A little pink!

Three pounds 6 ounces of pink to be exact! The little thing has decided to grow! She reached enough grams that she can hold her own body heat so the clothes went on. The next hurdle will be to drink from a bottle. She loves her pacifier, so don't think it'll be a very large obstacle for this growing girl.

She was a month old yesterday. Big changes for such a small bundle of pink.

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas here on the farm. Cool temps--mid 40's....but always wind. There were 7 of us here Christmas morning to open pkgs. Fun, low-key day just like we always like.

The morning sun was shining thru as these two were eating breakfast waiting on the rest of the crew to get home.
If you've followed me very long, you know I don't do this very often....but HERE is me with the boys. From the left....Troy, Travis, and then Trent always in his overalls.

Hope everybody had a good Christmas. We can't wait till next year when we'll have two grandaughters to share it with.

Speakin' of which....Rachel has done everything wrong...she healed faster than they thought she would so she's back on milk. She's also gained up to 3lbs. 1ounce...they said she'd lose weight with her infection. Yep..sounds like a typical grandaughter...breakin' ALL the rules! Go Girl!

A small setback..

Rachel has developed an infection in her small intestines. Her picc line was put back in and antibiotics were given immediately. I'm grateful that they're watching her under a microscope to catch everything.

She's off of milk for a few days until they can get this cleared up. We're praying that she maintains her weight and her strength.

The day after Christmas--Rachel is responding to the antibiotics and is doing lots better. Still off of milk for a few more days, but she's feisty as ever..which we're thankful! The little stinker pulled off her air line and climbed out of her diaper!

She's at 2lbs. 14 ounces...so we're maintaining the weight.

Early Christmas Present

I usually don't expect much for Christmas --I'm one of those that buy whatever I want myself. But...this year I asked for a 2 or 3 cup mini food processor--I'm not even picky about the brand since Bernina doesn't make one. There was even one sale at Walmart for $10 awhile back. So, you ask why I put pictures of these purdy black cows on my page?

Instead of a food processor under the tree, I got 38 gonna-be mama cows for an early Christmas present.

Do you think they want to come early for Christmas dinner and help me chop, dice and slice?

Friday to Sunday

...and Rachel has gained 3 ounces. Waiting on a new pictures...maybe tomorow.

Gramma has been sewing too!

Rachel Marie Progress

Rachel is still doing great. I had several email me and ask, so thought I'd just post some new pictures of our little angel. She's free of all IV's but still has a little oxygen going to help her breathe. If they take it away, she uses too many calories to breathe instead of to grow. Gaining weight is the main objective right now. They've upped her intake of milk too and started adding fortifier to it...adding calories. They're having her practice on a pacifier while she's feeding so she'll associate the sucking and the feeding. She has to learn all of these things before they'll try her on a bottle--which could be as early as next week. Last week she passed the heart and brain scans and now she's passed the eye exams. I got to see her yesterday and it's amazing how much she's changed in the past week. She's up to 2lb. 9 ounces.


Oh, Hancock's had a 1/2 price sale on flannel.....and fleece. Yep, this little girl is gonna have some special things made for her homecoming. Her Gramma just needs to get busy!

(the first picture--she only wears the hat when she's outside of her box...she's laying on her Mama. Janice says she'll lay there for about two hours and never even move because she's so relaxed. You know hearing her Mama's heartbeat is like music to her ears.)

Gaining

I got a report last night that Rachel was back up and over 2 lbs. She decided in the past few days (actually hours) to start growing...and is gaining fast. Blessings. The nurses say she is digesting the milk now and she is not missing a feeding. Another blessing. Her mama caught her smiling in her sleep....happy, content little one. High heels, cowboy boots, flip flops...I can see her closet floor already!

Another good day

More progress with Miss Rachel. They took off her air tube since it had been turned down to 21% oxygen and that is what you and I breathe. She digested more milk so they're still giving it to her. Her poor little face is really red from all tape that held the tubes on with. This will disappear after a few days.

She is such a wiggle-worm-- she's always trying to get free. One day she tried to crawl out of her nest.

Every day they change out her bedding and it's all handmade items that local groups donate to the NICU. If you do this type of work...BLESS YOU! I cannot take things up there and be guaranteed they will get on her bed. There are 80 babies in the unit and every one has special things to be cuddled with. But...you can bet this baby will have all kinds of things later on!

Six Days Old

Rachel's Mom was dismissed from the hospital yesterday...took most of the day! The nurses were so nice, but a hospital runs almost like the gov't....slow.

We moved Mom and Dad to the Ronald McDonald House and it's a good feeling to know that they're safe and close to Rachel. If you're ever asked to donate to a RMH don't hesitate to do so..it's such a good place for parents to stay.

Rachel needs to gain a few more grams and she'll be back up to 2lbs. She's like most babies and lost a little, which she doesn't need to do. They've tried milk a few times and sometimes she can digest it and sometimes she can't. The nurses watch her constantly so she's getting the best of care.


We call her little incubator a Terrarium. It's such a controlled environment, it's just the perfect place for her to stay until she gets stronger.


I got home about 9pm last night and was in bed before 10. It feels good to have clean underwear and socks!


Keep praying....she's stable and growing and we want her to grow and get strong!

Rachel Update

-Guest Poster-

An adjustment in Mommy's meds has her bloodpressure back to normal, and will allow her to be dismissed tomorrow. Mommy and Daddy have a room reserved at the Ronald McDonald house...it's about 3 blocks away. I'll be back for a one-day workweek on Friday...unless something else changes! Thanks to everyone for the phone calls and prayers. Keep them coming...we have a long road ahead of us.

Note from Mommy -

Mommy got to change her poopy diaper for the second time!! ( i am sure the excitement over a poopy diaper will wear off over time.) they had stopped feeding her breastmilk because while she was digesting it, she wasn't passing it through her intestines and out. An x-ray showed a a lot of air, so they were going to wait. She also has a little bit of jaundice, so they have her under a photo light "tanning", she has to wear little foam sunglasses that are pretty cute, although they aren't quite her color... that is what she is doing in these newest pics..



Thanks to everyone who has come and see her, called and everything, we really appreciate everything everyone has done for us and our little angel!

Rachel Marie

Update post by a guest for Mama K --

The note sent out by Momma!

Rachel is doing wonderfully! She was born at 11:22 pm on November 29th. She was breathing all on her own the next morning already. They said that she might be on an IV for a while and might start feeding her breast milk in 1-3 days originally, but she was doing so well that they started feeding her breast milk at 8 pm last nite! they check her stomach before they feed her and they can see if she is digesting the milk or not and there is not very much that isn't digested each time! She doesn't like it when people mess with her, changing her diaper and stuff, she gets all ornery and fights the nurse. (it's quite cute!) i got to hold her last nite for the first time, i hadn't gotten to see her except right after delivery for a second and these few pics that Daddy took for me to see, they finally let me out of bed this morning about 2 and moved me to a different room all at the same time, and I made Daddy take me in a wheelchair right to her and we didn't get back to the room til about 3:30 this morning, we were both exhausted but it was worth it.

Here are the pictures: