We love you Skylar Jean!

Skylar made it to 3 pounds last night!!!

It has been while since we have updated this blog, so sorry. Skylar has done pretty well the last week or two. We did have a little scare with her the day before Christmas Eve. She had a fever most of the day and she could not get comfortable. They ran a bunch of tests, bloodwork and cultures. Everything came back normal, but her xray did show that she obtained a little more fluid in her lungs. The doctors started her back on lasix to help with the fluid in the lungs and they started her on some antibiotics because of her fever. They are giving her a very mild sedative to help her relax and rest because she has become more aware of her breathing tube and she wants it out! Skylar has managed to get her tube out a few times and reintubating is a lot of stress on her. Fortunatly, the last day or so she has been more relaxed and she is catching up on some most needed zzzzs! Skylar is so adorable, I have to admit her weight gain has made her look more and more like a baby with the rounded head and a tiny bit of fat around the arms and belly! Oh she is sooo cute! Ryan and I continue to pray for our little one that she will soon be strong enough to come off the ventalater and be home in Feb! Skylar has amazed us all, she truly is our little fighter and she continues to fight for her life everyday in the NICU..... Heavenly Father has given us a miracle and we couldn't be more blessed to have her here with us.

2 pounds 7 ounces!

Skylar has finally made it to 2 pounds!!!

Skylar weighed 2 lbs 3 ounces last night, what a triumph! The more she gains and grows the better it will be for her lungs. Unfortunatly she is struggling with her lungs, the right side is not expanded very much and there is a lot of scar tissue from the ventalater. The doctors watch her closely and they just make adjustments as needed to help support her lungs and help her breathe. Ryan and I hope that she will graduate off of the ventalater, but it may take some more time. Her lungs are her biggest struggle and sadly they are still so immature. Luckily, she is still fighting away and continues to have a little attitude, that I love. She is our fiesty girl and we are so proud of her. She continues to keep the nurses busy with poopy diapers, that must be changed right away, or she will have a lot to say about it! A few times a week we take turns holding her at night which is the most rewarding thing we do with her. Ryan and I look forward to spending Christmas with her next week and we continue to pray that we will be able to bring her home soon!

Skylars Nursing staff

To Skylar's wonderful nursing staff...Thank you! You truly hold a special place in our hearts for being so good with our little girl. It really makes us feel comfortable when we know you're there with her when we can't be.

(To be continued...we don't have photos of all of her nurses yet :)

More Kangaroo Care photos/ Daddy's turn!

Skylar is 30 weeks today and Friday 4 weeks old!

The last few days Skylar has really been doing well. The doctors took her iv fluids away, (her milk shake and gatorade) and is dependent 100 percent on my milk. Her feedings are up to 16 mls every 3 hours and she has become quit the little pooper!! She is still very small and the doctors are hoping she can gain some more weight and maintain it. She goes up and down, but is staying between the 1lb 13 or 14 ounce range, just shy of 2 pounds!! Skylar has also discovered that laying on her belly is very comfortable, she loves it! She looks so cute too! Last night Ryan was able to hold his little girl for the first time and it was an awesome experience. She did so well and seems to be a daddy's girl!! She loves him. He was able to hold her for about 2 hours and he loved every minute of it! Holding our little girl has been amazing, it is truly an instant bond for all 3 of us. To feel her move on us and to smell her hair is the best. We definetly look forward to holding her and hope to do it almost every night. Skylar is such an amazing little person, she is so strong and we look forward to celebrating her one month birthday with her this Friday!

Day 23

Tonight was unbelievable...so surreal to finally be able to hold our little girl Skylar! Ill let Jourdan explain in another post...but as a brand new Dad, I felt GREAT  just watching the nurses lay Skylar carefully on Jourdan. It was the best feeling in the world having her out of her isolette, kissing her and watching her sleep on her Mommy. I just stared in amazement the entire time. You can definitely see the special bond between mom and daughter. Wow! We posted some pictures of Mom and Skylar tonight for everyone to enjoy. Some are blurry and dark but it was important to keep the lights low and the flash off during her first kangaroo care.

Happy 3 week Birthday, Skylar!!!!

