Growing Fast!

As of tonight Mylah is 3 pounds 11 Ounces!!

She is up to 10 mls an hour on food and they have begun a 5 days of steroids to help her lungs develop more so they can get her off the CPAP.

She is doing amazingly well and we give ALL the Praise and Glory to God.

Please pray the steroids help and the lungs develop.

She was even trying to suck her thumb tonight....So cute!

Five Weeks today!

Wow how quickly things change! When I realized I haven't blogged about Mylah in a week and read the last post she wasn't even 3 pounds yet and I am so happy to say that today she is.......

THREE POUNDS NINE OUNCES!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is growing wonderfully! They transferred her to another kind of bed, it still has the top in it but the temperature is regulated differently because she is maintaining her temperature fairly well on her own. The next step is an open bed!

Mommy is still getting to hold her everyday for two to three hours!

The eye doctor came and checked her eyes again and said they still look great!

Please continue to pray that her rapid growth continues and that as they begin to try to teach her to eat from a bottle that she will be able to learn it quickly.

2 pounds 14 ounces!!!

Yes, Mylah is almost THREE pounds! She was at 2 pounds 12 ounces for a couple of days and then jumped to 2 pounds 14 ounces today! So excited and can not wait to hit the Three pound mark!

Mommy is getting to hold her every day, but was nice and shared the time with daddy on Saturday!

Doen't he look happy? He was very happy but was shocked how small she really was!

She is still eating 8 mls an hour and doing well with just the CPAP in her nose. Today they turned down the heat in her bed and if she can keep her body temperature up they will let Mom dress her tomorrow! So very excited to see her in clothes even if it just a onesie!!

So guess where Nana is going tomorrow......You got it, shopping for premie onesies!!

Keep the prayers coming! Thank you all once again.

Doing well after giving us scare!

I have been sick this week so I have been unable to go see Mylah, which is sad for me! I miss her but I know she does NOT need any germs!

She has been gaining weight, she is up to 2 pds 12 ounces! So excited to see her edging closer to that THREE pound mark!

They removed the vent tube Tuesday and put her back on CPAP and she is doing well. Her feedings are up to 7.5mls per hour and they will continue to up it.

Wednesday evening when mommy and daddy got there her heart rate started rising and went to 220 BPM. The alarms were sounding and the nurses went into action, getting X-rays and blood work. The Nurse Practitioner thought it might be an infection but Praise God the blood work showed none. An EKG was done and proved nothing was wrong with her heart, Thanks be to God! The final diagnosis was that she had too much caffeine in her system, therefore they quit the caffeine for now. As of today her rate was in the 160's to 170's which is pretty much where it has been.

Mommy has gotten to hold her every day for a couple of hours and I think Daddy is going to take over tomorrow and get to hold her for the first time!

Once again we are so thankful to all of you who have been following this blog and on facebook and are willing to cry out to God when things happen like Wednesday and to pray for her each day. I have heard from so many people who are praying and churches who have her on their prayer lists and for that we are so thankful and blessed. We many never know how far reaching her little life has been used to bless others. We would love to hear from those of you who are praying. Leave a comment below or email dearmylah@gmail.com

Doing Great!

Ok so I haven't updated since Thursday! I am so sorry but ya know life kinda gets in the way sometimes!

But we have GREAT news today......

Well, first let me recap the past few days! It has become very apparent that Mylah has a mind of her own and she will let you know what she likes and doesn't like! Boy are we in for some fun with this little girl! Anyway, she Loves her belly but hates being put on her back! Every time they would put her on her back she would Desat, so they put her on her side with what we call a baby body pillow with her hugging it and she loved it!

She has been tolerating her feedings as they up them every other day and they began weaning her off the ventilator. She slept through her visit with Mommy on Mother's Day but we understand, we were tired too!

OK, OK here is the best news.....today she is off the Vent, no tube down her throat! She is back on the CPAP with just the thing in her nose! The rate is at 20 which is good and they upped her feedings to 5ML each hour. She drop a couple of ounces but they are not concerned it is fairly normal for her to fluctuate, so today she is at 2 pds. 7 oz. She did have to have a blood transfusion this morning because her blood count was a little low. Now I know that when you think of blood transfusion you think they are taking all her blood and giving her all new but that is not what they are doing. Basically they are just giving her a little blood because she is low....as Grandpa Cory says "They are just topping her off!" The blood will also help her not have the bradys and desats as often!

Bailey will probably get to hold her tomorrow, they wanted her to rest today since she has been through so much getting adjusted to everything new!

Another answer to prayer, the eye doctor checked her eyes and said they look good. The eyes are always a concern in premies because of the oxygen they give them. But Hallelujah, they look good. He will come back periodically and check them.

Isn't she precious! Love the "No Tube" look!!!

Please continue to pray for her, she still has a lot of growing to do before she can come home.

Pray that she continues to gain weight and that she continues to do well breathing with just the CPAP and doesn't have to be intubated again.

I know God is hearing our prays and we feel the presence of God in and around us from you all lifting us up.  

I have more bracelets coming in this week if you didn't get one or know someone who needs one.

Thanks again!

Today was a good day!

Sorry, I havent been updating everyday, days seem to be flying by and there really hasn't been much change the past couple of days. A friend told she wanted to here something everyday even if it is "No Change!" So I will try to do better!

She is maintaining her weight, it fluctuates between 2 pds 6 oz and 2 pds 7 oz. They are giving her a water medicine to keep fluid from building on her lungs so that is why her weight is not real steady, but they are happy with how she is doing. She is eating 3 ML each hour now and will increase that to 4ML tomorrow. She is digesting it all so digestion is doing great!

