanks!
Doctor's appointments went as expected. Keaton's hernia is okay as long as it doesn't get hard and we can continue to push it in. Keaton now weighs 7 lb 10 oz. He is SO big we just can't get over it. We no longer have to add formula to breast milk for calorie increases, which is huge too. And, we can go one 5-6 hour break between feedings at night. That's so exciting to us. Now trying to figure out how to convince him at night he can go that long without eating rather than sticking with his three hour feedings at night too. This will hopefully be a huge help and allow us a tiny bit more sleep.
McKenna...what's there to say? Still has the blood in her stools so they are having us switch to the more expensive formula. We already figured that would be the case, so we weren't surprised by that news. Assuming that this new formula doesn't work we will have to go to KC for the scan.
She only gained 5 ounces this week, so is 5 lb 5 oz. Keaton is now over two pounds heavier than her. She is going to have to see a nutritionist next week to see how we can increase her weight at a faster rate.
Called Friday for blood count results but they didn't have them. Monday called to find out we needed to call the heart doctor because he for some reason had the results not our pediatrician. Of course when we call the heart doctor he is out of town until Wednesday. We were rather frustrated because if she is losing blood at a high rate they decided they would have us go to KC rather than playing around with this other formula.
We got home this afternoon from a day of doctor appointments and got the call from the doctor that McKenna's blood count has dropped so quickly that we need to do another blood count tomorrow. Our pediatrician is out of town for two weeks so we are seeing her partner during this time, and the heart doctor is still out of town until tomorrow. So, we are working with a pediatrician we don't know and just hoping she knows what we are suppose to do and at what speed.
Tomorrow we plan to get blood drawn again and expect it will be a few days again before we get results. We are hoping that she won't need a transfusion again this week, but certainly want what is best for her. Trying to figure out how we will do the KC trip with Kyle's work and hoping he will not have to take too much time off work.
Please continue praying. We need prayers for McKenna's blood to start working and building on its own. Need prayer the blood in the stools goes away. Praying she starts gaining weight as needed. Praying for direction and help on scheduling everything. Thanks everyone. Love you all and we will update you once we get the results, but please note it will probably be a few days. Thanks!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Baby Milestones
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McKenna grabbed her stuffed rattle today three different times in a row. She would eye it, reach out and grab it. She was able to bring it to her face one time, but seeing as how it is the size of her head that's about all she could do is bring it in one time.
She is rather fussy today. I think I have been holding her too much, but she is so small and fragile and I just want to make sure she knows that even though she is sick right now she is still loved on. Keep thinking that all the love she is getting from her mommy and daddy will help her get better. So far hasn't helped, but it is comforting to me at least to know that we are doing all we can.
Keaton hit a milestone too. Looked in bassinet and he was head butting McKenna by throwing his head side to side since he was not comfortable. Moved him to the other side of the bassinet and he was laying on left side of his body. Before I knew it he rolled over from his left side to his back (no biggie) then to his right side, THEN HIS BELLY. My baby is rolling over. I am so excited for him to make this big jump, but scared as belly sleeping is a huge cause of SIDS. Praying protection over him and I am sure he will be fine.
Feel like I blinked and Keaton grew. He is now fitting into several of his Newborn size clothes and I can no longer rub his entire back with the palm of my hand. He has really filled out and is rather broad. He is starting to look more and more like my baby pictures every day. Was really hoping that he would look like a mini Kyle, and he totally did the first several weeks of life. Will be fun to see what the babies turn out like as they continue to age.
McKenna looks a lot like her cousin Taylor did at birth. What a pleasure to see that. She is still so tiny and fragile looking, but has the most amazing and sweet eyes that just pierce through you when she looks around. She has brown hair that has a hint of red to it right now. Not sure where the red comes from. She is just perfect and I love to watch her all day long.
We are so blessed and grateful to be the parents to these twins. What an amazing gift the Lord has blessed us with.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Coming Home
Well, here goes attempt two at bringing our baby girl home. She is being discharged this afternoon and we are just praying that she will be okay.