Our little baby girl is 3 weeks old today and we are so excited! She has beaten so many odds already and she continues to do well. The last few days have been pretty good, there hasn't been too many big set backs, so we are very happy. Her stats are staying within norm for her premie body and she is tolerating the new ventalater very well. She just started taking Albuterol which will open up her airways. At first she was irritated by it and moving around all over the place, unable to just sleep, but she is getting used to it and finding some rest. When her diaper is dirty or her breathing tube needs to be suctioned she tells her nurses by dropping her oxygen or raising her heart rate. It makes me nervous when she does this, but it is her way of letting the nurses know she is uncomfortable. I love that she demands a clean diaper at all times.....who wouldn't??? Everytime we are with her we learn a little more about her personality. Skylar continues to have a fiesty attitude, which we love, and she is so adorable to look at. She doesn't like too much noise or light. The darker and quieter it is the better she is. She doesn't like to be messed with too much, but she will let us hold her toes or hands. Ryan and I both just love letting her grip our finger, it is always very hard to leave her when she has a good grip. Spending time with her is the best time of the day for Ryan and I. The NICU has just become another area in our home, so to speak. Thankfully we are able to go and be with her all day all night if we want. The staff is great and we love knowing someone is there when we aren't.
We look forward to the days to come and we pray she will continue to grow and develop normally. Her lungs are her biggest battle, but she is so strong and we know our baby girl is going to hang in there. It is hard watching her start out life this way, but we are just so happy that she has made it and we look forward to the day when we can take her home!

December 1st 2009

It's a new month for our precious little girl and just 3 days away from her 3 week birthday. She is our precious little angel but we are often told by the Nicu staff that she is fiesty and stubborn. Having an attitude is what gives her the will to live and all the love she has around her, of course! Tomorrow will be a big day for her because the doctors are removing her chest tube. Ryan and I are keeping our fingers crossed, being that this is the second time they removed the tube and the first time it had to go right back in because the hole re opened in just an hour. On a less scary note, she is growing fast and is just short of 2 pounds. She started sucking her thumb a little today and it was adorable!!!. Oh and she has had some big poos. Only mom and dad could be so proud of such big poos. Her feedings are every 3 hours at 6 mls. So tomorrow is another day and we look forward to watching Skylar grow. She is truly our little miracle and we couldn't be happier. 

Day 16

Skylar had another good day! Her stats were in good shape and she seemed very comfortable. I sat with her for while this morning and just held her tiny hand. I didn't want to let go! It seemed as though she gripped tighter if I pulled away.

It is hard not to be able to hold our little girl...but if a hand is all I get for a while...Ill take it! I just sit there and think about how cool it is to finally be a Dad....a Dad to this little girl that's holding my hand! Its a very surreal feeling, realizing what a precious little person we have created.

Jourdan and I have been really grateful for all of the love and support of our family and friends. Skylar has definitely been blessed with a loving family who cares so much about her already. We couldn't ask for more. I'm going to try and post pictures of Skylar with her grandparents as I get them. (Just need Grandma Carice in there:) She has 6, and we are so thankful for each of them and the strength they provide.

Day 15

Friday was a great day for lil' Skylar...she basically just slept all day while her stats stayed pretty consistent. We are so thankful for days like that...it keeps us hopeful. So we are happy to report...it was an uneventful day.

but....Today is her 15th day...Saturday and she has been having trouble keeping her Oxygen saturation at a level her doctors are happy with. They try and keep her at 82 to 88% saturation but she has has periodic dips where they are having to bump up the ventilator settings. Chest x-ray was done this afternoon and apparently her lungs are not expanding as much as they'd like so they bumped up her pressure to hopefully expand her tiny lungs. She is also getting more blood today through two, 2 hr sessions to bring up her blood count. The constant blood draws she gets, bring down her blood count, but they are so necessary. It's just a part of the process. This blood transfusion though,  should hopefully help her carry that oxygen so we will see how she does. If she does not do any better there is a possibility of her going back to the High-Fi ventilator. We were told that going back and forth on ventilators can happen with preemies.
Our little girl is fighting today...shes trying her hardest to make it through these tough days. I am amazed at her though...she has endured more than I ever have...and she is only 2 weeks old. We are so proud of our little baby girl!

