New Year's Eve

As I post this, it is officially 2008 in New York. Its hard to believe that our little Myla, who wasn't supposed to be here until 2008, is home and sleeping peacefully in her little bed. Ok, mostly peacefully if it weren't for those gas bubbles she has to wiggle out. She must be growing because she's eaten quite often today according to her dad. We gave her a new year's bath tonight too. So she smells fresh and clean right from the beginning.

Myla has a busy week coming up. She has a follow-up appointment for her eyes on Wednesday and then a doctor's appointment on Friday. And, if she's growing, its hard to imagine why she isn't sleepy more often. She hasn't been keeping us up really. In fact, the whole shift thing is working out well for us. If she goes every four hours, then the person with the second shift almost gets in eight hours of sleep if they want. We'll see how long this keeps up.

When we were in the hospital, Myla's A2 (that's Aunt Aimee) started a poll to guess Myla's departure height and weight. (All of the proceeds went to Myla's college fund.) It was fun to see the guesses go all over the board. But the winner was Grandma Witulski, guessing 16 1/2 inches and 5 pounds even. She must have had some kind of inside track...

Myla's first Bronco party

Myla had her first visit to her doctor and she weighs 4 lbs 11 oz. And the way she keeps eating we'll have to get 2nd jobs to keep up with her. ;o) Only kidding, but she does eat very well. We watched the Broncos barely beat the Vikings tonight eventhough Myla slept through most of it, she's been initiated. Maybe she'll be a 49er fan when she's old enough to decide.

It's hard to think of what all is going on with us other than enjoying our baby girl being home. We have to finish finding a good place to store all the newborn diapers the hospital gave her, they're too big right now, and fit into our busy baby-loving schedule with grocery shopping, work and the dog..... we're swamped! Kara goes to work tomorrow so it's daddy-daughter time all day long. Myla will be sick of me by Tuesday. It's hard for me to leave her in the bassinet the whole time while she sleeps, she's just so cute and I love to hold her but it's not a good habit for her to feel she can't fall asleep unless it's in our arms.

Me and Myla are going to have a grand time, when she's not asleep, and we'll have to tell mom all about it when we pick her up from the light-rail station. Haley-dog may even get a bigger doggy door in her shed, if I can do it without leaving Myla unattended for too long. The day is full of possibilities. Hope everyone has a great New Year's and we'll talk again in 2008!

Day One

Our first day together went very well. Our first night did too. We took shifts and it worked out pretty good. We were told not to let Myla go more than four hours without eating, so we did have to wake her up twice to feed her. And once we did, she had no problems remembering that she was hungry. We spent most of the night listening to her sounds of grunting and mousy noises just learning them.

The doctor said she looked super. She weighed in at 4 pounds 11 1/4 ounces, which is a pretty good gain since we last weighed her on Wednesday. It was a pretty easy appointment since she got her first round of shots in the hospital. We don't know how long she'll be on oxygen, but we go back next week for another weight check and we will ask then. All in all, we did pretty good, I think.

Home sweet home

Myla is home at last. She was discharged today with lots of love from the nurses. The discharge summary puts her weight at 4 pounds, 6.9 ounces and 16 1/8 inches. Right now, she is wrapped up in her bassinet with a clean diaper - courtesy of her dad believe it or not - and getting ready for some more food.

Tomorrow is the first trip to the pediatrician. A whole other adventure I'm sure. She will have an eye doctor appointment next week and there will be an oxygen level check on her at least once a week.

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about her being home. She's still so small, but if we've heard anything the nurses told us over the past nine weeks its that she's a fighter. Of course, they also say she screams about three o'clock in the morning. I guess we'll put that line to the test tonight!

The day has finally arrived!

Myla passed her Room Air Challenge Survey with flying colors! And she ate 70ml of milk for me this afternoon. She's really, really coming home tomorrow to stay with us forever..... We're pretty excited, can you tell? So, now the torture on her parents begins, we no longer sleep or have time to ourselves. (but we don't mind, yet) We'll probly pick Myla up in the afternoon sometime because the doctor's don't even get around until then to do their rounds and sign discharge papers and stuff.

She's so cute and small in her car seat. At a whopping 4 lbs 6 oz most everything dwarfs her. We started bringing home clothes that she wore so the cat and dog can get used to smelling her in the house, but I'm afraid the first few times Myla wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, Haley-dog might go crazy. It was funny, Haley's first winter she got all excited about the furnace kicking on at night, having never heard it before. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures so everyone can see her biggest day yet. It'll be really cold outside so she'll be bundled up but the indoor shots will be good.

This has been such an experience, not that we want to repeat it in the near future any time soon, but we've learned alot. Alot about babies, ourselves, patience(right...), and most of all love. We have probly grown more than we really know but others around us can see it I bet 'cause it wasn't easy but here we are. Starting the next chapter...

The Greatest Gift

Myla had a very good Christmas. She got lots of books and very cute outfits and some toys to play with. She also got to wear her Christmas outfits. She was the belle of the NICU. We were able to visit with her and give her lots of Christmas kisses. She continues to makes strides toward coming home. We did a car seat challenge on Christmas Eve where they put her in the car seat and monitor her oxygen level to make sure she can sit up without having any problems. She also gained weight tonight, she's now 4 pounds 5.3 ounces. Its not a huge jump, but they did put her on a 24 calorie formula now and her body is still adjusting to the change. Its like going from milkshakes every meal to a glass of milk.

The only thing she didn't do well on was her room air challenge. That's where they take off her oxygen for a while and monitor her levels in case she pulls it off in the middle of the night, since she will probably come home on oxygen. Her levels dropped too low in under 15 minutes. So, we will try again tomorrow. Its important that she be able to stand being without it for 45 minutes to an hour, or her heart rate could drop, and mom and dad would get even less sleep than they normally would with a new baby in the house. She'll get it, we know she will, just a few more days. And we just might start out the new year all together.

