Kaylyn is doing great at home! She has decided she likes night much better than daytime. She is usually up all night or at least every two hours. Kaylyn still loves to be held almost all day long. She also likes to lay on her big quilt and swing her arms and kick her legs. She is quite active!
We had a weight checkup on Monday. She was exactly the same weight as she had been at discharge. (5 lb 10 oz) They were happy that she had not lost any weight. We are trying to increase her quantity of breast milk and see what that does. She also saw the eye doctor. The retina is attached in the central part of both eyes and the abnormal growth is regressing. There are no blood clots and no signs of infection. Dr. Johnson was very happy with her eyes!
We will have a visit today from a consultant for the school for the blind to evaluate Kaylyn and give us ideas for things to do at home with Kaylyn. It will be exciting to finally have some information about her eyes and ways we can help! When the lady called me on Monday, Kaylyn babbled to her almost our whole conversation. I think she's excited too!!
Thanks again for the prayers! We are truly blessed!
Kaylyn is up to 6 pounds 3 ounces. We were in for a weight check on Tuesday. She is still a little night owl!
Kaylyn is quite active. She loves to lay on the floor and swing her arms and kick her legs. On Thursday mommy put a red block next to Kaylyn for her to look at. She focused on it, swung her arm, and knocked it off the blanket! I was so excited! We played that game for quite a while! I was very encouraged about her eyes! We will have another checkup on Monday with Dr. Johnson. I am hoping he will let me stop giving her last eyedrop. She is not much of a fan of anyone messing with her eyes (who can blame her!)
We had a visit from infant development and a hearing impairment specialist. She can definitely hear voices and music. We try to read to her a few times a day and are always talking to her. That is what we can do for now to help with her hearing.
We miss all of our NICU nurses so much! If any of you are checking updates, we would love to hear from you!
Please continue to pray for Kaylyn. She is enjoying life at home!
We went in to Minot today to see Dr. Carver. She was not impressed with her immunization shots. Kaylyn likes to hold her breath until they are all done. (Our eye appointment with Dr. Johnson was canceled until Thursday. We will go to Bismarck.) Kaylyn weighs 6 lbs. 7 oz. and is 19 1/4 inches long. She has outgrown most of her preemie clothes and thinks she is a big girl in newborn clothes.
Kaylyn is quite active always. She rolled off her daddy's tummy last night. Good thing he was paying attention and caught her. She is always lifting her head up to look around and see who is talking to her. She is very, very strong!
We continue to thank everyone for all their kindness, support, and prayers!
Kaylyn is continuing to grow and loves to eat! She seems to be hungry all the time! She is getting closer and closer to rolling over. She gets herself up onto her side and then tires out! Kaylyn loves to "run" while we hold her. Her little legs are constantly going. Once she starts moving, we will definitely have our hands full!
Our eye appointment got rescheduled once again. We will see Dr. Johnson on Tuesday in Bismarck. Kaylyn seems to be focusing on objects more and more every day. She loves to touch people's faces. She is just starting to learn to pinch and it hurts! (I guess you know she really loves you when she does that!)
We plan to dress her up in her bear costume tomorrow and carve our first Halloween pumpkin together. She really does not need any candy though (neither do mommy and daddy!)
Thanks again for the prayers! Please continue to pray for Kaylyn!
What a busy week we have had! Kaylyn was very interested in the presidental race and decided to stay up all night last night to find out who the new president would be!
Monday was a learning day for mommy. Linda came out from Jamestown to do an evaluation on Kaylyn's visual skills. Well Kaylyn decided to play shy while she was here and slept the whole time. She was awake long enough to open her eyes and look at a gold garland wig that Linda brought. She likes looking at shining objects. Linda left a light box for us to work with. Later on in the evening we tried it out and Kaylyn really liked to look black and white pictures. She also reacted to the colors red and yellow. Mommy and Kaylyn try to work with the light box for a couple minutes after each diaper change. She seems to be responding well and seeing new things every day. Mommy and Daddy got a kick out of Kaylyn as she layed on the floor Monday night. She looked like she was pedaling a bike and corresponding arm and leg movements. She is definitely a mover! Once she decides to go, she will not slow down!
Grandma Holly, Mommy, and Kaylyn traveled to Bismarck for an eye check-up with Dr. Johnson on Tuesday. Kaylyn and Mommy went to first 25 miles all alone. Kaylyn cried for a few minutes but settled down and fell asleep after a few miles. She slept almost the whole way to Bismarck. What a good girl! Dr. Johnson was very happy with her eyes. The retina is attached in both eyes. The right eye looks great and the left eye looks good. He still wants to keep an eye on the left eye scar tissue development. We will see him again in 3 weeks.
On Wednesday we went to Minot to meet with the occupational therapist and the "team" of evaluators. We made a plan for Kaylyn's development over the next 6 months. We had a good idea of what to work with her on now! They worked with Kaylyn's legs, arms, and head. They also rolled her from back to tummy and tummy to back. They are extremely happy with her motor skills. Mommy and Daddy brought home a "Little Room." Kaylyn will lay on a resonance board with walls around her and a glass cover with holes to suspend objects. We will work on motor movements, auditory skills, and visual skills while she is laying in it. We plan to work 15 minutes per day and see how well she does.
Please keep Kaylyn in your thoughts and prayers. She is growing each and every day and getting more and more attitude!