Serenity: 9 weeks 4 days (Gestation age: 33 weeks 6 days)

Hello all! It's been some time since I have written an update. Sorry about that! I find that there is less and less new information these days, which is good in a way!

Even though I have held Serenity Kangaroo-style many times, for the first time today I cradled her in my arms. Cords, wires, IVs and all. I loved holding her, swaddled in a fuzzy blanket, and being able to see her face and talk to her, while I rocked her gently (to which she very quickly immediately fell asleep). My love for her has grown so much.

As I was holding her, the doctor came over to talk to me about how she is doing, and more logistics on the transfer situation. Everyone (the doctors and many nurses) seems impressed with how well she is doing. She was on the ram cannula for about two seconds a day and a half or so, but ended up going back on the vent. She would have done okay on the ram cannula, except that her trachea is swollen from being on the vent for so long, combined with the massive amounts of secretions (mucus, spit, etc.) she produces, she just didn't have enough room for air to flow through. Now that there is talk of her taking a plane ride the doctor wants to keep her on the vent because it will be easier on her for traveling.

The other issue she has going on is she is "dumping". That is what they call it when she is passing too much liquid through her intestine. Because she only has a very small section of intestine that the food is passing through at the moment, it's hard for the nutrients to absorb back into her body as well, and it's all just passing through to her stoma bag. This didn't really start happening until they gave her a dose of fortified breast milk to give her more calories. So they have backed off on the fortified milk for the moment and will try again with it tomorrow. In the meantime, they are having to give her extra fluids to keep her from getting dehydrated.

On a happy note, her white blood cell count is going down!! Whatever infection she had is seemingly resolving!!

And as for the transfer, we are working with the insurance company currently. Apparently the information I was given the other day about the insurance saying "no" to the transfer, and Children's hospital in STL paying for the flight was all incorrect. So now we are attempting to get the insurance to cover the flight. We know that one way or another, something will work out. And that something may mean staying put. There is always a reason for everything. We may not know what it is until later, and sometimes we may NEVER know what the reason was. But I am confident that everything will work out how it is supposed to.

Thank you all for keeping Serenity and our family in your prayers and thoughts! Thank you all for the love and support! We appreciate you all!

Serenity: 8 weeks 2 days (Gestation age: 32 weeks 4 days)

It's been awhile since I've updated everyone on sweet Serenity Hope. It seems as though that seems to be the pattern when Ryan is in town. Not to mention, I had the added distraction of Liam this time as well.

Serenity had a great week starting off. We were able to do kangaroo care several days in a row. However, towards the end of the week she started getting a little more touchy. She would de-sat just from us talking too loudly next to her isolate. And today she was de-satting about everything--us talking too loudly, touching her hand, etc. So we have been leaving her alone for the most part to let her rest.

On the medical end of things, Serenity had a CT scan yesterday. The doctors believe she has an infection based off her White Bands numbers, and the fact that she has been eating platelets like they are going out of style. They are not sure where the infection is coming from. The CT scan showed what they believe to be a pocket of fluid. However, they are not sure if the fluid is infection or just extra fluid from all of the edema she has going on. So for now, it's more waiting (have I mentioned how sick I am of waiting?). Since we don't really know what exactly is going on or where its coming from, we are waiting. On a happier note, she is FINALLY over two pounds!! The last weigh in was 1130 grams (2 lb. 7.9 oz.). She also has been able to have milk through her feeding tube almost every day this week, which is a plus, even though the food is not passing through enough of her intestines for her to really benefit from it, it's better than nothing!

On another note, Ryan is not feeling well this evening--neither is his mom. Something is going around again... So keep them in your prayers as well as the rest of us that it doesn't continue to pass around.

As always, thank you for your continued love, support, and prayers for our sweet little girl.