One Month Old

A little over 6 weeks ago Dwight and I had just returned from our awesome cruise and were getting back in the routine of 'normal' life. Now we have a one month old little girl. It's funny how life can change so quickly and unexpectedly. Apparently 'someone else' has different plans for us.

Here's a funny story for you. I've changed Kayla's diapers several times now. I thought I was starting to get the hang of it even though she does everything to make it difficult. Well last night she played a trick on me. I changed her diaper, making sure not to get any of her lines wrapped up in it, and I walked away so the nurse could look at her. Then I heard my mother and the nurse laughing hysterically. Apparently Kayla had stuck her hand down by her bottom and I had wrapped her hand into the diaper without seeing it. The nurse said that is the first time she has seen that in her 9 years of working in the NICU. In afterthought, I think that is a pretty good idea to keep her from pulling her CPAP off!

Kayla is still doing well. Her weight has be fluctuating but seems to be increasing for the most part. She received her last vitamin A injection this week and is receiving protein and lipid supplements in her milk. She seems to be tolerating the food well, which has lead to many poopy diapers. At some point this week they will repeat the head scan to make sure there is still no bleeding. Kayla is getting stronger everday!

Our first Christmas

We enjoyed our first Christmas as a family even if it wasn't what we originally thought our first Christmas would be like. We both were able to hold her again which was awesome! Kayla is gaining weight which the doctors are monitoring to make sure she doesn't gain too much or too little. She is still having episodes with her breathing, which I think is mainly due to her playing with her CPAP. We've been trying to convince her that the CPAP is a good thing and oxygen is important, as is breathing. She had the IV removed from her arm last night so she is officially IV free now! She only has a feeding tube and the CPAP now.

Being parents and seeing our daughters adorable little face is the best Christmas present ever! We are truly blessed to have her as part of our lives!

Santa Baby !!!

Kelly was able to give Kayla a bath last night, as Dwight watched and laughed. Kayla had a picc line removed from her left arm and was able to have her bandages removed from her chest. There was lots of adhesive to remove from her skin. She gained another ounce, now she weighs 2 lbs 6 oz. Kayla is doing good and is getting ready for her first Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Snow Days and Joyous Days

Sorry for the delay with the blog, we didn't mean to worry anyone. Some how doing seemingly nothing all day has made the days go by quickly. I spend most of the day visiting with our daughter, planning my next visit with our daughter and doing Christmas stuff.

Unfortunately the snow kept Dwight and I from seeing our daughter on Saturday. I use to love snow days when I was younger but they are not so much fun when you can't see your daughter. Luckily the NICU staff encourages us to call as often and as many times as we would like to get updates.

Joys of the week (so far):
Dwight held his daughter for the first time on Sunday night!! He was so excited and I was thankful that he finally decided that he wasn't going to 'break' her. We both got to hold her again on Monday morning. She loves being held and is still content just laying there.

Mugsy (our dog) has joined us in Willow Grove. I haven't seen my poor little Mugsy Moo since 13-Nov but he seemed to remember me. I think he may have been spoiled by everyone while I was gone though!! He seems to be adjusting to his new environment and I know that grandpa Moore is very excited to have him here.

Kayla is doing very well!! She recovered from the surgery very nicely and they were able to remove her chest and lung tubes. She is still on her CPAP but they have been able to lower her oxygen. She will most likely stay on the CPAP until she is 32 weeks corrected (she is currently 29 weeks corrected). They will also look at her eyes around that time. She still has the occasional 'episode' with her breathing but the Doctors are not worried by that and they expected it. She now ways 2 lbs 5 oz. and is expected to gain half an ounce to an ounce a day now. Overall she is good and we are very happy!!

Sorry again for the delay, we will try to update the blog again shortly.
God Bless!

Many JOYS!

We have had many joys the last few days:

My parents are scheduled to have an oven installed on Friday.

Dwight is feeling much better. Last night he got to hold/lift Kayla in order to get her body weight in the incubator. He was quite excited and proud that he got to hold her bare body in his bare hands. I was very excited that I got to hold her out of the incubator again. She seems very peaceful when I hold her which is awesome!

