I think I'm running out of titles....

First, let me offer my disclaimer that I am tired and I hope this makes sense. If not, leave me a comment with any questions that may be needed for clarification.... :-) Well, it's been a few days since I posted and what a few days it has been! Mia is sick. I talked with Mia's nurse Saturday at 1pm and she said she thought that Mia was coming down with something because she just wasn't right. (Mia has the same group of nurses pretty much all the time so they get to know her very well!) They did a blood culture because at first they thought she was getting a bacterial infection. So, they started her on 3 different types of antibiotics and stopped her feedings (which she had not been tolerating very well since Friday.). We checked back in with them at 6pm and then again before we went to bed that night and she was pretty stable. But, the doctor called at 2:30am Sunday morning to tell us that Mia had vomited blood and that she had blood in her OG tube (the tube that goes down to her stomach). They suctioned her out, took an x-ray and decided to intubate her (so she now has a breathing tube in her mouth and the ventialtor is breathing for her). They said she was pretty stable at that point and would call if anything else happened. Scott and I debated what to do and decided to let Annie (and my mom) sleep and call in a few hours. We called at 7am and the doctor told us that after looking at her x-ray and her labs and all that she has Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). It means she has an infection in her intestines that can cause the intestinal tissue to die. He also said that she had had some lab work done at 2am and had still not stopped bleeding from the heel stick. They had given her plasma (the clotting agent in blood) at 4am and were about to give her another round of plasma because she still was oozing from her heel stick. He told us that he was extremely concerned about Mia and that Scott and I needed to come down. We all got ready, took Annie to my mom's and Scott and I headed down. Needless to say, it was a very stressful drive.... They decided to start Mia on pain medication, put in a larger OG tube (to suction any fluid and allow air to escape), and watch her (her clotting factors were finally normal, also). She did well (considering) but didn't quite settle down and her heartrate would not come down below the 180's. She seemed to be uncomfortable and the doctor said they would increase her pain medication as needed. Monday morning she was OK, but her platelets were low so she had another blood transfusion. Unfortunately, her PDA (the hole in her heart) reopened due to the stress of her being so sick (the doctors had mentioned this possibility to us last week). They are not overly concerned at this point because they cannot treat it with medication or surgery right now. They will revisit treatment after Mia is over her NEC. She did not tolerate her cares (when they change her diaper, take her temp, etc...) AT ALL. She would have severe spells and would need to have her oxygen raised to get her back on track. But, she didn't get any worse....Today, she continues to stabilize and her heart rate is finally back into the 150's-160's, where it should be. This morning, she still was not tolerating her cares, or anything else they tried to do, but tonight, she is much better. The nurse said she was able to do her cares this evening without any extra oxygen. So, she's OK....the doctor's said that as long as she continues on this road, and eventually starts to improve, she should be fine. Our prayer is that her infection does not cause a perforation in her intestines. This would require surgery to repair the perforation and clean the digestive material that would spill into her abdomen. However, the surgeon and Mia's doctors have said that, at this point, they would not feel comfortable taking Mia to surgery because she is still so unstabile--she would probably not survive the surgery. But, everyday that passes is one day closer to her getting better without any perforation. The hope is that the antibiotics were started soon enough to kill any infection before it had a chance to take hold. Please continue to pray for Mia. She is so strong and I know that God made her that way because He knew what she would have to do. He's holding her in His hands and I thank Him for that. And I continue to thank Him for giving us everyone who has continued to pray and support us.....

All's Well...

Mia was just too hot in her bed. The nurse turned the humidity in her "box" (her isolette) down to 60% and her temperature went down within an hour or so. And she did poop, but she had to have "help" again.... She is still having some problems digesting her feedings and they have stretched out the time in between to 3 hours, hoping that with a little extra time she can continue to increase the amount of feedings soon. She did lose a little weight last night, but that's expected to be up, down, up down. She is still on an upward trend and that is the important thing. I was able to kangaroo yesterday for an hour and a half and then Scott was able to kangaroo last night for an hour and a half also. Mia did very well and only got a little cold with Scott. The nurse brought over a heat lamp (just like the kind the fries sit under at McDonald's!). Well, for those of you who know my husband, it wasn't long before he heated up and that made Mia's temperature jump right back up! But, I don't think Scott cared that he was being cooked...it was worth it!