Day 13 (Skylar's 1st Thanksgiving)

Turkey Day update: Skylar is doing well. We were able to spend some time with her twice today already! She has been moving around a little bit more, which is nice to see that she has more energy. Last week she was just plain worn out from all the work shes had to do. She still has her chest tube in....well actually it was removed for about 3 or 4 hours yesterday because the doctors thought she was healed. Unfortunately though, her little lungs were still accumulating air so they had to reinsert the chest tube. (Ouch!) Her nurses have all been great about keeping a close eye on her and making sure she is not in a lot of pain, so that makes us feel a lot better even though they had to put it back in. Maybe next week she will get another go without the chest tube.

She looked so comfy in her bed today. The nurse had her wrapped up nice and cozy today to give her something to push against. Preemies like a little resistance just as if they were still in moms belly. We are definitely learning a lot about what she likes and doesn't like these days....she seems to have our stubborn personalities which I am certain is mostly from Jourdan :)

More updates to come... Happy Thanksgiving Skylar! We love you and we will see you again later tonight...we just can't get enough of you!

Day 11

Well, day 11 has almost past. Jourdan spent most of the day with her which I am sure Skylar enjoyed. She can tell when her Mommy's there. She was a bit fussy last night and this morning though, but after they graduated her into the traditional ventilator she seemed to do a lot better. She looked comfortable and her stats and blood gasses improved throughout the afternoon and evening. It was Awesome!! We are so proud of our little girl...she is so strong! With all of the things she has hooked up to her little body and the little noises and alarms that go off throughout the day, somehow she finds a way to sleep soundly. It's beautiful!

We are however stopping her feedings for the moment. She has been getting 1 ml of breast milk every 3 hours I believe, but she has had a few complications digesting her food. Her little digestive system is still undeveloped but she'll get there. It's just going to take some time.

G'nite lil Skylar...we love you! We will be calling your nurse in about 2.5 hrs to check on you! :)

Day 10

Skylar has truly amazed us these past few days. She has been through so much and continues to be strong. Her tiny lungs and delicate body have really been a struggle these past few days. She recently had to have a chest tube placed on her right side to allow her lungs to expand because of a "leak". This is typical for preemies but still makes Mom and Dad worry for her. She has been doing well though and there is a possibility she might get her chest tube removed tomorrow. Ahhh...then hopefully back to a steady progression! 2 steps forward...one step back. We saw her tonight...it was nice to see that her head IV was no longer needed and was removed... (one less thing stuck to her). She is being closely monitored for discomfort and pain. She gets a little agitated when being moved which tells us that she really needs her rest. The nurses have taught us how to calm her down by "containing" her. Basically we just place our hands gently over her hands and feet. It allows her to feel like shes still in the womb. It's such an awesome feeling to be able to touch her, hold her hands or feet and feel her warmth. She knows when we are there. The nurses say that preemies do much better when the parents are there. Right now...we try and visit her morning and night. Her progress has been good these past couple of days. Jourdan and I pray for her constantly and thank our Heavenly Father for each day with her. She is such a blessing.

This is her 2nd day photo. She is wearing the sunglasses to protect her eyes from light.

Skylar Jean is now in her 2nd week of life. She is wonderfully strong but we have realized that she has a lot to accomplish. I think this week for us has opened our eyes to what modern medicine can do. She has an awesome medical team at UMC. We are amazed every passing day with the amount of care and attention our little girl gets and she now has 4 primary nurses. Each one is so caring and compassionate to her of which we are very thankful.

Recap of last week....

Skylar Jean was born into this world on Friday November 13, 2009 at 4:13 am at just 26 weeks gestation. She weighed 1 lb 6oz and would fit right into the palm of my hand. It was amazing to see her for the first time. We will never forget her little eyes as she briefly opened them to say hi to her Mom and Dad. It was a short moment...but amazing! Her first day was very busy for her....getting her settled in her isolette bed...wires...monitors and hooking her up to a high-fi ventilator to breathe. She was so strong and her first few hours of life amazed the doctors at how well she was adapting to her new home.