We have been very blessed this year with our little girl. Its been a rough start to say the least, but she has taught us so much in these past nine weeks. We've learned not only a bunch of medical jargon, but patience, strength and endurance. She's taught us that as a family we can conquer anything as long as we have each other. We are so glad that we are a family, who is healthy and happy and together. There is no greater Christmas gift.

One more step!

We went in this morning like we always do to give our girl some love and a bottle. And as we were just getting settled, her nurse says "we're going to put her in an open crib today" and wheels it right out! So, when we had to pull ourselves away, we laid her right in it. Of course, like the high-flow and low-flow oxygen, this is still a test. Her temperature tonight was a little low - 98.1 degrees - but we left her bundled up and snuggled in so she'll be nice and warm.

This morning was her third bottle in a row. The night nurse said that they were pulling that annoying tube in her nose tonight too. She'll be on bottle feeds only! Naturally, that will be another test, because if she doesn't take all her feedings, they'll have to put it back in. But, she's done so well on all the other tests she's been given, I'm not too worried.

She got all her shots too. Three or four from the sounds of it. She was pretty sleepy, but didn't seem too upset when we held her or moved her around. In fact, she seemed pretty normal. We had a long talk today with the physical therapist about the things we can do when we go home. She gave us information on a government program that Myla qualifies for because she was born so small that can help her if she has any kind of developmental problems. Not that she sees anything - in fact, she called her darn-near perfect - but if anything should present itself later, we have this option. The nurses and doctors have all been so amazing explaining things to us and keeping us in the loop and showing us these programs. We've really been lucky - in so many ways.

2 in a row!

Wow! Back to back bottle feedings for Myla today, but that's not all, she took 5 in all today. Our nurse tonight said that once a baby hits 6 bottle feedings in a day, they pull the feeding tube. So, Myla really could be coming home sooner than we think but we're not going to jinx anything, she'll do what she can and what she wants. We learned a thing or two about patience with her tonight, sometimes we'd give up on the bottle to early when she really trucks along even after we don't think she'll take any more. I guess Myla gave so much attitude this evening that she got to swing for the first time and it calmed her right down. If only I could find one of those swings in my size....kinda like the footy pajamas....

Soon Myla will get all her vaccinations too. All in one day. Ouch. We don't want to be there for that, it will probly hurt us just as much to hear her cry. Grammy will be happy to know that Myla will be wearing her Christmas outfit on the 25th since she'll be in an open crib and can wear outfits. Like layering to stay warm, only with the Isolette she could get too warm so only little onesies in the glass condos. But she'll be so styling in her little baby's first Christmas outfit! We'll take pictures. ;o)

Our thinker

Myla took two full feedings today - one from the nurse this morning and one from mom tonight. And she took almost half of one from dad in the afternoon. She's pretty good at pacing herself and does very well eating. The doctor called her a star. She is doing everything that they want and expect her to do and she's doing them well. She was weighed again on the big girl scale tonight and came in at 4 pounds 4.9 ounces. (See, I knew that bed scale was wrong last night.) Its fun to have the nurses that have been with her since the beginning peek over and marvel at how big she is. One of them made her a "I TRIPLED my birth weight" sign with a caterpillar and prints of Myla's toes for the rocks. Its so cute! Another nurse said that babies don't usually triple their birth weight until six months, and here she is only two! She really has filled out and is looking more and more like a little baby. A very beautiful one!

Today Myla got some good Daddy lovin' since I was off from work. She took two feedings from a bottle in the morning so she got the feeding tube this afternoon and slept on me for a while. She's so cute! But later this evening when Mom and I could be there Myla took 18cc's out of her 40cc bottle, so not too shabby. She just got tired and slept on Kara. That's what she does. Eat, sleep, eat some more and grow. Maybe this weekend Myla will get to go into an open crib. I don't know, they said 1800grams, even though she's over 1800 they're not pushing it because she's not taking anough feedings from a bottle and they're afraid she'll have a hard time maintaining her temperature and she'll stop bottle feeding so we don't want any set backs so we're waiting still.

Myla is at a good gestational age for being in an open crib so we'll just see. Not much else going on today, we're trying to get christmas going still and enjoy it, we just don't have a lot of time to do some little things that we used to do. We love our little Myla-bug! And we can't wait for her to come home so we can celebrate every holiday as a family. So, Christmas Eve, Day and every day until then, you know where we'll be.

Ta da!

Ladies and gentlemen! Announcing the FOUR POUND Myla!! Actually, to be entirely correct, the 4 pound, 1.9 ounce Myla! That's right, she gained 79 grams today to be officially four pounds. The nurse weighed her three times to make sure. She's such a big girl now! We are so proud!

Myla had her follow-up eye exam today. The doctor said her eyes were stable, which means that its not getting any worse, and she will have another exam in two weeks. We're hoping that it is starting to correct itself, although he wouldn't be able to see that. Stable is a good thing.

Our big girl is also over the 1800 gram mark, which means she should be in an open crib. However, they are also building a new NICU and next week will be jack-hammering right next to the one they are in now. They closed the room that she's been in because they don't have a lot of babies. So she's back out in the main room now. Which is okay, because she gets to see more of her favorite nurses that way. But it will be loud with the construction, so she probably won't be put in a crib until its over because the isolette will help with the sound. But who knows? Maybe the doctor will pull her out anyway. I guess we'll just wait and see.

Milk mustache

Myla continues to make strides toward coming home. She finally got rid of that annoying probe around her foot today. It measured the oxygen in her blood, but she has been holding steady for a couple of days now and they decided to take it off. Now, they only measure it once a day. I'm sure its nice for her not to have that around her foot, and its one less cord for us to worry about when we hold her.

