Morgan Kate

Each day I am amazed by my little angel's strength and determination. She proves every single day that she is indeed a fighter. She has definitely stolen my heart and everyday I fall more and more in love with her. I just stand at her incubator and watch every little thing she does. 

Morgan Kate had another good day! I spoke with the neonatologist this morning and she said that Morgan Kate looks and sounds really good. They have put another tube down her throat. Morgan Kate was not happy about this at all and let them know vocally. The tube is to help with any oxygen that might be getting into her stomach. Sometimes the oxygen can bypass the lungs and cause gas and bloating in the stomach. This tube is to help pull that oxygen out. Her oxygen stats continue to go up and down - one minute the alarm is going off because it's too high, the next minute it's too low. One big problem is that Morgan Kate loves to sleep with her mouth wide open (she may have inherited this from me), therefore, the oxygen coming in through her nose is escaping through her mouth. She has a respiratory therapist (RT) that comes in several times a day to check the oxygen and to suction her mouth and nose. Morgan Kate hates the suctioning. She throws her little hands in the air and even tries to hide her face. The first time I saw her do this I could hardly believe it. The RT said that she is quite a little pistol. Hmmm...imagine that! Her feedings have been increased to 4 cc and she is still tolerating them very well. Tomorrow they will increase to 4.3 and then 4.6 by the end of the day. She is still at 1lb and 13oz so I am hoping that she will start to gain some weight with the increased feedings. The nurses gave her a sponge bath tonight and I got to help. I am thrilled to get to help with anything!! I got to hold her while they were weighing her and changing her sheets. I also got to change several diapers and it was so much fun. It's so difficult not being able to do more for her, so I get really excited about doing anything.

Of course the doctors have told us that we should intend or plan on Morgan Kate being in the NICU until her original due date - December 3rd. However, there are three qualifications a baby must meet before they are released and sometimes they meet those before their due dates. The baby must be:

1. Completely off of all IV fluids.

2. Be able to come out of the incubator and stay in a crib while maintaining their body temperature.

3. Be able to breast feed or bottle feed.

Typically when these three things are in place the baby weighs at least 4lbs. One of my nurses from the high-risk floor, Ms. Francena, assures me that we will be home before Thanksgiving. I sure hope she is right!

I met two moms in the NICU today. They shared their stories with me and I was able to share mine. There babies are larger than Morgan Kate, but have difficulties with eating or with breathing. It was really nice to talk with them and learn about their children. As you are praying for Morgan Kate, please keep the other moms in your prayers as well. The new NICU has 17 rooms and at this point I believe 15 rooms are filled. There are quite a lot of babies!

Each day is a little easier than the day before. However, it is still very painful to see her lying in that incubator and not be able to do more for her. It's hard for me to grasp that my body wouldn't cooperate. I have promised her that even though my body failed her, I will not. I will do everything in my power to make sure she is okay and I have promised her that I will take the very best care of her. Each night I say my prayers with her and we thank God for another day! I can't believe that in just three days she will be two weeks old...

Thank you all for your continued support, words of encouragement and prayers! They mean so much to Travis, myself and Morgan Kate. Also, we love reading your comments. I can't wait to check the blog each night to see any comments that might be there. It really warms my heart and puts a smile on my face. Keep em' coming! I love you all...