Kayla had surgery on her PDA today which went very well! A team from CHOP, known as the Duct Busters, came to Abington Hospital today to perform the procedure. A PDA is a shunt that is open between the aorta and pulmonary artery of the heart. The Doctors had treated her with medication to close the opening but as her lungs became stronger the opening got larger again. When the shunt is open blood can flow both ways through it which means the blood is not going to the lungs or the rest of the body properly. The Cardiologist had determined late last night that in order for Kayla to grow properly the shunt needed to be closed. The CHOP team and the procedure are quite amazing! They make a small incision on her left side, move the lung out of the way and place a clamp on the shunt to stop the blood flow. Of course there are risk with the procedure but so far she seems to have had a very successful surgery. The 24 hours following the procedure will be hard for Kayla and they will keep her on pain killers to help her be more comfortable.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. A special thank you to Pastor Steve for sitting with us during the procedure and for praying for our little girl!

And a huge thank you to the CHOP team who is truly amazing! They have awesome gifts and we are truly blessed that they were able to perform the surgery!

God bless!

Challenges and Joys

Challenges:
My parent's oven (which was really old) decided to stop working. We are learning to be creative with cooking meals.

Dwight is not feeling very well today which unfortunately means he isn't able to visit Kayla.

The doctors informed us today that Kayla's PDA (hole in her heart) seems louder today. This week the Cardiologist and Neonatalogist will discuss whether or not she will need surgery to close it. We don't have many details about this procedure yet.

Joys:
Overall Kayla is still looking very good. Her lungs seem to be doing ok without the chest tube. She is now being fed 7 mLs of milk every 4 hours and seems to be digesting it well. They are planning on increasing her to 9 mLs of milk tomorrow.

The best joy of all, that makes all of the challenges seem like nothing, is that I got to hold my daughter last night. They were able to move her from the incubator with all of her tubes and place her in my arms. The nurses were concerned about how it would effect her breathing and heart rate but she tolerated it very well. I was able to hold her for over an hour and she seemed very content the entire time.

Poopy diapers are no longer cute

The first poopy diaper I changed was so cute and there wasn't much in it. I've changed a few diapers since then but none of them had been poopy. That all changed today when I changed a very very poopy diaper! Since little Kayla doesn't have any fat on her she has lots of wrinkles which made changing her diaper not a very easy task. The production of poopy however means she is digesting her food which we are very thankful for.

Kayla had her chest tube removed today after they water sealed it all day. So far she has been tolerating it well and we hope she continues to be ok. She will have an xray in the morning to check her lungs.

She is also sleeping on her stomach for the second night. Apparently she is allowed to sleep on her stomach since she is hooked to a monitor. The nurses said laying on her stomach will help with digestion which seems to be working. She looks very peaceful and calm when laying on her stomach so we are hoping she can continue to sleep that way. Watching her sleep is amazing and beautiful. She is truly a blessing (even with a poopy diaper)!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

On Tuesday we celebrated Kelly's first birthday as a mommy. We visited Kayla, got Chick-fil-a for lunch, and then Olive Garden take out for dinner with some of Kelly's friends and family. If you would have asked Kelly at her last birthday she never would have guessed she would be a mommy living with her parents this year. Kayla's ultrasound of her head scored the same as last time, which is good and will mean she will not have to be checked for awhile. The shunt in her heart is still slightly open and they are trying to treat with another round of medicine. She is getting more of mommies milk now and laying on her belly to help with digestion. Her chest tube is still in and they are monitoring her oxygen. She pulls stunts every once in awhile by forgeting to breath. They gently shake her to remind her about breathing. Overall she is still doing well.

One week out!

Yesterday was a good day. Dwight went home for a couple of hours for church and to catch up on the animals. He was glad to spend time with his family. Kelly got to change yet another diaper and take Kayla's temperature. Dwight got to give her a "lollipop" which is a moist cotton swap that they rub on her lips and gums. Overall Kayla had a good day!

Today Kayla had her umbilical artery line removed and will have the umbilical vein line removed later tonight and get a pick line inserted instead. Apparently her sun tanning sessions are over for now since her bilirubin level dropped low enough so she gets to sleep in the dark. We actually got to see her eyes for awhile since they took off her stylish 'sunglasses.' The Doctors said her lungs are sounding good but they are leaving the chest tube in for now. The Cardiologist is going to check her tomorrow but recommended another round of treatment for the hole in her heart since they think it may still be open a little. She seemed very peaceful today.
Kelly had the fun of Skyping Tricia's wedding dress shopping which actually worked out really well!