She is also taking 2-3 full feedings a day from a bottle. We didn't believe the nurses at first that she was doing that, but tonight, she did it for us too. And man, did she truck right through it. It seemed to go really fast and she did great. She's so close to four pounds - in fact, she's only an ounce away. She measured in at 3 pounds 15.1 ounces tonight and we're betting that she hits four tomorrow. By Thursday or Friday she should be the magical 1800 grams and can be in an open crib.

We have the discharge criteria on our fridge and all of these are things that they want her to do before she goes home. It helps remind us of the goals she has to hit, and its such an amazing feat to think of where she was only eight weeks ago. She's been called a spitfire, a pistol and feisty girl. But you know what they say - dynamite comes in small packages!

4 pounds of fury.

What a day Myla had without her parents! Apparently, she takes a full feeding from a bottle when we're not around, not just once, oh no, twice just today! That's a big jump from here a little there a little, even bigger than taking a bottle feeding once in a day. She's doing great and she knows it. I took 7 pictures tonight (not all posted) and then Myla slept the rest of the night and the afternoon when I saw her on my lunch break. The nurses say she gets really feisty but we haven't seen it... ;o)

I included a picture of her Isolette because soon it will be just a memory, not a fond one, but a memory none the less. She still didn't break the 4 pound mark tonight, 2 oz away so she'll probly make that up tonight if she hasn't already, which could be. We hope everyone is enjoying our little blog and getting their Myla-fix. We'll most likely keep it up after she comes home, maybe not as frequently, and the attention will ween away more than it has now.

Mom and Dad: We figure this is a good place to let out some of our fatigue even if nobody reads this part it's helpful to let it out now and again. We feel our breaking points ever nearer each day we have to leave our baby girl in the hospital and try to keep up the holiday spirit, and our spirits in general, in our home with our hearts heavy and emotions right there on the cuff of our sleeves. If it weren't for each other, our family and friends I hate to think how we would handle it all. 2 months this Wednesday. That's how old Myla will be, not including the offset of her actual gestational age, and two days longer than that is how long we've been going to the hospital every day. We're just so tired but every time we see our miracle's tiny face with her wondering little eyes falling on us, to feel her warmth as she sleeps in our arms and listen to her noises...... everything about her is magic!

Mighty Mouse to the rescue!

Myla's nurse practitioner for today said that she was on her way home. Myla just needs to eat all her feedings from a bottle and she can go home. That's great news! Now we just have to help work with her so she can get there when she's ready. Well she probly has to still work on maintaining her temperature and little things like that too.

Myla was so sleepy again this morning, we just held her and she slept, but we still enjoy it a lot. Tonight she measured in at 16 1/8" long and weighed in at 3 lbs 13 oz. Still gaining at least one ounce a day, sometimes 2 and she still looks and feels so little. Kara said she slept the whole time tonight too, minus a 2 minute looky-loo session after her ear got tickled by the nurse. She's so funny.

Her smiles are darling, and she really shows them when we hold her. We can't wait to have her home for longer bonding times and just love her all the time. Sigh...

So close to 4!

Our Myla had an eventful day. This morning, while trying our hand at feeding her, she forgot to breathe while sucking and her oxygen level dropped way down. Scared the you-know-what out of me. But the nurse said that is what they tend to do and she did come back up. By the end of it, she had taken 10 milliliters, which is about her standard right now. She then slept hard for the rest of our visit.

Tonight we went to my company holiday party and so we visited a little later. She gained 2 ounces today! That puts her at 1710 grams - 3 pounds 12 ounces - and she is well on her way to an open crib. The nurse tonight told us that they do that at 1800 grams, so she could be in one by the eighth week anniversary of her birthday. She looked really good and gave us lots of smiles and mousy grunts.

We have been working with her - as John posted yesterday - to retrain her leg muscles to be more straight out. The developmental therapist said that most preemies about this time are gaining more muscles in their legs and they sometimes need to be "trained" to have their knees point up and their legs straight, so she isn't really concerned about it, but there are some exercises that we can do to help her now. They are very simple exercises - bicycles, twisting, pointing her toes. There's this muscle from her knee to her ankle that with a really soft touch, you can get her toes to come in. Its actually pretty cute. But, I think just about everything she does is pretty cute.

TGIF

Everyday gets better and better and so does Myla. This morning she took a whole feeding from a bottle in under the time the machine usually pumps it. She looks great! 3 lbs, 10.2oz. When I saw her at noon she was wide awake the whole time, just moving her eyes all over the place and trying to move her head to see. She is so cute! Everyone in the NICU thinks she's so special too and they are really good to us, we are so blessed in this country.

We learned how to help stretch Myla's little legs and feet today, she loved it. It's going to be so good to have her home when that time comes. We're all pretty tired tonight so the update is short, sorry but we'll report again tomorrow on everything in more detail too.

Big week coming up

Its hard to believe that its week number seven already. When I look back, the days seem to have flown by and yet each time I leave Myla in the hospital it seems like its been an eternity. On our daily call from the doctor (she calls daily - isn't that great!?) she said that Myla was doing everything she was expected to do at this stage and age. The next week will be big for her, I think. She will start doing the bottle more and more and will probably be moving to an open crib soon. The doctor said that right now all her feedings were through the tube, but she expects that to change in the next 3-5 days. And once she gets that mastered, well, who knows!

She did have another follow up eye exam today. One of her eyes still at the stage one ROP, but the other eye is now at a stage two. Talking to the nurse practitioner tonight, she said that its a pretty common thing and she pointed my eyes to the box on her chart that said "normal for age." She also said that they have only had one baby a very long time ago that had to have their ROP corrected with surgery. So, I'm still worried, but I know that most preemies have this. And it is known to correct itself. So, if you would cross your fingers with us that at her next exam next week everything is starting to correct itself, we would greatly appreciate it!

