Saturday, September 27, 2008

I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.
Micah 7:7


God has definitely heard our prayers! Morgan Kate is continuing to grow and weighed in tonight at two pounds and eleven ounces. Travis and I were both thrilled! She is growing and changing each and every day. It is absolutely amazing to watch. We are so thankful for this precious baby girl!

She is continuing to tolerate her feedings. Morgan Kate is now being fed for thirty minutes every three hours. Our nurse told us that Morgan Kate would eat, then sleep really good, and that she would start to get cranky right before the next feeding. Wow! She was so right. Morgan Kate slept so peacefully right after her feeding. However, shortly before the next feeding she got really fussy and just plain irritated - as soon as the next feed started she was content once again. 

Please pray that Morgan Kate will continue to grow, continue to tolerate her feedings so that one day very soon Travis and/or I will be able to bottle feed her, and continue to have such great days! 

Many people have asked so many great questions about Morgan Kate and the NICU and I wanted to try and answer them. If you have a question please leave it in your comment and I will try my best to answer it or find an answer to it. :)

Frequently Asked Questions and Heather's Best Attempt to Answer:

1. When do the nurses weigh Morgan Kate?
Morgan Kate is weighed each night. Once the night nurse arrives she gets Morgan Kate ready for bed and then they weigh her. They do not have to take her out of the incubator to weigh her because the scale is located within her bed. I told you...this bed does everything! 

2. When is Morgan Kate expected to come home?
We were told from the beginning to expect her original due date which was December 3rd. There are several things she has to be able to do before she can go home. She must be feeding exclusively from the bottle or breast, she must be off of all IV fluids and she must be able to maintain her body temperature in a free standing crib. She also needs to be off of the oxygen and not having any heart rate drops. Basically this means she could leave on her due date, it could be a little before or it could even be a little later. It's all in God's hands and we pray that it's sooner rather than later. :)

3. What does "kangaroo" mean?
Kangaroo care (KC) is a way of holding a preterm or full term infant so that there is skin-to-skin contact between the infant and the person holding it. The baby, wearing only a diaper, is held against the parent's bare chest. The label kangaroo care was chose to describe this strategy because the method is similar to how baby kangaroo is carried by its mother.


*Check out some of the new pics to the right - they are located in the same slideshow with Travis and Morgan Kate "rooing".

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! What another great day! I love to see ya'll with smiling faces holding that precious little baby. Thanks for sharing the great pics.
Sincerely,
Wendy H.

Anonymous said...

Praise the LORD! Wow! Another ounce! I will pray for Morgan Kate to continue to gain as quickly as these last few ounces. You and Travis look so happy. It's great to be able to see you with her. I think about you all the time. I hope to visit this week if it's okay. Maybe Tuesday or Wednesday around lunchtime. Love you! Hollie

Anonymous said...

Happy 5 week birthday Morgan Kate! I am thrilled to hear that she gained another ounce :) Love the pictures of you and Travis "rooing" with her. You can tell you all (including her) are enjoying it. What a beautiful family! Love y'all.

Jessa

Anonymous said...

Hey Heather! Praise God for continued progress. You look beautiful! Motherhood is agreeing with you. Love, Aunt Terry

Anonymous said...

Heather, I've been reading your blogs since Morgan Kate was born and am soooo happy that she's is doing so well! What a wonderful birthday it will be for me to know that you get to take your beautiful little girl home with you! You are such an inspiration to me now that I'm 6 weeks pregnant. The strength that you have I can only hope for! You, Travis and Morgan Kate will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers!
Love, Kristen Chewning Litchfield

Anonymous said...

I AM SO HAPPY THAT MORGAN CATE DID NOT HAVE ANY BIG TEST BUT INSTEAD A PEACEFUL DAY. I TRUST THAT MAYBE HER MOM DID AS WELL. YOUR FAMILY IS IN MY PRAYERS DAILY AND I WILL CONTINUE TO LIFT YOU UP AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER AT FIRST BAPTIST!!! Bobbie varn

Anonymous said...

Hey Mrs.Callahan,
It's Taylor Boling, I really miss you,and I think that Morgan Kate is soooo CUTE!!!

Have you thought about her and my aunt?

Love ya,
Taylor