Update Time...

Sorry, it's been a couple of days since I last updated the blog on Miss Mia. Hopefully, I can remember everything. She had her eye exam on Wednesday afternoon and that showed no yeast on her retinas! She also had her spinal tap which showed good levels of glucose and protein, no red blood cells (which can be a sign of bleeding in her brain) but it did show white blood cells, which means her infection is in her spinal fluid and brain. Her docotrs decided to increase her dose of the anti-fungal medication, which she has been tolerating very well. And the big news is that the medication used to close the hole in her heart worked! No more hole! Thank you to all who have been praying and to God for answering our prayers! Her kidney's did very well; her output was less, but not so much that her doctor's were overly concerned. Her tummy is a little smaller (at least it's not any bigger) and has remained very soft. But, well, she needs to poop. Sorry, but just like with any baby, ALL bodily functions are important :-) They've also lowered her rate and pressure on her ventilator some more and she is at 21% oxygen (room air). She hasn't had any spells and is doing very well from that standpoint. Her blood culture from Sunday did show a positive result from the yeast yesterday. But, it took 4 days to grow out the yeast this time and the initial blood culture grew out in less than 24 hours. So, the medication is working to at least lessen the yeast in her system. They have removed her central IV line and replaced it with a peripheral line in her foot (which they had to do twice because feisty Mia pulled out the first one! She has been feeling better!) to try to cutdown the colonization of the yeast. An infectious disease doctor is consulting on Mia today. It is apparently very rare for a little one like Mia to contract a fungal infection and the neonatologists want him to come in and discuss the course of her treatment, long term affects of a fungal infection and the medication and that sort of thing. I will have to take notes, because I have been forgetting things! I just called the hospital a few minutes ago to see how her night went, and she had a little bit of a rough time. She didn't digest two whole feedings and a half of another one. She is also now running a temperature (100.8), but her tummy is still soft and not any bigger. The nurse said they were going to look at whether she is getting too hot in her isolette or if she just REALLY needs to poop, or.... I am going to head down early to get there for rounds so I can badger the doctors for info.... I'll let everyone know as soon as I can. Thank you AGAIN for all the love and support. We serve an awesome God who is faithful and has truly blessed us abundantly with friends and family who pray for us constantly. The outpouring of love and support has been so overwhelming and uplifting. We just couldn't say thank you enough! And I know I don't even have to ask, but please continue to pray for Mia and Annie and Scott and I.

Halloween in Wisconsin!

And it was cold again! You'll notice the turtleneck, sensible cold-weather shoes and you can barely see the sweats under Annie's very pretty Sleeping Beauty costume. She also had to wear her winter coat, but I think she's used to that! before we left to go trick-or-treating, Annemarie did get to pass out candy to our "customers", as she called them. I explained that they were trick-or-treaters, just like her, but she preferred to call them her customers and pretend that they were coming to her store. So, I dropped it and let her do her thing..... We went trick-or-treating with Caitlyn and Camryn (and Sonny and Kari) again this year. We had a very good time, even though it was about 33 degrees when we headed out. The girls all got PLENTY of candy, which we dipped into when we made our last stop at Uncle Scott and Aunt Liz's! 

