Smile For The Camera!

Kayley's getting the hang of this picture taking business. As soon as she hears the camera turn on, out come the smiles. All right. Maybe I just got lucky. I probably caught her in the middle of a sweet dream or possibly with some gas. Either way, I was lucky enough to snap some great pictures.

Again today, there were not any significant changes. As I sit down to write this post every night, I always like to have big news to write from the day. But, the more I think about it, we'll take the boring ol' feed and grow days. At this point, that's what we should expect.

Kayley's oxygen is better today. They were able to lower it some and she's done quite well. She's been down around 28% which is a good sign. Her oxidation has been stable all night. I can tell the difference from last night when her oxidation was more of the up and down type. Tonight, she's keeping it pretty much at a consistent level.

Kayley's stuffed up nose is sounding much better. The nurse today cleaned her out a bit and so did the night nurse. The day nurse even asked the doctor if she could use special drops to help Kayley's nose. The doctor said to stick with the saline drops for the time being. It looks like they worked so we're not complaining.

Our little grower weighed in at 2040 grams (4 lbs 8 oz) tonight. That's up 50 grams from last night. She's doing a great job. Megan must be supplying that weight gaining formula. At this pace, we could be taking home a 10 lb baby...ok, that's not likely. But, she'll be a good size for a 27 weeker.

Megan said the physical therapist was in today and she's actually been in a couple times before. She is very happy with Kayley's development. She likes how Kayley put her hands to her face. She also mentioned how she likes that Kayley twirls her ankles. I'm sure there were some other updates but I didn't catch them all while Megan was telling her mom. I'll see if I can find out more for tomorrow's post. In any case, Kayley seems to be doing good in that area.

The last update is that Megan and I are going to be assuming some new duties for Kayley in the NICU. As you can see in the last picture above, we'll be taking a class to learn infant massage. As with the skin to skin holding, Kayley will benefit greatly from this. Some of the benefits for Kayley include emotional nourishment, loving communication with us, primary system (respiratory, circulatory, nervous, etc.) strengthening, reduction in gas and colic, better sleep, and just overall relaxation. And of course Megan and I will benefit also. We will learn Kayley's cues and responsiveness, enhance our communication with Kayley, increase our confidence and handling skills, increase our bond with Kayley, and relax and listen to Kayley. So, it sounds like a winning situation for all of us. Let the massages begin...