"My story..." Monday, part 1

I really don't want this blog to be too incredibly personal. The people who need to know the ins and outs of my life, I believe, already do...

That being said, I think it might be beneficial to know some details of our story in order to grasp how this all began. So, at least for a few weeks, I'll be sharing some journal entries every Monday that I wrote through the early weeks of my daughter's life. And so begins the roller coaster...

"FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2005 07:58 PM, CST
Tomorrow, C. will be one week old! She is doing very well so far. After losing some weight, she just began gaining a little back yesterday. We are so encouraged by this! The fact that she can now tolerate breast milk in addition to her IV's will certainly help her get a little size! She is just under 1 lb 5 oz now. Her doctor feels that she can likely go off her ventilator in the next day or two and move on to a lesser degree of breathing assistance through a machine called a c-pap. Her first head ultrasound looked really good and revealed no ventricular bleeding. We'll have a follow-up ultrasound on Wednesday. We feel very blessed to be here at Riley. Thank you so much to all of you who have kept our daughter in your prayers... it means the world to us and makes all the difference."

SUNDAY, JANUARY 01, 2006 12:26 PM, CST
Happy New Year! Yesterday, C. was one week old! Her Bama arrived to help care for A. He is doing great and managed to get two teeth in the time he was away from us! Unfortunately, C. lost some weight between Friday and Saturday, but she gained a little back last night. This is a great thing since she needs to be bigger than 1 lb 4 oz in order to try breathing without the ventilator... She is doing wonderfully with her feedings though and is digesting really well. They may be able to increase the amount of breast milk she has at each feeding soon and that, too, would help her gain some weight! While she IS tiny, our C. is beautiful with long thin fingers and black hair. Yesterday, her nurse put an itty bitty lavender bow in her hair. We are so inspired by her strength and courage and are so very lucky to have our two precious 2005 babies! Happy 2006, everyone! I'll update as soon as I know more.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 03, 2006 02:41 PM, CST
well, today is one of those down days on the preemie roller coaster... little c. seems to be sick and they're not sure if it's pneumonia or a blood infection. this is par for the course for preemies and they are treating her with some strong antibiotics and working hard to make it easier for her to breathe and relax. she's been temporarily taken off of breast milk to allow her whole little system to relax. it's been recommended to us that we place our hands very gently on her-- that this is calming. we're trying to stay optimistic and are just glad she is in very capable hands. thank you all for your continuing prayers...

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More to come...