And if you haven't, please vote in our poll before it ends - its been a pretty tight race this whole week!

3 pounds - and one half!

Myla hit 3 1/2 pounds today - on the nose. Its like she knows how much to gain to land right on these numbers. She hit 1500 grams exactly and now 3 1/2 pounds exactly. She's been so tired from all the growing that she sleeps a lot. But I guess that's what babies are supposed to do. She did take another 10 milliliters from a bottle this morning and that probably wore her out too.

We did another bath tonight, with the nurse raving about how good she looks and being just utterly amazed at how much she's grown. Its hard to believe, when we look back at our pictures and see the change in her. I see it more now that I'm not there twice a day. I'm starting to believe that she could hit four pounds and get her elephant standing on its head. See, with every weight milestone, the nurses give her a postcard that say "I weigh ___ pounds!" She had a mouse with a strawberry for 2 pounds, a snake for 3 pounds and the 4 pound one is an elephant standing on its head. It doesn't seem like that long ago I was telling her that was our goal, to get an elephant standing on its head. And now, it doesn't seem so far away!

What a big, little girl we have! She not only ate 10cc's of milk this morning at 6am but in the afternoon she ate 20cc's, from a bottle! Yeah, she got feisty this morning and the nurse pulled out the bottle as a last resort to calm Myla, the next thing she knew it was almost gone. So, naturally, when I got there later that morning Myla was wiped out from it, I guess it's exhausting for little babies. But that's okay, I'll try and give her a bottle tomorrow and just maybe she'll have the energy for it.

So, her head ultrasound went well. Everything looked good and her doctor thinks Myla is coming along famously. She's still gaining weight and growing out too. We so love spending time with our little baby girl, taking pictures, reading stories, singing songs, and the nurses don't seem to mind it so much either....

Kara is back to work, second day, and I'm training a new-hire at my new store, which also seems to be going well. Haley-dog though, she's got it ruff. ;o) It's cold and snowy here lately and on top of it she doesn't get as much attention or walks so what does she do? Takes it out on poor, defenseless stuffed animals, bills (lol), sunglasses but not shoes. No, those she just "misplaces" as if that's gonna get her on a walk faster.

Thanks to everyone for the clothes, cards and little things for Myla. They are big things in our eyes. Hugs.

J.K.M

First family picture

We had our first family picture taken tonight. As you can tell by our red faces, they keep it pretty toasty in that place. Myla doesn't seem to mind, she can sleep through just about anything. Today, she hardly woke up for her morning cares. Or for her first date with dad. The nurse said she must be growing. I think she was just resting for her big day tomorrow. Hopefully she'll be awake enough to try a bottle when dad comes in and she has a head ultrasound scheduled. (Its just routine, a follow up from the ones she had her first week. They aren't expecting to find anything. But of course, we'll report tomorrow!) She slowed down on her weight gain tonight - only 9 little grams. But after gaining 300 grams in a week, she's entitled to a night off. Just think, if she gains another 300 this week, she might be in an open crib for Christmas. Which would mean that we could dress her in real clothes. But we'll just wait and see. She's a fighter, they've told us that from the beginning. Her primary day nurse said that she's fighting to go home now. And we are there to help her do it anyway we can!

Starting the bottle!

So, Myla just keeps growing! That's what she does best. Although, she did take a few cc's of milk from a bottle and we tried it again today. She still needs more practice but the way she latches on to her pacifier I don't think it will be long. Tomorrow Kara has to go back to work. :o( But we're trying to work out a way to be there the same amount of time if not more. I'll go see her in the mornings and maybe the afternoon and Kara will see her in the evenings for sure and maybe real early mornings as well.

Tuesday we're going to try more aggressively to get Myla on the bottle, it's about that time anyway, so we'll report on that too. She's 3 lbs 5 oz. now, well on her way. Myla has a pretty good attitude already, the day nurses call her a "spit-fire" and the night nurse calls her a "pistol." She's probly getting hunger pangs and needs to get more milk per feeding but we'll see. She's awake before cares (feeding time) and can be quite vocal. As vocal as a Myla-bug can be anyway.

Tomorrow Myla will have her very own room! Everybody in the NICU is so nice to us and they make all three of us feel very special. We can't say enough good things about the care that Kara and especially Myla has recieved, it's top-notch! Now if only they could get my venus fly-trap to grow......

Nothing outlasts the Myla-bunny

As the snow fell outside, Myla stayed nice and warm in her little glass condo. We asked the nurse tonight and they keep it at a toasty 83 degrees in there. Of course we were there twice to pull her out and give love to our little girl! She gained another ounce tonight, putting her at 3 pounds, 3.5 ounces. And they have upped her feedings to one full ounce! My Uncle Tom figured out that proportionally its about the equivalent of a 220 pound man eating 6 pounds of food in a sitting. That's quite a bit when you think about it!

Perhaps the most exciting thing for her happened last night after we left. According to the day nurse, she was fussy and moving around last night, so the night nurse thought, "lets see what she'll do with a bottle." And our Myla did not disappoint. She took 3 cc's from the bottle, or about 1/2 a teaspoon. Not a lot, but she did it without choking and that is a very big feat. They won't start giving her one every feeding, or probably even every other one, but she's just about there. Its a big jump we can see coming!

Don't forget to cast your vote in our poll! Its in the upper left hand corner...

