Update 1.18.2011



Hello world, it’s been a while. Now that things have calmed down a little after the holidays, we thought it might be time to try to write again. Life has been busy between appointments and trips to the hospital, washing bottles and changing diapers, but we are managing. Who knew babies were so much work? J

The holidays this year were a little difficult for us. We never thought we would be spending our first Christmas as a family in the NICU, but we were determined to be all together on Christmas morning. We packed up and spent the night in Brenna’s room, all five of us. FYI, it takes a lot of stuff to sleep over somewhere with two babies. We did get a couple of “You’re crazy” looks from some of the nursing staff, but it all worked out. We had fun, despite the circumstances we found ourselves in. Not being able to spend time with family was difficult, but it was in the best interest of Anna and Lucy. Cold and flu season is no time to take a micro-preemie out and about, no matter how well they are doing.

Lucy, Brenna and Anna at Christmas

Home life with two babies; where to begin? Anna and Lucy have been home for just about two months now, and they seem to have adjusted very well to it. It’s hard to believe how fast they are growing.  Both girls are pushing 9lbs and their little faces aren’t so little any more. Just this weekend, we noticed that their newborn clothes weren’t fitting so well anymore, so we had to quick pull tags off some 3 month outfits. Didn’t we just buy these outfits, how can they not fit anymore? We must be doing something right.

Since coming home, Anna has been progressing quickly. She was discharged on a ½ liter of supplemental oxygen. She is now down to 1/64^th liter, and will more than likely be off oxygen all together in another couple of weeks. We look forward to upgrading her to the wireless version. No oxygen = no more monitors = no more annoying beeps for no reason. She has also become extremely active during her awake periods, talking, smiling, and tracking objects.  She is definitely a daddy’s girl. It never fails that when she hears Daddy, she’ll squirm, lurch, and crane her neck in every which way to find him. She has her days and nights figured out now, which is nice. When she came home, she was backwards, no doubt in part to some late night play time with some nurses who shall remain nameless.  Anna was also the first to roll over, front to back. She was apparently tired of her tummy at the doctor’s office the other day and rolled over. It caught all of us by surprise, even the doctor. She had been doing her baby pushups for a while, and then BOOM, roll over.  Anna does still have some fluid in her ear canal, so we haven’t been able to check her hearing in her left ear, but we go monthly to see if it has drained yet so we can get her hearing test done to verify everything is ok. But it is a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. She also still has some minor issues with her eyes, but the doctors don’t feel like it’s going to develop into anything they need to act on.

Anna Banana

Lucy has also been making great strides since coming home. She is still our vocal baby, but she talks more, and cries less. She is getting pretty good at focusing on and grabbing objects, and loves the bath tub. Not during bath time, she just likes to sit in the bath tub, but hey, who doesn’t? Lucy also rolled over for the first time last week front to back, and she’s actually almost got back to front down. She’s got the leg kicked over, she just needs to build up the momentum to flip over her shoulder, but it won’t be long. We’ve noticed that Lucy isn’t content lying on the floor any more, she really enjoys sitting up and seeing the world. So curious, so ready to get out there and explore.  Medically, Lucy is pretty much clear of any issues at this point. Her only real concern coming home was her eyes as well, but she has been cleared of any problems, so we are relieved with that outcome.

Lucy mugging for the camera

Now to Brenna; so much has changed with her since our last update. At the time, she had just gotten off a lot of meds and started eating regularly again. We are happy to report that Brenna is doing about as well as she can be at this point.  Her weight is on track with the other girls, almost 9lbs, and she is 22” long. Feeding is going well, most of her feeds are coming via bottle these days. It does seem to wear her out a little, but she’s a little champ and pushes through. Her jaundice is all but gone, and she is off all but a few meds. We did have to deal with a somewhat unexpected surgery to correct an issue with one of her eyes, but she bounced back extremely quickly from that procedure. Thankfully, the procedure corrected the issue, and the doctor’s don’t seem to think it will require anymore medical intervention.

Wireless Brenna before getting tubes changed

Even with all the progress our little Brenna has made, she still has one pretty significant hurdle to clear. Due to some complications of being extremely premature, we have known for a while that Brenna is going to require a shunt to help drain excess fluid from around her brain. With her previous abdominal issues, she hasn’t been medically ready for this procedure until now. Surgery is scheduled for Friday (1/21) morning at 7:30. Assuming all goes well and there are no complications after surgery, the only thing keeping her in the hospital will be learning to eat consistently.

Brenna helping Mommy hold the bottle just right

Daddy and his girls

We have asked for a lot of prayers in the last 4½ months, but this week we are asking again for all you have and maybe a little bit more.  We can finally see the end of the road. There are a lot of unknowns with Brenna, but the one thing we do know is we need her home with us.  Anna and Lucy have thrived at home, and we have no doubt Brenna will do the same, but we have to get her there first. She is our little warrior. We don’t know how she does it, but she does, and we will forever be inspired by her heart and her will. Please keep her in your thoughts this weekend as she takes her last big step towards coming home. Thank you and God bless.

In His name,

Brad, Angie, Anna, Brenna, and Lucy Kamps