Update October 26, 2007

Dear Friends,

Below is an e-mail update that R sent out earlier this week. It’s a good update on Sierra Rose.

--MK

Dear Family and Friends,

Sierra’s surgery on Sunday went really well. She was in a lot of pain that day but now she is doing much better. The doctors resumed her feedings today. They have to begin with a small amount of milk and increase it gradually [as they decrease the IV fluid] to make sure that her stomach tolerates it.

Today was a great day for Sierra. We feel like she reached several milestones. This morning, we were talking with the doctor. He said that they were planning on resuming her continuous feeds. We were not thrilled about that, because our goal is to eventually get her off of the feeding tube and onto the bottle. We told him that we did not mind if she started out on a continuous feed, but we wanted to work towards bolus feeds (feeding her every 3 or 4 hours rather than constantly.) He said that we could work towards that but that she would be on continuous feeds for at least two weeks.

Later in the day, Sierra’s wonderful therapist came by. She said that
she had spoken with the doctor and that Sierra was going to begin bolus feeds rather than continuous feeds! That means that at every feeding time we will give Sierra the bottle and let her take as much as she can from it. If she is not able to finish the milk, we will give the rest of it to her through the tube. This was a huge blessing and answer to prayer for us. We are really blessed to have such a great therapist.

Sierra had her very first bath today. Poor baby, she had gone nearly 5 weeks without a bath! It was just a sponge bath but it sure did help get her clean and smelling good. She seemed to enjoy all of the stimulation. The bath really woke her up. After her bath, she was moving her mouth so we stuck the pacifier in it. She sucked on the pacifier like she has never sucked before! She sucked it hard for around 30 minutes. We were so excited to see her strong sucking; it was like seeing a miracle. We do believe that through God’s help she will eventually be able to take all of her feedings through the bottle.

Tomorrow Sierra will be 5 weeks old. She has gained over two pounds and
has grown over two inches. We thank God for her and what a blessing she
has been to our lives. Below are the main praises and prayer requests for now. We can’t tell everyone how much we appreciate your prayers.
We have been amazed to see God working in her.

PRAISES

* The surgery went well
* Sierra is on bolus feeds instead of continual feeds
* Her sucking is become stronger

PRAYER REQUESTS

* Pray that her stomach will be able to tolerate the bolus feeds
* Pray that her suck during feedings would strengthen (although she
had a strong suck on the pacifier it was still weak on the
bottle)

R

http://sierraroseupdates.blogspot.com

LATEST NEWS
Sierra Rose can only drink about 10 cc of milk from her bottle at each feeding time (every few hours). She needs to be able to drink (or be fed through the tube) much more milk before she’ll be released. Pray that she’ll be able to digest more milk, preferably by drinking it from the bottle.

Thank you for your prayers and for the notes you are sending!

--MK

Update October 25, 2007

Overall, Sierra Rose has been doing pretty well, but there are two issues that could use your prayer:
1. She hasn't been digesting her milk all the way
2. She still isn't drinking from the bottle as much as she should.

R ordered a special bottle that may help Sierra drink better. We'll find out after it arrives.

--MK

Update October 24, 2007

Sierra Rose is still doing well today. Pray that her sucking reflex will increase so that she'll be able to drink from her bottle more.

Update October 23, 2007

Thank you for praying for Sierra Rose. Today's update contains good news.

After surgery, Sierra was going to be on a continuous feed for a while and then she was going to receive food through the tube every few hours. Already this morning, the therapist recommended that Sierra be fed every few hours. This is good--it will allow R to practice with Sierra more often.

Do you remember praying that Sierra's sucking reflex would increase? It did! Today Sierra had a sponge bath (her first bath). This really woke her up. Afterwards, she sucked on her pacifier strongly for 30 minutes. She was even able to sip a little from her bottle.

In addition, Sierra seemed to be pain-free today.

Thank you for praying for Sierra Rose. We're happy to share the results of your prayers with you. Keep praying that she would learn to drink from the bottle so that the tube can be removed from her stomach.

--MK

Update October 22, 2007

Dear Friends,

Thank you for praying for Sierra Rose and her gastrostomy tube insertion surgery yesterday. The procedure went well. Sierra was alert afterwards. Unfortunately, she was also in much pain. Nurses administered pain relievers every few hours to help ease her discomfort and she is feeling better today.

As of Friday, Sierra's weight was up to 8 lb. 1 oz.--she's a growing kid!

After Sierra Rose heals, she'll be released from the hospital to go home (about 2 weeks). Numerous nurses have cautioned R and J about exposure to viruses. They don't want Sierra to get sick just after being released. We hope you'll understand. After a few months, though, her immune system should be stronger.

Please pray for Sierra Rose's healing from the gastrostomy tube insertion. Pray that she won't be in a lot of pain and won't get an infection.

Thank you very much.

--MK

Update and Prayer Request October 20, 2007

Dear Friends,

Here's a brief update and prayer request for Sierra Rose: Sierra has been doing really well other than not being able to drink from a bottle. Her doctors determined that she needs a gastrostomy tube inserted into her stomach. The surgery will be performed Sunday morning at 10:00 and should last about 30 minutes. Please pray for Sierra's safety and quick healing. Also pray for peace for the rest of the family. I'll post another update on Monday to let everyone know the results.

--MK

Update October 19, 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIERRA ROSE!
Today Sierra Rose is 1 month old. For a baby who has lived her entire post-birth life in an NICU room, she's doing really well. At this point, the only problem is that she still can't drink from a bottle.

Please pray for endurance for everyone. One month of living in a hospital is tiring.

This will probably be the last blog update until Monday (unless I can find an Internet source over the weekend).

Thanks for your prayers!

--MK