Dreamers love a full belly

And Kenna...she loves a taste.  That's all she's getting right now.  Oh, but she is digesting all of it.

We're hoping that this will stimulate her bowels and get things moving.  The doctors do, too.

Funny, I've had some rough days.  There were so many times that I began to have doubts.  Oh, but at the moment, we're on cloud nine.  Maybe ten.  Is there a cloud ten?

See, Kenna is doing well.  She's stable.  She's making tiny itty bitty bits of progress.  The feedings are huge to me.  Finally, all my pumping efforts are paying off.

People ask me all the time.  They want to know what it will take for Kenna to come home.  And while there are a lot of ways that she has to mature before such a move can even be considered, I see her making strides in the right direction.

It comes down to this:

• Kenna must be able to maintain her body temperature
• She must be able to feed without a tube
• She must be able to breathe without a ventilator or oscillator
• And Kenna must not have apnea of prematurity

So, I'm hopeful that she'll start making some progress in other areas now that she has started feeding.  That feeding that I administered...so exciting.  Sam watched as I did it.  And he commented on Kenna's response.

Sam: Whatever you're doing...Kenna likes it.

He was right.  She was laying there all happy.  Her oxygen levels evened out.  She was content.

me: Look.  I made the belly happy.  She is her mother's daughter.

 I have been wondering about that.  She seems so much like her father.  Kenna hates being messed with while she's sleeping.  Her hair is so much lighter than my other kids.  And I haven't exactly had the chance to really explore the rest of her to see if anything is like me.

We watched her diaper get changed.  She has no butt.

me: Don't worry Kenna. If you take after Mommy at all, you'll be just fine.

Sam laughed.  And her nurse kept telling us how much she was enjoying us.

nurse: I've seen Kenna before, but this is the first time I've taken care of her.  She's quite the celebrity.

me: I've heard it's her attitude that proceeds her.

nurse: That's why she's still here.

Yeah.  I'm sure it's why.  If she were less of a fighter, less determined to be here, she wouldn't be here.  Kenna has already survived so much.  And her fight has just begun.