March 7, 2007

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book! How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can't even count how many times a day your thoughts turn towards me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!" Psalms 139: 13-18 Living Bible

My Aunt Karen left this verse on the comments section of the blog and I just love it. Kyle truly is a precious gift knit together by God! Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Kyle has a little fluid in his lungs. The doctors became suspicious of this last night and ordered an XRAY for this morning which confirmed their suspicions. They began him on a course of medicine he will take for three days, something that is very similar to a diuretic. Another XRAY was done this evening and the fluid is already beginning to dissipate. Kyle is doing great on his feedings, and the amount of milk he receives was increased to 3 cc's (a little over 1/2 a teaspoon) every three hours. As long as he continues to digest it properly, they will increase his feedings by 1 cc every 12 hours. Hopefully this will assist some in his gaining weight...his weight this evening was 1 lb. 3 oz.

I was allowed to cuddle with Kyle via Kangaroo Care for 3 1/2 hours this afternoon. I also was able to change his diaper twice, read him a book (The Pokey Little Puppy) and do two of his feedings. What a good day!

Several people have asked us the following questions. First, is Kyle able to open his eyes, since all of the pictures I have posted show him with his eyes closed. The answer is yes. When he was born, his left eye was still fused shut, however, it opened about a week ago. The average full-term baby sleeps 22 out of 24 hours a day, while Kyle, being almost 4 months early, sleeps considerably more that. This is something that is encouraged in the NICU...they would rather the babies rest to aid in their growth. Anyways, he is able to open his eyes, it is just that he is almost always sleeping. The other question I have been asked is whether we can hear him cry. When he is on the ventilator, he is not able to make any sound due to the tube that is down his throat. There have been two days when he was off the ventilator, and we were able to hear him cry then. When he cried, it was a very soft, tiny sound, almost more of a whimper. His lungs are about the size of a lima bean...not big enough to make big sounds yet. If you ever have questions, or are curious about something, feel free to leave your questions on the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family.

Much Love,

Jennifer, Joe, Madison and Kyle