Morgan Kate

100 Days in the NICU

Today, December 2nd, marks the 100th day Morgan Kate has been in the NICU. Wow! I never expected that we would still be here. In the beginning I imagined that by this point we would be at home starting to get settled in. People often say that things get better with time, but I have not found that to be the case. Yes, we sort of know her routines. Yes, we definitely get to do more with her than in the first few days. Yes, we have gotten to know her nurses, doctors and RT's and we think the world of them. Yes, she has come such a long, long way. However, it hasn't gotten any easier seeing her in that crib each day and knowing there is nothing we can do to make this any easier or faster for her. It hasn't gotten any easier seeing how she struggles with breathing and taking bottles. It hasn't gotten any easier seeing her with all the tubes and cords and such. And it definitely hasn't gotten any easier leaving her each night. 

Morgan Kate has made tremendous progress and I do know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. God has truly been watching over her and he has kept her in the palm of his hand this entire time. We have been so fortunate! I do know that she will come home and hopefully it will be soon. I know that it will all happen in her time. At one point we were thinking that her homecoming might happen early next week or even this week. However, the doctors feel that it is in Morgan Kate's best interest to keep her a little longer. They would like to see her taking more bottles and she is scheduled to have another eye exam. Of course we would all love for her to be off of the oxygen, but only God and Morgan Kate knows when that will happen. Her homecoming doesn't depend on her weight or her due date. It all depends on her progression and what she still does or doesn't require. In the meantime they have started our "going home" training. There are numerous things we must master before taking this little one home. In order to take her home on tube feedings (technical term is OG feedings, OG stands for oro-gastric) we have to learn how to insert and remove the OG tube. So today for the very first time I had to insert the tube. Usually this process makes her gag and cough a little, but she did a super job and I think I did okay too. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Ms. B trains all the parents on different things before they take their babies home. She was so patient and thorough and really made me feel good about things. She is coming back tomorrow so that we can do it all over. We will continue with this one skill until I feel completely comfortable. Once I get comfortable with this we will move on to the oxygen, medications, etc. Don't worry - Travis is getting this training too!

Morgan Kate had a really good day today - which as you all know means that Mommy and Daddy had a good day too. I was with her earlier today and she was awake and alert. Tonight when Travis and I went back we were able to bathe her, get her dressed for bed, weigh her, and feed her a bottle. She weighed in at six pounds and thirteen ounces. Can you believe that seven pounds is right around the corner? Travis gave her the 9pm bottle and she did fabulous. He did pretty awesome too! He is so patient and easygoing. She took almost all of the bottle in about twenty-five minutes and burped really good too. When she finished the bottle Travis passed her on to me and I rocked her to sleep. Perfect night!

Please continue to pray for Morgan Kate's growth, that her lungs will continue to heal and mature, and that she will start taking more bottles.