More Pictures of Annie's Baptism

These are a couple of pictures Sis sent me of Annie on the day she was baptized. The first one is Annemarie at our church, just looking cute and sweet. This is Annemarie with our Pastor, Sonny Hyde. Annemarie was so excited this day and still talks about how happy she is now that she's baptized! Now, I don't have any pictures of Mia because she had a bad day yesterday. She had her kidney ultrasound (there is a little bit of yeast in her kidney's but they are just watching this for now), an x-ray of her chest and abdomen, ALOT of bloodwork and another echocardiogram. The x-ray was needed after her abdomen became very bloated yesterday morning. The bloating was air in her intestines, caused by her ventilator. The air that is pushed through her nasal prongs can go down into her lungs or into her stomach. The pressure and rate of her ventilator have been lowered now to help with this problem and she is still breathing very well. The pressure in her intestines will hopefully be cleared up in a few days. On the x-ray, though, the doctor noticed that her heart is enlarged. This is caused by the hole in her heart (her heart has to work harder than normal and since it's a muscle, it grows larger when it's overworked). The cardiologist looked at her echocardiogram and said the same thing. So, they decided to start the medication to (hopefully) close the hole. They had previously wanted to wait to be sure the yeast had cleared her blood, but Dr. Shah (Mia's neonatologist) didn't want to wait any longer. So, that was started last night and Mia seems to be tolerating it well. The medication can affect her kidney output (and it has, but not too much right now) so they are watching that, too. She will have another echocariogram later this week to see if ther has been any improvement. If not, she can (possibly) have another course of medication. Mia's bloodwork also showed that her platelets and hemoglobin were too low and she had 2 blood transfusions yesterday. Her color and vigor are SOOO much better today. She didn't have the spinal tap or eye exam because she was too sick and tired :-) after her busy day. So, those are slated for this afternoon. Thank you so much, again to everyone for your prayers and support. Your prayers and the grace of God are what gets us through and you will just have to read me saying thank you for a long time to come!

Miss Mia

I wanted to blog this picture because this is what Mia looks like pretty much all the time. She LOVES her tummy and is the most content when she is in this position. Today's update is that Mia is pretty stable. She is receiving more support from the ventilator (it breathes a certain amount of breaths per minute for her and gives her supplemental oxygen and pressure to help keep her lungs inflated). So her "spells" (of not breathing and dropping her heart rate) have gotten fewer and farther between. They did a blood culture today to see if the yeast has cleared her blood. Tomorrow is a big day, though. Please pray for Mia and her doctors because tomorrow the doctors will be doing many tests to check the amount of yeast in certain parts of Mia's little bod: she'll have ultrasounds of her heart and kidneys, a spinal tap to check for yeast in her brain and spinal fluid and a test for yeast in her eyes. I won't get into all the specifics of this last test, but I will not be in the nursery when they do it! Actually, I probably will leave for the spinal tap, too, just because it's a sterile procedure and they don't need to worry about Mia's crying mother!! It may be a day or two before we get any results, but I will keep everyone updated.... And I'll take some more pictures now that Mia is actually in "clothes"....I'll explain that when I post the pictures!! And of course, with Halloween coming up, there will be plenty of pictures of Annie as Sleeping Beauty.... :-) 

The results are in......

And Mia has yeast in her blood. The doctor was actually quite surprised that it was yeast and not bacteria. But, really, considering the environment of her isolette (98-99 degrees and around 70% humidity), it isn't too surprising. She has had many IV lines for the yeast to enter her blood stream, too. So, they are starting her on an antifungal medicine to clear things up. The doctors are also looking at treating the hole in her heart with medication once the yeast is cleared up. There is a certain window in which the medication is effective and we are still within that window. But the medication can affect her kidney functions, so the doctors have to weigh everything. They are hoping that, with the yeast clearing up, the hole in her heart will not be putting so much stress on her system and the it can close on its own. Mia is now getting more support from her ventilator--it is giving her 20 breathes per minute and she is also receiving between 26 and 31% of supplemental oxygen. She has had a few spells, but they are hoping that with the added vent support, she can rest enough to grow stronger. Thank you, again, for all the prayers and support.

