Khloe Days 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, and 86....the wait continues!

Well I think this has been the longest break between posts so far and I wish I had more to report on. Khloe is doing great as usual. She is getting 47 mL of milk now which is a little over an ounce and a half. She is doing much better at breastfeeding and they have even started alternating with bottlefeeding. She has made a lot of progress learning to eat on her own, but she still has a long way to go. Learning to eat is the longest part of the whole NICU experience and we've been told, on average, it can take up to 8 weeks for babies to finally learn and eat well enough to go home and sometimes it can be even longer, though I hope it's not. I think we're through the 3rd or 4th week to learning and I hope she's on track, but we'll get there either way. Khloe's eye appointment this week went good. Her eyes are still the same as the week before, Stage 2 Zone 2, which is good, but unfortunately it means they haven't gotten better either. Aside from learning to eat, her eyes is the only other thing we're waiting on for her to go home. One of two things needs to happen, either her eyes need to be fully vascularized so she can be sent home on oxygen or she needs to be off oxygen support and breathing completely on her own and she can go home without her eyes being vascularized and we would have to come up once a week for her eye appointments. The reason they won't send her home on oxygen with her eyes not being vascularized is that the oxygen has such a high concentration of oxygen that it damages eyes that aren't fully vascularized. As you can see, day we take her home completely depends on her now and is out of the hands of me, Shelbie, or the hospital staff so I hope she's stubborn and really starts moving forward. She is still getting so big and as of tonight she is 5 lbs 9 oz! She is such a little chunk now and she's like a normal baby, she even has a double chin along with her daddy's big head. She is so cute! That's all for now so check back later. Thanks for all the prayers and love.

Khloe's NICU Summer Photo Shoot!

Here are the pics I promised from Khloe NICU Summer Photo Shoot!

Khloe Days 78 and 79...getting big!

Well tonight's post is going to be a short one. Khloe is doing great! Her feeds have been increased once again and she is now getting 41 mL of milk. The milk was being given to her over a period of 45 minutes, but because she is getting so much, her body was digesting it quick enough and it was making her sick and she was throwing up so they increased it back to an hour and she has been doing much better. She has been getting a lot of formula lately because Shelbie was gone for a couple days and it has made her diapers very stinky. I don't mind it though because a few days ago she was constipated for two days and didn't have a messy diaper at all so I'd much rather she have very stinky diapers. On the last post I said that they wouldn't be reducing her respiratory support anymore until just before she goes home, but I was wrong. They have lowered it from 1 liter to a 1/2 liter and she is doing great. If she keeps going at this rate, I don't think she'll have to go home on oxygen at all so cross you fingers. She is getting so big as of last night she was 5 lbs and tonight she lost 5 grams so she's just under 5 lbs now. She is so stinkin' cute and I can't wait to take her home and show her off. Well that's all for now so check back later. Thanks for all the lover and prayers.

Khloe update days 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, and 77....getting closer all the time!

Well once again I'm sorry for the long wait between posts. I had a week off from work so I got very sidetracked spending time with Khloe and Shelbie. Khloe is getting so big and cute. She is doing better than ever. She is still on 1 liter on her high flow nasal canula and we've been told that's what she'll stay on until just before she goes home. She is still learning to breastfeed and it's a slow process, but she'll get it eventually. Breastfeeding is all we are really waiting on to take her home, well that and waiting for her eyes to develop, so it's all pretty much up to her when we go home. I just hope it's not too much longer. Her eyes have gotten worse. They were in Stage 1 and Zone 2, but this week they are in Stage 2 and Zone 2, so I hope that doesn't mean a longer stay. If we could just keep her oxygen at a good level her eyes would get better, but she has these desaturations so they turn her oxygen up and then she's high, so I hope it get's figured out soon. She is getting 39 mL of milk and she is still gaining weight like a champ. They have even had to start giving her formula because she is eating so much and she runs out of breastmilk. As of tonight she weighs 4 lbs 13 oz, that is 7 oz up from 6 days ago when I posted last. For the last couple weeks the NICU has been taking summer pictures of the babies that are off the ventilators with them dressed in cute summer clothes and this week Khloe got hers taken and it is way cute. She is in a little hula skirt with a bow in her hair. I was hoping to get them posted tonight, but found out Shelbie accidentally took them to Ephraim with her so I will get them on here as soon as possible. She is doing so good and making her mommy and daddy proud. It was really great having a week off. We did a lot of shopping at yard sales and the D.I. and kid to kid. We got a lot of cute books for Khloe, including a lot of Disney princess books and we also got her a lot of cute outfits, but the best part of my time off was snuggling my daughter. It's amazing how nothing else in the world matters when I have her laying on my chest. It just makes everything right in the world and nothing can get me down. I love that little girl so much and I can't wait to take her home. That's about it for now so check back soon. Thanks for all the love and prayers.

Khloe update days 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, and 71...one step closer!