Posing for the camera

Overall, Myla had a good day. She continues to put on weight and look oh so cute doing it. She did have one minor setback. As you may remember, a couple of weeks ago she had her first eye exam, and today she had her follow-up. They found what is termed a stage one ROP. Now, there are four stages and one is not bad. It simply means that they saw some damage to the blood vessels in her retina, but it was a small amount. In fact, most of the stage one cases resolve themselves and the baby doesn't have any long term vision problems. Our fancy book tells us that 90% of preemies born with Myla's stats will get some stage of ROP. They will recheck it next week to make sure it isn't progressing, but they stressed to us that it wasn't something to worry about, it was a "small change" from last time. So we're guessing (cause we aren't doctors) that it isn't a full stage one, but like John said, they saw a small amount and "rounded up" so that they could document the change.

What we learned today was that all those times we think she's looking at us, she really is. Right now, she can see about 6-8 inches away from her. Still a little fuzzy, but she can see us! She was extremely aware today, her eyes going back and forth and looking for all the sounds in the ICN. She's a very curious little girl. She is now what would be 34 weeks and will start learning to eat from a bottle soon. That will be fun...

John worked to finish the nursery today. We decided to put some moulding around the windows because of the curtains that I made. It looks really nice. He still has the other window to do and then the room should be mostly ready for her. And then I'll let him take pictures. You wouldn't want to see it only mostly done!

3 pounds!

And I don't know how she didn't leave it ALL in her diaper tonight! Look at the picture and you'll understand.... It's wild to think that Myla is 3 pounds, that's right, 3 whole pounds and one ounce tonight. She is getting bigger and stronger, more aware of her surroundings and interacting with us more too. She still seems little, and I guess she is, but there's work to be done yet on her end as well as we have to help her by holding, and reading, singing, all of it.

Kara had a good visit with her doctor today and everything is good with her too. It feels like things are happening faster now, I bet they are but we don't always get to take a step back and analyze much. Hope that everyone is enjoying our blog, our little precious girl, we try to download video to post to but it's not working for us right now so hopefully soon.

Until tomorrow morning when we see Myla again and take more pictures, make more memories and share it with you all here. Love you all!

John and Kara

Roller coaster

Myla had an up and down kind of day. Her favorite neonatologist came back from a four week absence. She said that Myla looked good, but she was a little anemic. However, they expect that in preemies, and they would retest her on Monday. Tonight, she weighed in at just short of three pounds - officially 2 pounds 15.4 ounces. Myla also got a bath tonight. Then she spent the rest of the night setting off alarms when the oxygen in her blood went down. They don't know if it was really her, or if the probe on her foot was just not picking up.

Its kind of hard to sit there when the alarm is going off and you don't know what to do. She looked good to me, all snuggled up like a burrito and just sleeping. But still, when it happens a lot, it starts to make you wonder if she is really okay. The nurses didn't seem concerned, and like I said, she looked good. Hopefully tonight she will get a good nights rest, grow a little bit more, and tomorrow she'll have the quietest monitor in the room.

60 more

Tonight, mom and the nurse were talking about babies and weight gain. Ok, all day we were talking about it. Her day nurse was saying how she seems to gain in round numbers only, 20 grams here, 40 grams there, no 23 or 15. And then tonight, the nurse was talking about how they like weight gain to be between 20-40 grams a night, or an average of 30 each night for a week. And then - bam! Myla puts up a gain of 60 grams, which puts here about 2 pounds 14 ounces. As her Uncle Scott said tonight, she looks like a baby! Tomorrow night, she might not show a gain of anything. But after a 60 gram jump, that's just fine. We're crossing our fingers that she hits the 3 pound mark by the end of the week. Wouldn't that be cool!?

Another day in paradise

Myla had another day of sleeping and growing. She gained another 20 grams, putting her at 2 pounds 12.4 ounces. Mom and Dad get to do most of her cares and positioning when we are there. Taking her temperature, changing her diapers, getting her dressed. We've gotten pretty good at it too. We can rotate her from her back to her tummy without disconnecting the wires, all through two little doors in her isolette. When its time to get her out for some snuggling, we can move her and all her attachments without alarming - too much. The nurses that we have regularly know we can do it without much help and are very willing to let us. Myla is definitely the favorite of a few of the nurses too. I have a feeling that when she is in an open crib and taking a bottle, or crying, there will be many willing hands to pick her up and cuddle her.

She was very alert tonight when I was holding her. Her vision isn't really developed, and she probably sees lots of blurry dots, but she's become what one of the nurses says is a social butterfly. She was looking around and trying to locate the sounds she was hearing. It was pretty cute to watch her eyes go back and forth.

Sacre bleu!

Holy moly! Geez Louise! Zut alors! Great Scott! Myla grew 2 1/2 inches in a week! Last Sunday she was 12 3/4 inches and today she measured at 15 1/4 inches. Mom and the nurse didn't believe it at first so we measured twice. And it's true! Her head measured at 11 inches, which is perfect. She's also up to 26 milliliters over 30 minutes on her feedings. The nurse said that is one of the first steps to getting her to take a bottle. Next week, crossing our fingers, we'll start introducing her that. They have also stopped giving her caffeine, which means they think that she can remember to breathe on her own.

I just can't believe that she grew 2 1/2 inches! In a week!

The Myla Diet.

I guess if you wanna gain weight, sleeping and eating and sleeping some more is the way to go. Just look at Myla! Another whole 20g last night and she sometimes doubles that in one night, just amazing. Boy it's a good thing I gave up on that challenge weeks ago, where I was supposed to lose as much weight as Myla gains, she's too fast. In all seriousness, she's so perfect!

Being able to interact with her more has given me a lot to look forward to when she comes home, even in the middle of the night, I say that now...... We always talk about the baby but not very much about us the parents. It's been tough, for us individually and as a couple but it's a good thing we talk and support each other as well as we can. All in all we're very blessed and very much in love with all three of us.

Double!

