On the Up Swing of Things

Kaelyn seems to be fighting this flu bug off like a champ. Did we expect anything else? The last 3 days she has just seemed more like herself, not sleeping and coughing so much. Wayne and I have managed to stay healthy too, we started on tamaflu right off and then both got our vaccines.

We have already noticed a big difference in Kaelyn since she got her tubes put in. She has started making lots of fun noises. We get such a kick out of her. She does this thing where she stares at the ceiling and just giggles and smiles. We follow her eye line and try and figure out what she's looking at...just the ceiling or the light. We figure she's looking into heaven and seeing something or someone we can't. I'll post a video of one of her laughter sessions for your enjoyment. She's having one right now as I type this, so fun:) She also loves to play with her hands and is working hard to roll over on her tummy. Her head control is getting much better, her and daddy do all her exercises when he gets home everyday.

Thanks for all your prayers and concern for our little one. We head to the pediatrician today to weigh her and start the RSV shots. The shots will be so nice to have to help protect her through the winter. Let me just say, our Pediatrician is amazing. He was Wayne's growing up. We go in every week to weigh her and do a quick check up, and he doesn't charge us for it. Also while she's been sick he calls us regularly to check in, even on Saturday morning. It feels like she is his only patient. Its so nice having someone so concerned caring for our daughter. Now to the good stuff, pics/vids.

Sporting the beanie "Classy Grandma Chelsea" made me.

"If you can't tell I'm working on chunkin' up these cheeks"

Family Photo Opp
(Mom totally dressed like me, I was dressed WAY before her)

Just looking too cute

It's confirmed

Well darn it, the one thing we tried so hard to keep from getting to Kaelyn found her at the hospital. Our little girl has the H1N1 flu. As scary as it is she is doing pretty good. She has a cough but her fever went away and she's doesn't seem too miserable. We're sure this flu is no match for our mighty warrior. Please help us in praying that she'll be over it in no time and that it won't send us back to the hospital where she can catch something else.

Yikes...

The tubes went well, and we were back home Tuesday morning. However, Kaelyn didn't have enough time at her old stomping ground (The hospital), so we went back yesterday and checked out the E.R. (I have a feeling we are going to know this hospital like the back of our hand.) We think she picked something up at the hospital while we were there because she has a cough, and then yesterday afternoon spiked a fever and just wasn't acting like herself. I called the Pediatricians office and they sent us to Primary's ER so they could run tests on her to see if she had an infection. After six hours we found out that her blood gases looked good, her white blood count wasn't elevated and her urine wasn't infected. We're still waiting on the results of the mucus test to see if its the flu.

Luckily she was doing much better so we were able to come home. Her temp has come down and she just looks a lot better. We will check in with our Pediatrician today. Whatever it is, lets hope our little trooper can fight it off. She's sleeping lots and taking Tylenol. Here are some pictures of our little sweety in her E.R. Suite.

Snuggling with Daddy

Just completely zonked by the end of the whole the ordeal.

(She sleeps in the strangest positions)

11/08/09

Kaelyn apparently isn't too fond of the number 8, because at her check up this week she is already at 9 pounds! I've been at state volleyball the past two days and I REALLY notice how big she is getting because I haven't been with her all day. She is getting the cutest little creases in her wrists...I LOVE those. She is still fitting into most her newborn clothes, but that won't last too long.

We also had a Neo-natal follow up at the health department and met with a number of different specialists. Everyone thought that that she looked well, especially since all she has been through. She was a very good girl for the VERY long day we had. The only time her feistiness came out was when the eye doctor help open her sleeping eyes and put the drops in them to dilate them. Man was she TICKED, and she let him know it.

Tomorrow we head up to the children's hospital to get tubes put in her ears. She failed the hearing test in her left ear twice so we saw an ENT and he saw some fluid in her ears, so the tubes should help with that and hopefully she can pass her hearing test. We have to stay up there over night so they can keep a close watch on her and make sure she comes out of the anesthesia without any problems. Its a little scary going back there for the night, but lets just hope everything goes well and we are back home Tuesday morning.

Please pray for our dear friend Kristen and her family.

*Thanks to our friend Dari for the Utah bear. Love it!

And the scale says...

