Sunday, November 22, 2009

Killian at One Month


Today was the first day Killian was allowed to wear clothes. He seemed to enjoy the change and fell fast asleep as soon as the shirt was on him. His first outfit was an Irish-green shirt that read "I am the boss." He's a cute little fella.

After one month of life, our little Killian continues to grow and make good strides in recovery. He did very well with the surgery last week and now has small scar on his back to show for it. His breathing has been improving as a result, and his general health as well. He is on the nasal cannula and the doctors are currently trying to wean him off that - the first attempt today did not go well, so he is back on it for a couple days before the next try. He broke the 3-pound mark over the weekend and tonight came in at 3lbs 3oz. He is now taking exclusively breast milk for his feeds with a small amount of calorie fortifier to help him gain weight. This past week he has become noticeably bigger - it really is amazing to see him grow. He's still tiny compared to a normal baby, but he is huge compared to what he was a month ago.

All of his IV lines have come out and the only tube going in his body at this point is his feeding tube; all the other wires are just sensors and monitors. He had to spend some time with an IV in his forehead and we were very happy to see that come out! We hope and pray to see more improvement from Killian and are grateful as always for your prayers.

A couple days ago he was moved from Small Baby Pod to Baby Pod 1. The move literally 30 feet to the next room was very significant for Killian as it meant that he is no longer considered high-risk and the focus of his care at this point is not to resolve existing conditions, but rather to give him all the means necessary to grow, gain weight, learn to breath on his own, and learn to eat from a bottle. It is a major milestone in the eventful life of a preemie, and we are grateful and proud of Killian for reaching it so quickly after his surgery.

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