Our big little girl gained another 40 grams tonight. She's doubled her birth weight! From 1 pound 5 ounces to 2 pounds 10 ounces. The nurses that aren't regularly assigned to her like to take a peek about once a week to see how she's growing and they are always amazed. She's growing like crazy!

Myla also has another big move coming up - to the back room. That's where they typically put the babies that don't need to be so closely watched. The growers. The stable kids. The big kids. Our tiny baby girl now considered a big kid - yeah!

Baby boogers! Yuck!

As of late Myla had been kinda fussy, more-so than from being disturbed from sleep, and tonight we found out why. Poor kid had a nostril plugged, who knows how far back, with dried mucus. I watched Nurse Dennis blow it out with saline and an aspirator but man, even small babies can have big snots. Sorry this update probly isn't going well with breakfast for those of you who check in the mornings, I just write it like it is.

She gained another 20g last night so still just truckin'. I got quite a few smiles from her tonight though after she could breathe better. There's something so wonderful about the way a baby smells, she makes our hearts so much warmer and seeing her little eyes peer out at us would melt any heart. We love her so much!

Leaps and bounds

Myla had a very exciting evening tonight. She got all the stuff that was stuck to her taken off and got a bath. And then the photographers came out in force! The nurse she had tonight was having a lot of fun taking pictures of her in the bath - you know, the good naked pictures you can show to her dates. After all that, she got everything stuck back on and slept really heavily in mom's arms. So deep and heavy, she was drooling and snoring! If you can believe a five week old baby snores. It was very quiet and cute - not at all like her dad.

To celebrate her five weeks, she also got an official weigh-in for her growth chart. Tonight she tipped the scales at 2 pounds and 8 ounces. That's a two ounce gain just from last night! One thing the doctor said yesterday was that she would start to gain weight in leaps and bounds and the scale tonight confirmed that. Before you know it, she'll be three!

Forward from here

Myla continues to do what she needs to do - sleep and grow. She does great when being held and has no problems making herself comfortable. Tonight, she didn't even alarm once!

As promised, we did have our care conference today. The doctor told us that everything - and he means everything - is going great. Other than the fact that she is small, she is doing wonderfully. He doesn't foresee her going home on oxygen or any other monitor. She will probably be moved to an open crib around 1600-1800 grams (roughly 3 1/2 to 4 pounds), and should begin learning to eat from a bottle in about two weeks or so. Tonight she weighed 2 pounds and 6 ounces. In all, she is just doing great. Honestly, I had convinced myself that he would say that something wasn't up to speed, but he didn't. He just kept saying that she's on the right path.

The thing I thought was most interesting was the neurological development of a preemie has a lot to do with the family structure and how involved the parents are. The developmental specialist praised us for trying to do her cares and for reading to her and for holding her as much as we do. She said that some babies don't get that and it really does affect them in the long run. Can you imagine not being involved with your own child? It makes me sad to think about. We love her so much and it is so good for us to help and just to do what we can for our little girl. After all, shouldn't parents want what's best for their child? So, if reading to her and changing diapers and plain ol' loving her helps, then we will keep doing it!

Little Myla certainly has a bigger head now than she did almost 5 weeks ago. It's still small but I can see it. Her head measures at 10 1/2" and she is 12 3/4" long. She always seems to have her eyes open anymore when we go to change and hold her, they roam around and sometimes they look beyond mom or dad to see who's behind us. I love her alertness and all the tiny sounds she makes for us, almost mousy-like, so cute!

Tomorrow morning we have a care conference with her doctor in which they said to have questions for them.....oh, so many questions..... Mostly about what to expect for the second half of Myla's stay in the NICU. I would love to ask if she can come home for Christmas, but I'm sure it's all a matter of time and whether or not she's ready by then, wait and see and stuff. We're just ready to have her home to take care of her all the time.

Alas, whatever's best for our baby! And we know she'll have plenty of holidays at home in the near future too. So, I guess the main thing is that she's doing great and we really can't ask for much more than that.

More moving

Myla has moved on back! Well, to the back of the NICU anyway. They have moved her to the back in a corner for a little more privacy. She's doing great on the low flow oxygen and was down to 25% tonight. As adults, the room air we breathe is 21%, so I'd say 25 is pretty good. The nurses keep telling us that being on low flow is a huge step, and that makes us feel pretty good. We know that she is growing and getting stronger.

Myla is also up to 24 milliliters on her feedings and they are giving it to her over 45 minutes instead of an hour. Our handy=dandy packet says that a 4 1/2 pound baby needs 12-15 ounces a day, and 31 milliliters is an ounce. So she's getting there! Just another sign that she's growing!

One Kilo!

Today Myla is 1020 grams! Roughly 2 lbs 4oz. And tonight she will be put on a low flow oxygen, this is a test run and she could go back again but that's what they said about the high flow 2 weeks ago. That means her lungs will do all the work (high flow just gives a boost)and without the annoying side affect of getting air in her tummy. She had her eyes open for us again tonight and even gave out lots of smiles before falling asleep in mom's arms.

It seems like she has a long road ahead still but she has come a long way already. My wedding ring won't fit over her hand anymore so that's an interesting visual. Tonight we read Christmas books to Myla while a radio played carols in the background,in between random beeps and dings from other baby monitors around the room. This little, tiny wonder has been such an inspiration to us, help us rethink what is possible and how to love more deeply than ever.

Little games

Myla has a great time playing with the nurses. Her temperature goes up for one round of cares and goes down for the next. She loves to make them jump up when her monitors ding because of her oxygen level and then as they get two steps away, she takes a deep breath and makes them stop. Sometimes when we are holding her, I swear I see her smirk.