Kaelyn is doing AWESOME! We went to the pediatrician today and our little 1 pound 11 oz micro-preemie baby weighs 8 POUNDS-6 OUNCES!! She has been packing on the pounds like no other. She has almost gained 3 pounds since we brought her home....just over 1 month ago. They weren't kidding when they said she would do better at home. We're so glad she was able to get well enough to make that happen.

We also met with Early Intervention today and she said Kaelyn looked AWESOME! She has made progress in just two weeks since we met with her the first time. We're working on strengthening her neck muscles, so tummy time. She doesn't absolutely love it, but she's a great sport. We're also working on getting her to follow things with her eyes. She is sleeping really well, she'll eat her bottle at 10:00 pm and then sleep till 6:00 when I wake her up to feed her. I give her 2:00 am feeding via gavage. That way I don't wake her up and she can get her much needed rest.

As far as her heart goes, she's doing really well. Her oxygen needs have not gone up at all and she's even on less oxygen at home than she was in the hospital. We will be back to the cardiologist in a few weeks. They want her to be at least 12 pounds before they do her surgery, but if she continues to do well they will probably let her get as big as possible....whatever that means. :)

So I have a funny story. A lot of the time when I try to get her to look at me she will look away, and when I try and get in her view she continues to turn away. Its a fun little game I play and it always makes me laugh. So last night I was getting ready to go to bed and Wayne was like, "Ah, get that" as he pointed to something under my feet. The look on his face told me it was a critter, so I totally flipped out and then looked down and saw a big BEE on the floor right between my bare feet. I hopped around like a crazy lady and then finally killed it with my shoe because Wayne was sitting on the floor holding Kaelyn, so I knew I had to do it. So after I got my wits about me I look up and of course she is staring at me with this look on her face that said, "Really mom, really?" In which I replied, "Little Missy, you're not suppose to see me like that...now you know what a sissy I am". Needless to say it was a pretty entertaining night here at the Bonner house.

P.S. There are lots of new pictures on the picasa page. I just have to take pictures of her in all her cute outfits since we don't get to go out and show her off.

Here's what 8 lbs - 6 oz looks like.

Check out our matching bracelets Polly made us...she thought it was something to suck on if you can't tell

Notice anything different? She got to go without oxygen while mom changed her stickers. Her eyes just get bluer every day!

Perfection

I borrowed this from a blog friend. It brought tears to my eyes.

"As a small group of political and church leaders look on,

Jesus lifts a mentally handicapped child out of her high chair, kisses her and sits her on his knee. He dips a crust of bread in wine and feeds it to her, morsel by morsel.

As he does so, Jesus says:"I know what you are thinking. You need a sign. What better one could I give than to make this little one whole and new?

I could do it; but I will not.

I am the Lord and not a conjurer.

I gave this mite a gift I denied all of you -- eternal innocence.

To you she looks imperfect

But to me she is flawless,

Like the bud that dies unopened or the fledgling that falls from the nest to be devoured by ants. She will never offend me, as all of you have done.

She will never pervert or destroy the work of {my} hands.

She is necessary to you.

She will evoke the kindness that will keep you human.

Her infirmity will prompt you to gratitude for your own good fortune...More!

She will remind you that every day I am who I am, that my ways are not your ways and that the smallest dust mote whirled in the darkest space does not fall out of my hand...

I have chosen you.

You have not chosen me.

This little one is my sign to you.

Treasure her!"

The Sunday after our 20 week ultrasound, after we knew that there were problems with our baby, but before we found out it was Down Syndrome and a heart defect, I prayed so hard that everything would just be okay. That there wouldn't be anything "wrong". In church that day one of the speakers talked about the women with the issue of blood that touched Jesus's robe, and was healed. I remember feeling like I had enough faith for my daughter to be healed. After we found out for sure it was Down Syndrome, and let it settle in, I knew everything would be okay. I had the thought that she wasn't just okay, like I had prayed, but she was perfect. She has already taught me more about life and love than I had learned in the first 25 years of my life. I am so thankful that I am so blessed to be her mother, what an honor.

Kaelyn

Okay I guess I need to clarify a little more on how to pronounce Kaelyn. Its like Caitlin, but without the T. The biggest thing is there is not a pause between the Kae and the lyn. The emphasis is on the A not the Y. Hope that helps :)