An Update

Mia has been having problems digesting her feedings. She was not digesting her food when it came time to do her next feeding. The doctors have decided to stop her feedings for now to give her tummy a rest. They have also decided to start antibiotics-something they do anytime a preemie does something abnormal. They have sent out a blood and urine culture but the results will not be back until later today, so they like to act on "better safe than sorry". She is also on some supplemental oxygen this morning as she was having quite a few "spells" (when she stops breathing and doesn't start breathing again on her own.). So she is at 26% oxygen (21% is where she has been, which is the same amount of oxygen we breathe.) Her echocardiogram results showed no change in the size of the hole in her heart, and they will recheck it in a week or two. Her head ultrasound showed a "shadow" on one view but not on any other view, so they think it is just an anomaly and will recheck that in a week or two, also. She is not showoing any physiacl signs of a brain bleed, so they are not worried about it.... Please continue to pray for Mia and Scott, Annemarie and I. We have been so blessed with 11 days of nothing much happening with Mia. The doctor's have told us the entire time to expect setbacks and that that is all today's news is--expected setbacks for a little one. We know God is in control and we just ask for the grace to continue to leave everything to Him.

Another Day.....

This is Mia this morning. The nurses changed her isolette so they bundled her up in many, many blankets and I was able to hold her for awhile. Mia is doing well. She has been having a bit of a problem tolerating her feedings. She is up to 4mL of breast milk every 2 hours but has not been digesting the previous feeding when it is time to feed again. It's nothing major, just something that they are watching to see how she will progress. She had an ultrasound of her head to check for any bleeding in her brain. She also had another echocardiogram of her heart to check the size of the hole. I think the doctor's are wondering if the direction and volume of bloodflow in her heart is affecting her digestion. If the blood being pumped out of her heart is not being diverted to her intestines, she will have problems digesting her food. We haven't heard anything this evening, but I'll post the results when we get them. Her blood pressure is also up this evening, but it may not be anything to worry about, she may just be getting more and more agitated with the nurses and doctors messing with her. Her lungs are still great, she's still on her nasal prongs with no supplemental oxygen. And she pooped! Sorry, if that's gross, but we'd been waiting and now she's pooping up a storm! We're very happy about that, believe it or not!! She's also just about back to her birth weight. She weighed 790 grams (1lb., 12 oz.) and now weighs 785 grams. She had lost 4 ozs. and is now on her way back up. So, nothing too major to report. Just waiting on the doctor's reports and for her to grow and grow..... 

What a Wonderful Day!

For those of you who may not know, Annemarie accepted Christ as her Savior in January of this year. She had talked about being baptized for awhile, but Scott and I didn't want to push her. We wanted her to understand the importance of following her Lord in scriptual baptism. So, last month she came to me and said that she wanted to be baptized. We talked with her and then we had her talk with Sonny, our pastor. She was supposed to be baptized on the same day that Mia was born, so Scott, Annemarie and I decided to wait one more week. She was a little sad that she had to wait, but she wanted Scott and I to both be there. Then, we had two women come forward for baptism, also and so we baptized 3 on Sunday. It was an amazing day!

Our First Family Picture

I know that my sister already blogged this, but I wanted to share our first family picture. Annemarie was wearing her "I'm a Big Sisiter" shirt and was very excited to see her sister out of her isolette. And then the excitement wore off and she went to the family room to hang out and watch TV for awhile. But she came back in to say good-bye. It was such an amazing feeling to finaly hold her. She did really well and Scott will be able to "kangaroo" her on Monday. I talked to the nurse at 4am (when I was up to do my, as Scott calls it, "cow thing") and Mia had a very restful night. Thank you again for all the prayers.

