Praise God for more answered prayers

WOW,  what a difference a day makes. Yesterday was very emotional for us all, after Mylah breathing on her own for five days she began to struggle and they had to intubate her to allow the ventilator to help her breath. They had warned us that this could happen, but we were on such an emotional high since she had been doing so well. It was a true test of our faith. I would love to say I passed with flying colors, but I have to confess I did not! I passed but not with an A!

We were all quiet when we sat with her yesterday to allow her to rest without stimulation, because she tries to open her eyes and starts squirming when we say her name, Especially when she hears mommy and daddy talk! The nurses felt she was improving but also were concerned that she was trying to fight an infection. Praying against infection was the main focus of prayer yesterday and I am so excited to announce that the 24 hour cultures are showing NO INFECTION in her blood. She could have a slight infection in her lungs but they are treating that and her lung x-ray today looked great.

As Bailey and I went to her room today the nurse stopped us and told us they needed to talk to us before we went in her room and of course our hearts sunk. They said things had changed and we would see some different things when we looked at her.

Well..........it was different because there was NO vent tube down her throat! About 30 minutes before we got there Mylah decided she didn't need it anymore and pulled it out! She is a fighter I tell ya! The respiratory therapist decided that for now she was trying to tell them she didn't need it. She is breathing better than I have seen her breathe since she was born.

Here she is just kicked back relaxing with her foot resting on mommy's hand!

The picture above was before they realized she also pulled out her feeding tube, so they of course had to put that back in, but it was so good to see her without anything in her mouth!

Later mommy got to change a dirty diaper (which we always get excited about!). And the nurse let her hold her while she changed the bedding. Bailey was grinning from ear to ear!

If Mylah remains stable, Bailey will get to Kangaroo her tomorrow, which is where they actually get Mylah out of the bed and put her on Bailey's chest inside her shirt, so Mylah can feel Mommy's skin! She will get to hold her for about an hour this way. The nurse said it is amazing how fast the babies start to grow after mommy gets to start holding them this way.

 

Look at the leg action here! She is pushing herself up with her leg and was trying to get it out from under the strap over it!

Thanks once again for all your thoughts, prayers and concerns.  Today our prayer requests are:

1. That Mylah continue to gain weight

2. That there would be no infection

3. That she continue to breathe well on her own

4. That mom and dad continue to hold up and get rest

Also, I have some wrist bands if anyone would like one just let me know. It is just a reminder to pray for her, it says "Pray for Mylah" on one side and then on the other side it says "Full of Mercy" which is what Mylah means. 

 

Prayers Needed!

This post will be short just a quick update and request for prayer. Mylah had a small set back last night. She was having more Brady's then they like so they intubated her. This may sound bad to us, but she is only 2 pounds 3 ounces and it is hard work to breathe on your own! This is what she needs to rest and gain strength, it is just scary for us and especially for Mom.

Pray for Mylah that she rest comfortably, continues to gain weight and strength.  Thank you so much and I will update later today.

God is Good ALL the time and ALL the time God is good!

First Saturday, but no cartoons yet!

Mylah has done remarkable thus far and we give ALL the Praise and Glory to God. Yes she has some great doctors and nurses and the technology now is crazy but God still holds the key to her health!

She has gained 1 ounce which is great because she had lost 3 ounces but with this gain we are believing that her weight will continue to gain. Papa and I stayed a couple of hours with her today and she did have a couple of "Brady Episodes" but she "fixed" herself. In other words her heart rate dropped but she immediately started right back up with no stimulation.

They came and took the CPAP machine from her room so we are excited that they don't think she will not need it again and pray that this is true.

Her feedings were upped to every four hours instead of every six, however she wasn't digesting it fast enough so they bumped it back down. This is not considered a set back, they are just trying to figure out what she can tolerate and obviously she is not ready for that much food, however they said she has to be challenged.

Prayers now should be for her that the Brady's stop happening, her breathing continues to do well and that her digestion kicks in better and of course for her weight.

I continue to be challenged each time I go with the question, "Who are you trusting?" I see all that Technology has brought to the medical field and the things that they can do to help her but I can't trust that, I HAVE to trust God. Today, there were several alarms go off on her while we were there, some were because her continual kicking pulled off the wires! Others were because her heart rate dipped momentarily. The nurse assigned to her at the time carries a phone that is to ring when there is an alarm and it will show them what the problem is, however Deb had to go get her nurse one time because she didn't hear her phone. Now I think that is totally UNacceptable however God once again reminds me that He is ultimately in control. Do I think that gets this nurse off the hook? NO! But as I left there uneasy about what happened I am asked.......Who Am I Going To Trust?

    Mommy Taking my temperature

Hello World!!

Day Three

She has had to be under the light a couple of days to avoid jaundice which isn't uncommon even for full term babies. We call it getting her tan on!

She is now just on regular high flow oxygen, which is HUGE! At this time she is not having to use the CPAP and is having very few if any "bradies" which is the slowing of the heart rate.

