Abigail-17days old

Hey everyone! This is my 3rd blog. Here's another update on Abigail. The exciting news is last night(Tues. 4/29)when her Mommy & Daddy were visiting her, Abigail opened up her right eye & was trying to open her left eye! I called to check on her this morning & the NICU nurse told me that she had both eyes open! They put drops in her eyes once they both opened to prevent any damage to her eyes. The nurse said she was being nosy & watching everything they were doing. The nurses think that right now she sees in black & white & can't see too far. She'll be able to focus more around 32 weeks gestation. She's 28 weeks gestation today. She's off the photo therapy for jaundice now, her levels are 1.9 at last check, which is good. She is up to 8 ml. of breastmilk & is having regular BMs. This means that her digestive system is working. She was born with a small opening in her heart valve, which has closed with medicine. She had a brain scan which is rated on a scale of 0-4, 0, 1, & 2 being good. She got a 1 on the scan, which means they're not even worried about her brain activity. Abigail & her Mommy & Daddy are doing pretty good.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts & prayers. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON ABIGAIL. Michele & Kurt

Abigail-12 days old

Hi everyone! Here's an update on Abigail. She was born on April 14, 2008. She is 12 days old today( they count her birthday as day 1). Abigail is our little fighter. The NICU nurses say that she will have good days & bad days. She is now under what is called a photo therapy light which is to treat jaundice. Jaundice is a common condition in any baby, even full term babies. It is a breakdown of red blood cells. The nurses explained it to us by saying that jaundice is a babies inability to heal their skin when they get a bruise. Our skin heals when our bruises change colors.
She also wears little foam "sunglasses" to protect her eyes, from the photo therapy light causing any permanent damage. She is on a ventilator tube which breathes for her if she forgets to breathe, but she is breathing quite a bit on her own. I received 2 shots of steroids while in the hospital before she was born, which helped to further develop her lungs. She is getting 1 1/2 ml. of my breastmilk which they feed her through a tube that goes down to her stomach. To give you an idea how much 1 1/2 ml. is there is 30 ml. in 1 oz. of breastmilk. It doesn't seem like a lot but they have to start her out with just a little bit at a time to teach her digestive system how to work. They also want her to poop so her bowels can learn to work. Premature babies have to learn so many things like how to breathe on their own because they aren't at the gestational age where they've learned to do these things on their own in the womb. So when babies are born early they aren't prepared to do these things. The NICU nurses & doctors say that Abigail is doing pretty good for her age & weight. STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES. Michele & Kurt

Kurt & Michele's story

Hi Everyone! I finally found an extra moment to post my 1st blog. Before I tell you about Abigail I need to tell you why my pregnancy was high risk & why Abby was born early. About 4 yrs. before Abby was born Kurt & I were having trouble getting pregnant so I started fertility testing. The 1st test was called the hcg were they shot dye into my fallopian tubes to look for any blockages. They take an x-ray of your reproductive organs. When my Dr. saw my uterus he saw that half my uterus was on the right side & half was on the left side. I have a birth defect called uterine didelphys, which means I was born with 1 uterus but the 2 halves never fused together. So Kurt & I knew that when I got pregnant I would be high risk because a baby has only 1/2 the space of a regular uterus to grow in. We went to a fertility clinic to try to get pregnant last summer. I did injectable drugs & IUI(intra uterine insemination). The 2nd time we did the injectables & IUI we got pregnant! We were so happy! My pregnancy was going great until week 25 when I started to have bleeding & pains. It all started Thurs.(4/10). I was having pains & my Dr. offfice told me to go to Labor & Delivery. Well, they sent us home. They thought the pains were from a growing ligament. Sat. morning(4/12) we went back to the hospital because I was still having pains, but more consistently. They checked me & said my cervix was efaced to 18(it was complete at 32 on Thurs.), & I was 1/2 a cm. dialated. They said I was staying in the hospital until I delivered. What a shock! They got the contractions under control with an IV drip of a medicine called Magnesium to stop contractions & relax the uterus. Mon. night I started having contractions again. They tried to stop them with medicine but couldn't. The Dr. on call, checked me & said," You're 8-10 dialated, we're having a baby. " They threw some scrubs at Kurt & rushed me to the OR for an emergency c-section.I was scared but I was in good hands. I had great Doctors & nurses caring for me.

Abigail Faye Sexton was born on Mon. April 14, 2008 @11:35 p.m. weighing 1 pound 11 oz. & 12 inches long. She was born at 25 wks. & 5 days. Abby is truly our little miracle in many ways. Her Mommy & Daddy are so happy to have her! STAY TUNED! I WILL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT ABBY IN MY NEXT BLOG! Michele & Kurt (Abby's Mommy & Daddy)

Welcome home Michele

I am glad to hear you are home.  Hope you are feeling better soon!  Don't forget to take care of yourself.  My hope is that this blog can help you and Kurt to communicate with family and friends about how everything is going.  Please let me know if you have trouble.  

*jen*

Welcome Abby

Welcome Abby!  There is a whole big world of princesses, tea parties and dresses waiting for you.  And of course a big family who loves you very much.