The heart drops and apnea spells...because the hospital monitor was set at a higher setting (low heart rate of 80) they are not concerned now about the spells. So, they are sending her home and their thought process is that she will continue to grow out of it with age and that she will slowly just get better and better. If she has a spell at home outside of feedings and turns color we are suppose to call the doctor before rushing her back here. They don't want her in the hospital if they can avoid it, due to all the germs and sickness.
The bloody stools are still there this morning so we are sticking with their plan to keep her on Nutramagin formula for another week. If the stools continue we will move her to the more expensive one for two weeks, then a GI scan if continue after that. We will follow up with our doctor next week to see if we are doing any better.
Blood counts miraculously went up. That is awesome and we are so excited to hear that. Thursday she will have to come back in for blood work, and then will have to get it once or twice a week until bloody stools go away. Will require blood work more often if the numbers begin to decrease too rapidly.
McKenna is slowly gaining weight, and not quite quick enough to make the doctor happy. So, we are meeting with a nutritionist before we leave to see if she should increase calorie intake or volume. It is tricky to get her to drink even an ounce and a half, so I am sure we will lean toward the calorie increase, but will just see what she says. We go next week for a weight check and will determine more at that point. She is still five pounds this morning.
We are eager to get home and play with Keaton and see daddy, but nervous as to how she will do at home. Guess we can only do so much, so we will do our part and plan on God doing the rest.
Keaton is meeting with First Steps (development program) this morning to be evaluated on ways we can help him grow mentally and physically. They will make recommendations as to whether speech (for feedings), physical or occupational therapy is needed for him and how often he needs to see the therapists. The nice thing about First Steps is they come to the house, so we don't have to get them out in the germs. And it is very similar to Parents As Teachers where they will show us what WE can do to help him along rather than always depending on them to do the work. McKenna will be evaluated in the next couple of weeks as well.
Daddy is concerned Keaton has hearing problems, so we are anxious to get his hearing tested and hoping this program can help him if he does. We are also concerned with how much his feet turn in toward his body and he doesn't have great neck or back muscles yet.
Thanks everyone for the continued prayers.
The heart drops and apnea spells...because the hospital monitor was set at a higher setting (low heart rate of 80) they are not concerned now about the spells. So, they are sending her home and their thought process is that she will continue to grow out of it with age and that she will slowly just get better and better. If she has a spell at home outside of feedings and turns color we are suppose to call the doctor before rushing her back here. They don't want her in the hospital if they can avoid it, due to all the germs and sickness.
The bloody stools are still there this morning so we are sticking with their plan to keep her on Nutramagin formula for another week. If the stools continue we will move her to the more expensive one for two weeks, then a GI scan if continue after that. We will follow up with our doctor next week to see if we are doing any better.
Blood counts miraculously went up. That is awesome and we are so excited to hear that. Thursday she will have to come back in for blood work, and then will have to get it once or twice a week until bloody stools go away. Will require blood work more often if the numbers begin to decrease too rapidly.
McKenna is slowly gaining weight, and not quite quick enough to make the doctor happy. So, we are meeting with a nutritionist before we leave to see if she should increase calorie intake or volume. It is tricky to get her to drink even an ounce and a half, so I am sure we will lean toward the calorie increase, but will just see what she says. We go next week for a weight check and will determine more at that point. She is still five pounds this morning.
We are eager to get home and play with Keaton and see daddy, but nervous as to how she will do at home. Guess we can only do so much, so we will do our part and plan on God doing the rest.
Keaton is meeting with First Steps (development program) this morning to be evaluated on ways we can help him grow mentally and physically. They will make recommendations as to whether speech (for feedings), physical or occupational therapy is needed for him and how often he needs to see the therapists. The nice thing about First Steps is they come to the house, so we don't have to get them out in the germs. And it is very similar to Parents As Teachers where they will show us what WE can do to help him along rather than always depending on them to do the work. McKenna will be evaluated in the next couple of weeks as well.
Daddy is concerned Keaton has hearing problems, so we are anxious to get his hearing tested and hoping this program can help him if he does. We are also concerned with how much his feet turn in toward his body and he doesn't have great neck or back muscles yet.
Thanks everyone for the continued prayers.
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