Life outside the hospital

Dwight and I are settling in at my parent's house. We got here late afternoon yesterday. The highlight of the day yesterday, besides leaving the hospital, was that I got to change my first diaper and it was even a poopy diaper. The diapers are quite small and it was a little scary with all of the wires but I was able to change it.

Kayla is doing alright again today. She needed another blood transfusion which is routine. They are giving her a second round of treatment for the hole in her heart which they said is smaller but not quite closed yet. She still has the chest tube in but they said she is doing well with breathing on her own. They are leaving the chest tube in for now to be on the safe side. Overall she is doing well and seems to be calm. We went to see her this morning and were planning on visiting her again tonight but unfortunately the snow may prohibit us from seeing her. Luckily the nurses and doctors encourage phone calls so we can call at any time to get an update. Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts and prayers!

Mommy and Daddy leave the hospital

Tomorrow (Friday) Mommy and Daddy leave the hospital for the first time in 3 weeks. We are excited to get out but are also a little hesitant to leave baby Kayla behind. We plan to visit her often.

We will be living with Kelly's parents at 71 New St. Willow Grove, PA 19090 for the next few months. Dwight plans to commute back and forth from home to keep the farm going. We are blessed that Kelly's parents are willing to take us and Mugsy in and that Dwight's parents are willing to continue taking care of the farm.

Kayla is doing good today. She got to have some of Mommies milk today for the first time. They removed the lung tube and she is breathing on her own again with the CPAP (extra oxygen). She is lightly sedated but still very active. Kelly and Kayla had their first disagreement today. Kayla insists on removing her CPAP from her nose which Kelly was not letting happen. Apparently a little discipline is already much needed. Don't worry, Kelly won this battle this time!

The rollercoaster starts

Late on Tuesday Kayla's right lung collapsed due to her insisting on breathing on her own without assistance from the machines. The doctors were able to stabalize her by putting in a breathing tube and putting a tube in her chest to remove the air and extra fluids. She did good throughout the night but then Wednesday morning was having issues with the one tube in her lung. Luckily they were able to fix the problem quickly and it turned out to be something minor. She had an ultrasound of her brain which showed she had a small amount of blood in her brain which the doctors said is normal and they had expected to see. She scored a 1 on a scale of 0 to 4 with 0 being good. The doctor's were happy with that. She also had the cardiologist look at her and they found a small hole in her heart which again is normal in premature babies. She will get 3 treatments of a drug to fix the heart and then they will look at her again. Unfortunately the drug could upset her stomach so they are not going to start feeding her milk yet. She has a large supply of milk waiting for her in the freezer! Overall she is looking good and we finally got to see her hair and ears.

Bundle of joy

Baby Kayla is looking good. The nurses say she is very squirmy and energetic. We got to hold her hands today. At one point it looked like she punched Dwight which was quite funny! I think we may have our hands full with this little girl! The doctor said the cardiologist was coming to look at her today and she will have an ultrasound of her head tomorrow. We are still praying lots and are hoping for good results.

Baby Forry is here

At 2:28 in the morning we welcomed Kayla Anne Forry into the world! At around midnight her heart rate started increasing and the doctors were concerned about infection. They decided a c-section was necessary for her safety.

She weighed an amazing 2 lbs 1 oz. She is in the NICU where she will remain until the end of Feb or beginning of March. She is stable and doing well. The doctor said he would rate her as a B or B+ which we thought was pretty good since she was only at 26 weeks gestation. Dwight and I were allowed to hold her hand and foot, which are very very small. She is an amazing and tough little girl. We are continuing to pray for her health since the doctors did say that she will have good and bad days. Kayla is a blessing!

Day of Rest

We are trying to teach the little one the value of our day of rest. We have had a relaxing day to this point and Kelly got to sleep last night. We have an ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow.

Cord is not a toy

Apparently the baby thinks the umbilical cord is a toy and feels the need to mess with it in the middle of the night. We had another long night since the babies heart rate dropped a few times. The baby lays or holds onto the umbilical cord which just means I have to change positions until the cord is free again. The doctors say the baby looks good, it is just a bit of a troublemaker!

Ups and downs of life

We have had some ups and downs lately.

We had a very enjoyable time yesterday eating our Thanksgiving dinner in the hospital with family. There wasn't much room and not enough table space but we made it work.