Yesterday, she got her first eye exam. Because she was so early, her blood vessels to her retinas didn't get a chance to develop. They checked her out yesterday and deemed those blood vessels still immature, which - believe it or not - is a good thing. It means that her eyes are developing normally. She will have another exam in two weeks to see how things are going.

Today the developmental nurse gave us a few pointers to interact with her more as we see her more alert. Little tricks to keep her calm and to stimulate her. Like putting a drop of milk on her hand and then putting her hand up to her mouth. The idea being that she learns to be awake means food. These things will help as we start to bottle feed her in a few weeks.

She's doing great and we are so glad! She is really starting to fill out and become a little person. And for all the playing she does, I think all the nurses really think she's pretty special.

Giving thanks

In honor of the holiday, we decided to do ten things we are thankful for, because we have a lot to be thankful for this year. These are in no particular order, just a few thoughts.

10. Modern medicine!
9. Living in a country of plenty.
8. Nurses who know what to do with tiny, little babies (and help us to not freak out).
7. Technology so we can share with you!
6. Little smiles, hands, feet, ears and belly buttons.
5. Tests that come back perfectly.
4. Snuggle time.
3. Each other (aww, how mushy!)
2. Family to support us and love us.
1. Thank heaven for little girls!

Bath time!

Mom and dad had a big day with Myla tonight, we gave her a bath! She is so mellow, no fussing, she seemed to enjoy it so much in fact that afterwards she slept fast and deep the rest of the time we held her. This morning while holding Myla I just about fell asleep in the E-Z chair myself, she makes us feel so good and relaxed, holding our little girl is theraputic for all three of us.

We've relished all the wonderful comments left to us and we'll try not to disapoint with current updates, often. It's hard watching other babies going home while Myla's still in the NICU, especially around the holidays but we know that she will come home when she can be her best on her own and after we have learned more from the nurses about caring for her too.

There is another baby there that weighed almost as little as Myla when he was born early too and it gives us hope for her to see how big and strong he is now after more than 2 months. Enough sob stories, we love our daughter very much and we are so proud of her progress! Building memories early, that's what we're doing. ;o)

Our little star

She did it! Two pounds! And a very healthy little two pounds it is. Myla is impressing even the nurse practitioner with how she is developing. Her bones and muscles are good and she seems to be very alert and calm when her "cares" are being done. She even cries when she is hungry, which for a girl of her age is pretty remarkable. She may even get moved into an isolette (glass condo) without humidity next week since her skin is now more tough and developed. Another big move.

And this was just too precious not to share. Our little star! We are just so proud that she is doing so well. We love her so much!

Oh the suspense!

Our little Myla measured in at - drum roll please! - 1 pound 15.7 ounces! And the crowd goes wild! OK, so she didn't hit the 2 pound mark tonight like we were hoping. We are blaming that on the dirty diaper she made dad change right before the weigh-in. I guess we can't expect her to gain 20 grams EVERY night. But every ounce - or fraction thereof - is a good thing. She was having a little problem with water in her oxygen tubes tonight, but they were working on getting that solved. In all, she had a good day and the doctor said that she is doing well. She was working on her neck muscles tonight while mom was holding her, moving her head back and forth and trying to sleep on her arm. She was pretty cute!

Almost there

Myla mesaured in at 1 pound 15 oz! By tomorrow evening she ought to be a full 2 pounds! It's so wonderful to see her making progress with her size, it gives us so much hope that soon maybe we'll be able to take her home. It hasn't been easy leaving Myla at the hospital, having to see her only a couple times a day, our home routine is kind of in limbo. It's thanks to everyone's support, help and encouragement that keeps us in the right frame of mind too. Not to mention the little light in our lives that gives us so much just by being herself.

We're looking forward to sharing her in the times to come with all of you , our family, friends and loyal bloggers. ;o) Thank you all so much!

John and Kara

90 grams in 4 days

How does that measure up? Let's see, I think 25.4g is 1oz, so divide 90g by 4 days and that's about 22.5g a day so nearly 3 ounces in 4 days! That's amazing for a 1# 9oz baby! Myla got her second real bath today with mom helping out and just after when I arrived at the NICU she was all swaddled up and happy as a clam with her little eyes moving all over the place to see everything she could.

We are so happy that her biggest problem is being tiny! She can breathe well on her own and do just about everything else needed and she even likes a pacifier, which is almost too big for her. It's hard to think of all the things that happen in our days to post but it's really pretty basic, Kara does mom things, we see Myla, she sleeps almost the whole time, I work and then we do it all over again.

Movin' on up!

Myla had a very exciting day. After mom came to visit her in the morning, the nurses packed her up and moved her on down the nursery. Instead of being right in front of the nurses station now, she is towards the back, where it is a little more quiet. But, this is a great location and a sign that she is growing and stabilizing a little bit to where they feel comfortable putting her further away. Her oxygen flow was also turned down to 2 from 3, which means that its not coming as fast up her little nose. As the nurse explained to us, an adult would get oxygen coming at them at about 6-10, so turning her down is a huge deal. And she got really comfortable on dad tonight and practically drooled on his chest. He liked it too.

Mom got to talk to another mom in the NICU tonight. Her baby was born at 27 weeks as well, and he is now up to almost 5 pounds. It was good to talk to her, and learn some things that might be coming up. Of course, all babies are different, but to talk to her and see her perspective was good. Things you never thought about, you know? She will be taking her baby home in a few weeks, and I am sure that she will be a great mom.

Week 3 update (updated 11/17)

Three weeks and one day old and Myla is putting on weight now. Granted, it's and ounce or so in a day but it's a great start. She was 620g at birth and tonight was 810g which comes out to 1# 12.5oz so she'll be hitting that two pound mark here soon. Overall Myla looks good and is more aware and awake when we come see her, so everything is going her way right now.

