April 11, 2008 Sleep-over

I want to take the time to thank each and every one of you for checking our blog. Larry is addicted to checking how many people have looked at the site, and we look forward to reading all of the comments daily. Again, I cry when I read them....but they are good cry's!!! lol. We are taken back by all the people who care so much about our family. We know that we are not in this alone BY FAR, and all of us are on the right side of God with Kaydence.

Her bili count has gone down, so she is responding to her treatments for jaundice very well. She is looking a little pale and her skin is drying out...but that is because of her treatments. Her respiration is wonderful, and she is slowly starting to bounce back. We really like her nurse (Allison) that is working with her today because she truly cares about all the babies. Allison talks to her, and really pays attention to Kaydence's likes and dislikes. There are a handful of nurses that really care about our baby...and they really try to keep her as comfortable as possible. We are so grateful for them.

Christine Fortney and I were having McDonald's french fry cravings, so Larry drove us to McDonald's for lunch. Larry called them "post pregnancy cravings"...but I like to refer to them as "preemie cravings" instead. It was such a bright and beautiful day outside, and it was nice to feel the wind on my face. I don't see the light of day too much anymore...we get to the hospital early in the morning and leave late at night. Leaving the hospital for lunch turned out to be a really nice break from the hospital walls.

After lunch, I got to hold my baby girl for 3 long hours. I was shocked when Allison asked me if I wanted to hold her. I didn't think we were allowed to while she had a breathing tube in, but she said that it was okay. I asked Larry if he wanted to hold her instead, but he is too scared to hold her right now. He is emotionally scarred by what happened last time he held her, and it is too early for him to take that chance of it happening again. So during the wonderful 3 hours, I sang my favorite Christian songs to her. I used to sing to her all the time when I was pregnant, and I am sure she misses things we used to do together. I even turned on my IPOD and shared the headphones with her. I listened with one ear, and put the other one near her little head. So she is going to grow up to love the Casting Crowns and Hillsong.

Brenda and Jason Pickett were nice enough to bring Kaylee to us tonight at the hospital. They wanted to see the baby, and didn't want us to waste a trip driving back home to get her. I don't know what I would do without our church family. The Living Room helped Larry and I save our marriage 2 years ago, and now they are helping us save our daughter. Each and every person, including Brenda and Jason are so special to us. We are so loved, and we know that their arms are wrapped around us even when we aren't physically with them.

We said goodnight to Kaydence and took Kaylee back to the little apartment we are staying at. She thought it was really neat to sleep where mommy and daddy sleep during the week. She gets along with the Fortney's, and they played around with her until we hit the couch. Kaylee brought along an air mattress to sleep on because Larry and I barely fit on the sofa bed!

One more day down....one more day closer to bringing Kaydence home.