Unfortunately later in the night we found out that my grandmother (Kelly's mom's mother) went to be with the Lord. We don't know many details except that after dinner she had a headache and went to sit in her chair. My aunt later found her and called an ambulance but they were not able to resuscitate her. We are waiting to hear about the arrangements. Please pray for the Drake family that they may find comfort and peace.

Baby Forry played a little trick this morning but has been good so far. The highlight of the day, or week, is that I was able to actually get a shower this morning. It was a very short shower but made me feel human again!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We have now been in the hospital for 14 days and we have a lot to be thankful for:

Baby is doing well and has stayed in place for 14 days. Everyday is a blessing!
Wonderful nurses and doctors
Our friends
Our family
Our church family
the portable potty they put next to my bed yesterday :)
our marriage (which is growing stronger daily)
God's love

Thank you everyone for all of your support and prayers!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Good food = Good night sleep

Baby has been behaving. Our friends Marty and Mylissa brought us a wonderful dinner last night from the Cheesecake Factory. Apparently baby really liked the food because the baby behaved and allowed me to sleep again last night! Dwight and I really really liked the cheesecake! We are looking forward to Thanksgiving in the hospital.

25 weeks and counting

Today is officially 25 weeks for baby Forry!!! We are still hoping for many more weeks and maybe even making it to 35 weeks! Each day is a blessing.

Today I am particularly thankful for our nurse Daisy and for clean sheets on the bed. Baby was kind enough to let me sleep again last night which was also much appreciated!

High tech

We now not only have the blog but thanks to Dwight's brother and sister-in-law we now have the ability to Skype. We are new to Skype so we aren't too good at it. Please let us know if you have Skype and a webcam and we can chat. Our username is keldude23.

Sleep is wonderful

Thanking God today for a peaceful day yesterday and for the sleep we got! All is well so far today!

Fetal monitor and long nights

We have formed a love hate relationship with the fetal monitor. When it is working properly and baby is cooperating the rythmic thumping is smoothing. However there are times when the monitor is not getting a good read or baby is pulling tricks and then we don't like the monitor so much.

Last night we did not like the monitor which lead to a long night. Baby was pulling tricks and moving around alot last night so the monitor was not read the heartbeat well. This caused the poor nurses on night shift to have some fun and also caused me to use an oxygen mask for a couple of hours in the early hours of the morning. Luckily the doctors reassured us that all is still well with baby!

We are very thankful for the wonderful nurses here who pay very close attention to their patients.

Officially one week

We've officially been in the hospital for a week now.

Many people told us that having a baby would change our lives but we had no idea. This past week we have experienced a number of things we never would have thought of, such as bed pans. Although we think the experience is bringing us closer together and making our marriage stronger.

Today we had an ultrasound to check the fluid level which has decreased a little bit. The doctors said this isn't unusual and it doesn't change anything. Unfortunately with this ultrasound we didn't get any updates on the babies weight which we were hoping to find out.

The highlight of today was getting my hair washed for the first time in a week! I've never had my hair washed while laying in bed before but it feels wonderful!

Thank you again to everyone for their support and prayers. God is watching over us.

24 weeks and 4 days

All is still well today. Looks like we will be having an ultrasound today or tomorrow. I realized I didn't post the address at the hospital.

Kelly Forry
Abington Memorial Hospital
1200 Old York Rd.
Lenfest 491
Abington, PA 19001

Welcome to our blog

We decided to create a blog to help keep everyone updated on the current condition of baby Forry. We will try to keep it updated as much as possible.

So we've been in Abington Memorial Hospital since Friday afternoon due to me going into preterm labor and having my membranes rupture( a.k.a my water broke) very unexpectedly. Luckily it is now Wednesday and we are stabilized. The baby is still in the womb but with less amniotic fluid then normal, which requires constant monitoring to ensure the baby doesn't become stressed. We will be in the hospital on bed rest until the baby is born which we are hoping doesn't happen for awhile. The doctors think two weeks is the longest we will go, but each day increases the babies health and is a blessing! At this point if the baby becomes stressed we will have an emergency c-section. However there is also the possibility that the labor resumes and if the baby is not stressed we could deliver naturally. The last ultrasound was good and showed that the baby weighs ~1lb 8 oz, which is an increase of 4 oz since Friday. We are hoping to have another ultrasound tomorrow.

Overall we are doing good and are extremely grateful for the support of our friends and family! We are also very thankful for our faith and know that God is watching over us!