She has had some desats the past couple of days that kind of scared us, but it is just mucus in her lungs getting in her airway. Her heart rate remains steady so once again the nurses are happy.

They are trying to wean her off the vent and hopefully in a few days they can remove the tube.

We are just impatient and want her growing faster, but we know she is in God's hands and she is right where they expect her to be. We just want it faster!!!

Please continue to pray that her lungs remain clear and start to get stronger so she can get off the vent.

Oh, I have more bracelets on the way so if you didn't get one please let me know!

Two Weeks Old

It has probably been two of the longest weeks I've been through in a LONG time! It has been emotional, uplifting, and a growing experience for us all. I pray that God has used Mylah to change your view of Him and his faithfulness and mercy to us.

She is still doing great.  The latest cultures are showing NO infection and her chest X-Ray is looking good. Praise God!  She is still have a few desats in her breathing so they are trying to wait for those to slow down before taking her off the vent. They have tuned it down to 10 which means she is pretty much breathing on her own and it is set to 21% oxygen which is what we breathe.

Her weight is fluctuating between 2 pds. 6 oz and 2 pds. 7 oz, but I think that will increase quickly as she is getting her feedings upped each day. Today she was getting 2 ML every hour and digesting it all, so they will keep increasing it. A baby her size should be eating 20ML every three hours, so she has a ways to go.

Sorry I haven't gotten any new pictures, they are keeping it pretty dark in her room, just all a part of simulating the womb.

She is doing so well that it is almost disappointing that she isn't growing faster but we have to continually tell ourselves that she is really just at 30 weeks and should still be inside mommy for the next 10 weeks. We are getting a visual of the growth that happens inside mommy, which is pretty cool if you think about it!

Not surprising, we can add the word Patience to the list of things God is teaching us! Not a word that anyone likes to hear but we HAVE to TRUST that God is in control and be PATIENT.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:4


Lord, help me to Trust You and wait Patiently for you to continue your work in Mylah.

Two weeks later!

It is so hard to believe that two weeks ago we were sitting in the hospital waiting for Mylah to be born!

Today she was resting so good! She is still on the vent but pretty much breathing on her own. Her lung x-ray is looking better and the latest cultures are showing no signs of infection.

We continue to give God all the glory for her progress. In our flesh we may not feel its going fast enough but we are on Gods timeline not ours.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and prayers. We are truly overwhelmed and blessed by your love and thrilled that we can share God's unending mercy in Mylahs life.

Trust God!

Today, Mylah had to be reintabated, she was having some problems breathing. This is not really a set back, they told us this could happen the first few weeks, on one day off the next, but it is still a little rough after the exciting day yesterday of Mommy getting to hold her.

They also think she has a slight infection in her right lung so they have her on antibiotics and doing respiratory therapy, which she lets them know she doesn't like!!

When I was there this evening they had turned the vent all the way down because she was breathing so good! It seems she just needs a boost every now and then! And the nurse felt she was responding to the meds. Her color was great she was a nice pink! It is the little things that make us smile and after seeing her every day we are quick to notice the changes!

God has spoke to me a lot today about Trusting Him. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not unto your own understanding."  I have pondered this all day and I have a lot to say about what I am learning through this, however it will have to wait until tomorrow, I am exhausted!

So tune in tomorrow!

Pray that Mylah continues to breathe better and most of all the Infection goes TOTALLY away.

She is still strong enough to kick her foot loose from the band so she can stretch!

Mommy got to hold me!

Today was a great day. We walked in and Bailey started talking to Mylah and she opened her eyes and smiled....it was amazing!

We went not really expecting anything because the nurse yesterday told Bailey that Mylah would have to be much more stable before she could hold her. Well.....today's nurse was shocked that she hadn't got to hold her yet and told her Mylah needed it. So.....

She got to hold her for over an hour and daddy made it there in time to get to see her up close too!

They upped Mylah's feedings to every 3 hours and she is still digesting well! She is still having a few bradys a day so they have adjusted her CPAP and they feel this will help. Every thing is going well but please don't stop praying. There are still many bridges to cross. They will begin checking her eyes soon and other developmental things. Pray that everything continues to develop properly and that God will be glorified in the process.

Happy 1 Week Birthday!

It is so hard to believe that it has been a week since our little Mylah entered the world!

We went the hospital today with the anticipation of Bailey getting to Kangaroo her, but we also knew that it would have to be perfect circumstances because they only think of Mylah's well being (as it should be). She did not get to hold her today because Mylah had had a few bradies today. Not too many but they just wanted to let her rest and not get excited yet. Bailey did well with it, she knows in time it will happen and we do NOT want to rush anything.

Her vitals are all holding steady and as we said yesterday, she is back on the CPAP and not the vent, so she is basically breathing on her own again. The Infection is still looking like it just a small one in her lungs but not bad and they are continuing the anitbiotics for a few more days.

She had not been fed for a couple of days because she was not digesting well so they tried it again today and at 4 pm she had digested all they had given her today and so the feedings were continuing at a rate of 1 ml every four hours!

We just got word this evening from Grandma and Grandpa Hulslander that when they were there the nurses weighed Mylah and she weighs.........drum roll please.............2 pounds and FIVE ounces! Yes, hallelujah she gained TWO ounces and is almost back to birth weight!

Oh the little things that excite us these days but I want to give the Glory to God for EVERY step she takes.

Daddy changed her diaper today, I think he needs some more practice, but he did good!

I love to watch Mom and Dad look at her!

Happy 1 Week Birthday, Mylah! Nana Loves you so much!

Once again, we still have some bracelets if you would like one and we covet your continued prayers. Also, we know that God has already used Mylah in many lives, and we would like to hear about it. Leave your comments below telling us and Mylah (we will keep all of them and put them in a book for her) how God has used her in your life.