Holly update

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've posted. Taking four hour day trips to the NICU really limits your schedule. Holly is doing fine as of today.
Here is a timeline of photos:
Above and the next two below are from day "zero".
We love this one because she likes to throw her arms out, every time the nurses try to tuck them at her side. She's liking the big space.

Day 1
Day 2: Mommy is finally off of Morphine and not a zombie anymore.

The remaining days of the week, ending with Sunday are here, but there is not a picture for every day.

Mar. 20th, day 6, they tried her on the Cpap machine (no breathing tubes). She went a day and a half before showing signs of getting tired. Exceptionally good for her age! Sunday night, they put the breathing tube back in. They will try again when she is showing signs of strength and readiness through her stats.

Day 7 Mar. 21st, second day on the Cpap. See the cute hat my mom knitted for her?

After being a superstar for the first week, she hit her first bump in the road on Monday. She was showing signs of infection, possible kidney malfunction, and just some little signs that things weren't as they should be. They were doing an x-ray, when they notice a small perforation in her intestine. This is very common, and treatable for preemies, they said. So she underwent surgery to have a colostumy. (sp?) It's when the section off a piece of the injured intestine and let it heal for 6 weeks. She also has a colostumy bag, which collects the redirected, you know, stuff. We saw her after the surgery yesterday, and everything went fine. They are going to leave her alone for 48 hours before they begin any further testing.
Also, they are going to try giving her a little bit of my pumped milk soon to get her digestion working. Once preemies begin digesting milk, the ones that get breast milk start doing much better than the ones on formula. I really like being to help with that one small part.
I'll post some more later, but I think that's good for now.

Welcome, Holly

I gave birth to Holly Jayne Miner on Mar 14, 2010. She was one day of short of 25 weeks, and we're very grateful that she got a whole week of steroid treatment for her lung development before she was born. She is on her third day of life, and so far, she has done well with all of the breathing tests. Coming up are heart tests, and then on her 10th day they will start checking her brain status. They like to test things one at a time, which is nice for me, because it seems less overwhelming to tackle one obstacle at a time. I will be discharged on Thursday, and hopefully I will feel healthy enough to start posting picture updates as well as texts.

Some have expressed the fear that they don't know whether to say congratulations or "I'm sorry" because she was born so early. Jason and have talked a lot the past few weeks about all of our feelings, and overall we are very grateful for how things have turned out. We feel grateful that Holly stayed inside until 24 weeks, because we wanted her to have the chance to fight. We are even more grateful that she made it an extra week, because that makes a big difference for preemies. We know that it is not an easy road ahead, but even if she doesn't make to the end or if she has long term issues, we are simply overjoyed that we get to enjoy her for as long as we can. So, yes, feel free to say congratulations or just whatever you feel. We know that our friends and families love us and only have the best intentions.

Thanks for everyone's prayers and fasting that have gotten her this far.

24 weeks!

Just letting everyone know that we made it to 24 weeks today, and we're still going strong. I am checked in at the Womens Hospital in downtown Houston and my room is great. The doctor that checked on me this morning said that we beat the odds getting this far, and that it raises the chance of us making it another few weeks. We feel like we have everyones' prayers and fasts to thank for our good luck. We are very overwhelmed and grateful for everyone's help and concern on our behalf. Our baby girl is kicking and rolling like crazy and I have had no signs of contractions or infections, which are the main enemy right now.
From here on out, every day that she stays inside means one week less of time spent in the NICU.

My mom has been taking care of the house and kids and she has been doing a wonderful job. She swooped in like an angel of mercy, and we will never be able to repay her for her service.