They had to take out the straight line tube to her stomach which was through her belly button and put in a picc line, which was just all a part of the plan. They can only use the belly button for a few days and then it closes up.

She has a tube in her mouth going to her stomach for feeding and to help release any air she might have built up on her tummy from the oxygen AND she is now getting 1ml of mommy's milk! She has lost a few ounces which is normal so now we just need to pray she starts gaining.

They turned off the light for a bit and took off her mask while they changed her and when Bailey started talking to her she opened her eyes and turned her head to her!

Let's not forget Daddy in all of this! Darrin was such a great supporter of Bailey while she was in labor and now he just sits and talks to Mylah, telling her she is doing good and when she cries he touches her head and tells her "It's OK Baby!" They are both being so strong and I know will be amazing parents.

Happy Birthday Mylah!

Here she is after arriving in the NICU and getting all hooked up! It really isn't as bad as it looks, most of the wires are just for monitoring and the thing on her nose is a CPAP, like those adults wear for sleep apnea. She is breathing on her own this is just giving her a burst of air occasionally to help "remind" her to breathe! Notice how big the "premie" diaper is on her!! They have extra small premie ones they are using now!

She is perfect just tiny!

We know the road ahead may be a long one, but we also know that Our God is exceedingly, abundantly able to do over and above what we can even imagine.

How Mylah's Journey Began

This post is written by Mylah's Nana Jeana! I wanted to share the many miracles that I have witnessed in the short 6 days of this journey. I know there have been so many people praying from the time the word got out that Bailey was in labor 12 weeks early until Mylah was born and I know that you are still continuing to pray. This blog was started with the idea of keeping everyone up to date on Mylah and her progress, and as one of our prayer warriors put it, "feed her Mylah addiction!" I know that Facebook is being updated by many but there are those, believe it or not, that do not have a Facebook page and so this is a way for them to check up on Mylah and to see the specific prayer needs that we may have as the days and weeks progress.

At 4:08 AM, Sunday, April 22, I received a text from Darrin saying that they were headed to the hospital that Bailey was in a lot of pain. It was in her lower back and then every now and then it would be all over and then go away for a bit. Well, as a mother, I instantly knew this was labor pains but I never thought they would continue. It was confirmed she was in true labor and they were going to monitor her for awhile. The contractions were every 4 minutes and meds were given to stop them and they did stop for about an hour but then came back and continued to get stronger. They wanted to transport her to Tulsa so she would be close to the NICU but she needed to stabilize first which wasn't happening. Prayers began to go before the Father for this specific request and within the hour she was stable enough to be transported, Praise God!

She arrived at St. John's Tulsa around 9:30 AM Sunday and we were excited to find out that our dear friend Ellen Mayberry, OB/GYN nurse, was on duty that day. It was so good to be able to ask her questions and know that she was getting answers because she was just as concerned for Bailey and Mylah as we were. The plan was of course to continue to try to stop the contractions as long as possible. They said they would like at least 48 hours to get the steroid shots in her so Mylah's lungs would develop.

Sunday was just a day of watch and pray! Many people called, came and sat with us, and even brought food and "supplies"! Bailey was amazing throughout the day even though her contractions were still 4 minutes apart and they didn't want to give her any meds for them. Finally about 5 PM they decided that she could have an epidural and she fell right to sleep! Around 4 AM Monday morning we were awaken from our comfy (ha, ha!) waiting room chairs to find out that they thought she had slowed down enough that she would not have her at least until later that day so we came home to sleep a few hours.

Later Monday it was decided that they would stop the meds that was holding off the contractions around 7:30 PM and if Mylah decided she was going to be born they wouldn't stop her! At 10:45 PM it was very apparent that we were going to see our 3rd grand baby soon!

Bailey was a trooper, the epidural had worn off, they couldn't give her more, and they had to give her meds to increase the labor because she had developed a fever. Once again prayers were being prayed all over! As I would text a few people the specific need they would share it and begin to pray, I can't count the number of prayers I saw answered in the next few hours. And I know of some that stayed up all night with us just praying and crying out to God on our behalf.

At 2:08 AM, Mylah Kay DeShazer was born! "She is PINK", is what the nurses kept saying, which was fabulous for her age AND get this.....she was breathing on her own! Yet AGAIN, God was protecting her, as I stood there snapping pictures as fast as I could, a nurse wanted to put a tube down her throat to "help" her breath as they transported her to the NICU and the dr. who had just been standing by letting them do their job said very adamantly, "NO! I don't want to put a tube in her unless I have to."

I can't tell you the emotions that I was feeling at this time and I have never been more excited to hear such a little mousey cry in my life!

And she weighed in at......

And so her life story begins..........

It's A Girl!

Two months ago we got this picture telling us that Darrin and Bailey's baby was a Girl! Everyone was so excited to know that Mylah Kay DeShazer would be born on or around July 17, 2012.

But obviously Mylah Kay, well actually God had a different plan. April 24, 2012 at 2:08 AM, Mylah Kay DeShazer entered the world at a huge 2 pounds and 6 Ounces and 15 Inches long!