She's a rock star!

I have to brag about my baby for a bit.

See, we all know that Kenna has beat the odds, defied them at every step.  And she's doing it again.

Before she had NEC, the doctors were ready to get her started on another course of Decadron.  Then she was sick.  And the Decdron was postponed.  We had met and discussed that we wanted her to have the best possible chance to get breathing on her own, to make it to Bubble CPAP.  And that meant that she would be feeding...unless they had no choice.

Well, on Sunday...they had no choice.  Kenna was requiring too much support.  And so they had to start the Decadron.  And while I knew she would respond well to it, as she had in the past, I didn't imagine she would do this well.

I talked her through it on Wednesday. 

She was struggling.  Sure, she was used to the tube down her throat, but the nares in her nose were really aggravating her.  Poor baby girl.  And the sticker on her nose and across her face designed to hold the nasal cannulas wasn't much better.  She was pretty stinking miserable.  They told me she was going to be re-intubated because she was doing so poorly.

And I talked to her.  I told Kenna that she was smart and strong and she could do this.  I reminded her how special she was and how loved.  And she calmed down.  She settled in.  Her oxygen requirement dropped from 60% to 30% in half an hour.  She was even high sating...100!  I just laid my hand on her and kept talking.  It worked. 

I worried about leaving her, but she proved that she was strong.  Kenna just needed a little encouragement to get started.  Since then, she has been without anything several times when they have had to change her CPAP out.  Yesterday when I was there, she went without any support for fifteen minutes with no problems, not even a desat.

They started a new program for babies and children that are hospitalized at Hemby.  It's called 'Beads of Courage.'  I wanted to be a part of it, to start Kenna's bead story.  The kick off was Wednesday...the same day that Kenna started the CPAP and was struggling.  Instead, her nurse started it for her last night. 

Kenna's sign on her womb room is an owl family.  I love it.  It's perfect.  I'll be hanging it up in her room when she comes home.  And her Beads of Courage...are in an owl bag.  I'll take pictures when I get a chance. 

I'm not sure I know anyone more courageous than Kenna.  She has been through it and come out on top.  Our baby girl is a rock star. 

Thank you for thinking of her!