First I want to appologize for the long wait for this post. I've had a busy week and every time I tried doing it, I got sidetracked. Well it's been an exciting week in the life of Khloe! She is now 10 weeks old and the time has flown by, well for me at lest. Most of you don't know it, but she was being given caffeine to help her breathe and now she is old enough that she shouldn't need it so she has been taken off it completely. She is doing great in the open crib and is still holding her temperature wonderfully. She is doing so good that they have moved her back to room 6 which is one of the "big kid" rooms and she is definitely now one of the big kids. As most of you know, her milk was being fortified to 27 calories and it has made her gain weight so fast that they have reduced it to 24 calories. As of tonight she is 4 lbs 6 oz and is getting more and more cute little rolls. Our little girl is getting so big. She is learning to breastfeed and she is a natural. She is actually surprising the nurses, so I hope this means she'll be going home sooner rather than later. Her respiratory support has been reduced several times this week, the last of which was yesterday and she is now on 1 liter on the high flow nasal canula and the next step is low flow which I believe is the last step before being completely on her own. She is taking a liking to music and there have been a few nights that her nurses have had to put on some music to keep her calm. She had another eye appointment this week and her eyes are still in stage 1 and zone 2, but they have actually improved a little bit. She is definitely a little stinker and she thinks it is very funny to poop and pee on mommmy and daddy when we change her diapers and it usually takes 2 or 3 diapers to change her, but we wouldn't change it for the world. She is getting 35 mL of milk and as usual she is doing great with it. I think that is all for now so check back later. Thanks for all the love and prayers.

Khloe Update days 62, 63, 64, and 65....halfway there!!!

Well just as I predicted on Wednesday, Khloe hit the 4 lb mark this weekend on Sunday! She is officially halfway through the requirements to go home! She is holdinig her own body heat very well and hasn't had any instances where her temperature went down and she is 4 lbs on the dot! We have started working on teaching her to feed and after only two short lessons, she is starting to get the idea slightly, all due to the fact that she loves her binki I'm sure. She loves it so much in fact that she decided to show her true redhead personality on Saturday and scream whenever Libby tried takinig it away and naturally she calmed down when she got it back. She must be my daughter not only due to the fact that she looks exactly like me, but because she has my charminig redhead personality! Hopefully she can learn to eat fairly quickly so we just need to worry about getting her off her respiratory support, then she is home free! Oh, and hopefully she does this all in the next 5 weeks because that is Septemeber 11th and her actual due date and that's the date they told us that they kind of use as a guestimate to go home, but they also said it could be later or sooner. Overall though halfway there ain't bad at all in my book. She's been doing really well and getting bigger and chubbier all the time. She did get a slight yeast infection this week as well as an eye infection, but they have been treating the yeast with a cream and it is cleared up and they started treating her eyes with slightly gelatinous medicated eye drops so hopefully that will clear up soon as well. She's getting 35 mL of milk and it definately shows because she is gaining weight quick, sometimes almost 2 oz a day. This weekend Shelbie and I made an excursion back home for our niece's baby blessing and decided to clean our apartment a bit and get her room ready for her up and hopefully soon coming journey home. It still has a little work that needs to be done but we got a bulk of it done and by that I mean her clothes are put away and all her gadgets like her swing, high chair, and bassonet put together. We can't wait have her home so we can finally use all that stuff. All in all things are going great as usual and Khloe is really moving forward so check back for more updates. Thanks for all the prayers and love.

Khloe in her crib!

Here are some pics of Khloe in her crib!

Khloe update days 59, 60, and 61...a huge leap forward!!!

Well you've all been waiting for some really exciting news and here it is. First of all today, august 3rd, khloe is 2 months old! The time is sure starting to fly by even though it may not seem like it to some. Now the most exciting stuff. On Monday, August 1st, Khloe was moved to an open crib! This is a huge step and really exciting because now we can interact with her more than ever and even her grandparents can hold her now, which I'm sure they all can't wait to do. Another reason for the excitement is that she has officially achieved one of the four qualifications to go home and that is maintaining her own body heat. I got off work really early Monday night and spent most of the morning holding Khloe and taking pictures so I will post the pics on here as soon as possible so you can all see how big and cute she is getting. She is getting 32 mL of milk and is doing well with her feedings at least that's what I think because it takes about 4 diapers for one diaper change because she thinks it's funny to dirty the new one before we get it done up, ha ha. As of tonight, Wednesday August 3rd, Khloe weighs 3 lbs 13.5 oz and I expect that she will reach the 4 lb mark this weekend which is another huge step because it is another of the 4 qualifications to go home. Today she had another eye exam and her eyes have gotten better since last week. As you may remember, last week her eyes were in Stage 2 and Zone 1 and this week her eyes have regressed and are now in Stage 1 and Zone 2 which is a really good sign. Well that's it for now and there's a lot of exciting stuff going on so check back laterfor more news. Thanks for all the love and prayers.