A Short Blog

(I started this post last night-Thursday-and was unable to actually post it. The infomation updates are for Friday, Oct. 20th) I just got done reading my sister's blog and I would like to say thank you to her for keeping everyone updated about Mia. Needless to say, my intention, every evening, is to sit and blog, but it has been difficult to find the time. The biggest news today is that I was able to hold Mia for the first time today. It was absolutely amazing! They call it "kangaroo care". They place Mia on my chest, skin to skin. Then we just sit and rock and I talk to her or hum. She has to have her temperature taken every 15 minutes to be sure that she isn't getting too cold. After about 45 minutes, she had to go back into her isolette, but it was sooooo nice! She is such a strong girl! My sister took pictures and as soon as I get those I will post them. Scott will be able to hold her on Monday. Then, next week we can increase the "Kangaroo Cares" to 3 and then 4 the week after that, etc... The rest of today's update is that, first, they increased Mia's feedings to 1 cc every 2 hours, and then later in the day to 2 cc every 2 hours. She's been tolerating the feedings very well. She is also on her tummy now and that seems to make a big difference. Since she first arrived in the NICU, she has kept her nurses very busy as she to pulls out her nasal prongs and pulls off her leads. She loves to pull at her wires and really freaked out her Aunt Cathy by pulling VERY HARD on her umbilicus lines (the IV lines in her belly button). They took out her umbilicus lines last night and put in a PICC Line (we found out that this stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) in her arm. This is better because it cuts down on her chances of infection by having one main line for draws and injections. But, with her on her tummy she has FINALLY been resting very well. She had another echocardiogram this morning and we were able to get the result this evening. Basically, the holein her heart hasn't changed and so they are going to wait and see. The medication they sometimes use can affect her kidney functioning and they don't want to do anything negative at this point because she is doing so well. Mia is on antibiotics until tomorrow night to be sure that she was not exposed to any infection when she was born. Her cultures came back negative, but she will continue to be on antibiotics As my brain is now fading on me, I will sign off for now and say THANK YOU! Scott, Annemarie, Mia and I have only come this far with the strength and peace that God has given us. And we have felt the love and prayers of all those who are holding us up in prayer. So, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Thank you

And thank you again. I can't see to come up with the words to say thank you enough to everyone for their love, support and prayers. Today is 25 weeks. So, just 9 more to go....the baby's doing great, strong heartbeat and VERY active. The doctor's are still very pleased with my progress, also. So, now it's just a matter of waiting. And keeping this little one right where it is! Thank you again.....

Here's The Scoop...

Well, I have no pictures for this post because who wants to see me in my fashionable hospital gown....anyway, I will be posting as much as possible, but if I don't then that just means that everything is the same which is what we want! I think everyone knows, but my water broke on Saturday, and I'm about 5 1/2 months (24 weeks) along. So, now I'm in Madison for a hopefully very long stay. They will keep me here until I deliver. If I don't go into labor on my own, they will induce at 34 weeks, 10 weeks from now. SO, please pray. And then pray some more. Right now, the baby looks great, I'm not having any contractions and they have me on 3 different antibiotics to keep any chance of infection down. The doctor's are most worried about infection of the uterus and labor starting. Also, a compressed cord and fetal distress for the baby. A really critical turning point is later this week when I hit the 25 week mark. There is a significant improvement in the statistics for infant survival after 25 weeks. But, we're just taking one day at a time. Now, I know that there has been some questions about how the baby can stay in so long with no amniotic fluid. Well, from what I can gather from the many doctor's we've seen, the baby is best in the uterus for as long as possible. There are certain conditions they are concerned with, one is called Potter's Syndrome. Without the fluid, a baby can become "squished" (doctor's exact words) because of the change in pressure with no fluid. Also, because the baby and cord are basically just lying in the uterus and not floating around, the baby can roll and compress the cord. So, they are monitoring the baby and I alot to keep track of everything. I do have internet access for the moment, so if anyone has any questions, let me know. The doctor's and staff here are WONDERFUL! So, I guess that's it for now. I know everyone is praying for us and our little one (and yes, even with more ultrasounds, still no goods on the gender!), and we appreciate it. If anyone can, please contact Scott-the dad, mom, caretaker, laundress, etc....-he's OK, but I worry....and drop a line to Annemarie. She knows I'm here but she isn't aware of the big picture, which is fine with us! Thank you again, and until I blog again.....

Promotion Day, Part 3

At the very end of the test, everyone had to sit and reflect upon their performance. Annemarie has seen the Lion King one too many times and loves to take any opportunity to "meditate". She, of course, got a little antsy, but did very well. The kids stood up, and with their eyes still closed, werwe presented with their new belts. When they opened their eyes and picked up their ne belts, they were to smell them. Yes, smell them. The instructor explained it to be similar to a new car smell and that it should motivate the kids to continue on their journey to their next belt....... OK........... Annie seemed to like smell it, so whatever! This is her instructor helping her put her new yellow belt on. Then everone had to bow out; bow to the instructors, your neighbor and yourself. WHEW! And finally, this is Annemarie with everyone that tested into a new belt. She hasn't asked to take a weapons class, yet, but we're just waiting...... We are very proud of her, obviously, and she has worked very hard. 

Promotion Day, Part 2

Ok, for some reason, I can only blog 3-4 pictures at a time, so this may take a few postings.... Next they had to demonstrate different combinations. Annemarie did really well, when she was paying attention to the instructors....poor honey, she's been cursed with my daydreamer gene... They had to do push-ups at the beginning af the test but these push-ups are being done because there were a few kids who weren't following along. Guess who one of them was? Go, ahead, guess...... The students had to introduce themselves to the audience. This is Annemarie with her group, waiting for her turn, and standing in Front Position...... This is Annemarie, always ready to pose, as she is supposed to be listening to her instructor's "pep talk". She really did pay attention, some of the time..... 

Promotion Day!

Annemarie had her first belt promotion in Karate today. She was a white belt and she is now a yellow belt. It was a very long test, about 2 hours, and they did jumping jacks and push ups, along with all their regular Karate "moves".

They started off by laying on the flor, as they visualized themselves doing theor very best (I know, a little metaphysical, but her instructor's are very big on a "whole-person" approach to Karate). This is one of my favorite pictures. They were doing some move where they had to punch and kick and then hit the floor while yelling their "Hi-ya". Well, I got her mid-"Hi-ya!" She looks determined and a little scary! This is another mid"Hi-ya". I think she was nervous because some of her form was off, but her instructors helped her with that. It was very obvious she's had some dance experience because at one point she was pirouetting! 

We Need Help!

Scott and I have been discussing baby names for months, now. And we have not had much luck. Names I love, he's not crazy about and vice versa. So, we would like to open up the discussion to all our friends and family. Please feel free to leave your suggestions in the comment section of our blog, or e-mail them to us. We're really open to just about anything. We'd like something unique, but not crazy "how do you say that" unique. Some suggestions so far: For Girls: Mia, Toby (yes, for a girl), Sidney, Charlotte (nickname-Charli), and Tess. For Boys: Tobias (nickname-Toby), Jude, Benjamin (nickname-Ben). I know there are more, but I seem to keep misplacing my lists! So, join in the "fun" and let us know your ideas! Thanks!

Good News!

Well, I just happened to hear from my midwife and she said that the report from the ultrasound was fine. Nothing remarkable (as they say) and the baby's weight is in the 50th percentile....perfectly average. Which is just fine with us!

A Sign of Things to Come?

Well, I had my ultrasound on Monday. And our second child is already proving to be rather uncooperative. He or she decided to move the entire time, making it difficult for the technician to get the needed measurements. The technincian then tried for about a half an hour to find the goods to tell us whether we should expect a boy or a girl.....to no avail. We were eventually able to focus in on both feet, then the lower legs, then the knees...WHICH WERE TOGETHER! And they didn't come apart, at all! Scott and I were wondering if this is a sign that this will be our "fiesty" child...? But, then we realized that we don't care...as long as he or she is healthy and happy! Now, in the ultrasound picture above (the very best one the technician could give us, believe me), our little peanut is facing downward, basically lying on its nose. You can see the spinal column off to the left of the head and then a slightly darker area below that is the baby's heart. Annemarie was able to come in and see the heartbeat and fingers and toes and was actually very excited. We were given two copies of the ultrasound picture and she even took one to school to show all her friends. From what Scott and I could see, everything looks good, but we'll get a final report in the next week or two. So, we're back to having to choose a boy name and a girl name. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!