Strange turn of fate, my brother Andy and I are going to be managers working at the same mall come Sunday. He works at one anchor store and I at another which are the only stores to the mall right now but it's being re-built into an outdoor type. I still think it's pretty crazy, we'll get to take lunches together all the time, right?.....

Life comes to us in very mysterious circumstances and we are often taken aback by how life goes from us in much the same way. Our hearts and deep felt emotions go out to the Murray family who has experienced this act of life recently when their father and husband Dick is suddenly in danger of losing his. Many prayers for a positive outcome.

Going strong

Our little mighty mouse is going along strong. She is in the "feeding and growing" category now, although we don't know exactly how much she is growing. That's just what the doctor says. She is still doing well on the high flow oxygen machine and is getting a steady diet of love from her mom and dad. Tonight, dad read her a collection of nursery rhymes while mom held her. Her numbers stayed good and, more importantly, she looked good. That's what they tell us - look at your baby, not the numbers. She really is chugging along. Yeah Myla!

And.... its official! John will start at his new position on Sunday. He is very excited about all the opportunities at this new store and new job and even has his first interview for a new agent on Friday. Yeah Johnny!

Lots of love

Myla got lots of love from her doting parents today. Mom held her this morning and Dad held her tonight. The nurse that is taking care of her tonight said that they just love to be held after spending all that time in an isolette. They get "curious" to see the world - after all, they are on the outside now. We even saw her little peepers a few times. And look - he does do diapers! Even tiny little ones!

The nurses are also taking a new strategy for helping Myla gain some weight. They are combining her milk with a higher calorie formula every three hours. This way, she gets 50 calories a feeding instead of 24. (This is probably the only time a girl will want more calories in her diet.) The hope is that by giving her calories instead of just fluid she will start to gain weight at a more steady rate.

At our visit tonight, we were able to have Myla model this strawberry hat that her Gramma Kathi's cousin Elaine made for her. And this was the small version! She's still got some room to grow into it, but hopefully with the new feedings, it won't be long! We are very proud of our little girl. All the nurses and doctors say she is doing great, and when we hold her and look at her, we see a healthy, pink, pretty little girl.

Footlong sub - and two bites

Myla continues to do well on the high flow oxygen machine. And as long as she does, they will keep her on it. The nurses new focus is on her weight. She went back down to one pound nine ounces at her weigh-in tonight. So, in an effort to get her to gain some good weight, they have upped her feedings to every three hours instead of every four. She is still getting the same amount - 20 milliliters - but she's getting two more feedings a day. Hopefully that will put some meat on her little bones. Speaking of her bones... Myla measured 12 inches and a half this week. That's a quarter inch over her birth length and officially puts her at a footlong sub and two bites. So we know the milk is going somewhere!

Pretty in pink

While we were all sleeping, Myla spent the night gaining weight. That's right, she's tolerating her milk very well and this morning weighed in at one pound eleven ounces! And, just to be sure, when the nurses weighed her again tonight, she had maintained it. That's 50 grams overnight. A huge jump for our little girl. Here she is looking stylish in a onsie the nurses had. It is still huge on her, but she looked so darn cute with the ruffles on her bum. (That's her daddy's hand in there for a little perspective.)

Tonight, the nurses decided to give her a test run on a different oxygen machine. Its called a high flow machine and its just the little prongs up her nose, like any adult would get if they went to the hospital. We were able to get our first real look at her little face. Pretty cute huh? Mom was holding her tonight before and after the change and she did beautifully. If she does well overnight, they might just keep her on it. Its possible that she might go back to the CPAP if she doesn't. But, you never know until you try it, right?

Daddy's little girl

Myla had a pretty big day for such a little girl. It started out with the yanking of her IV and central line - yeah! She is totally on mama's milk now - okay, so its specially fortified milk with extra calories, but its milk! She should be up to 20 milliliters at her early morning feeding on Sunday. Then (finally, he would say) Myla was held close by her daddy for a whole hour. She did just as great with dad as she does with mom.

Tonight, Myla got her first bath since her birthday. Mom would have gotten pictures, but she was trusted with holding the oxygen mask to her face while her little head was washed. Then she was bundled up and sat with mom for another hour. And while there, she started sucking on a pacifier. Actually sucking! Its so tiny and so cute. She's the nurses favorite, I think. They all want her to do well and she is having no problems impressing them. Tonight, she is going to sleep in a clean and new glass condo and rest up so tomorrow she can do more impressive things.

Holding steady

Myla had another good and stable day. She has become very opinionated according to the nurses and has no problem letting them know that her diaper is wet or that she does not like her position. Her cries sound like little mouse noises, but to me (for now), they are so sweet and perfect sounding. They continue to increase her feedings and are now adding extra calories to her milk. If she tolerates that milk well and they reach 20 milliliters, then they might just pull out the last IV she has. Right now, that IV is giving her the extra lipids, calories and sugars that she needs to grow. But if she is doing well on her milk alone, they won't need that anymore. Her weight is up to one pound, nine ounces today. Like the nurse said, every day she grows and matures and gets stronger and bigger. So, keep growing little girl!

A good day all around

Today was a good day all around. Myla continues to do well and they have tweaked her oxygen down to the 40s - most of the time. (She still doesn't like being moved a lot, so it goes up when they do that.) Her feedings have gone up to where they are giving her 10 milliliters every 4 hours. And its coming out the other end, which may not sound very pleasant but its a VERY good thing. Tonight, mom got to hold her for two whole hours! She was doing so well that the nurse just let her stay.

Mom went to the doctor today and everything is healing up nicely. In fact, they are now letting her drive - not all the time, mind you, she still has to get her rest. But she can go to the hospital at care times and any other time she wants! And tonight, she got to hold Myla for two whole hours! (Did I already mention that?)

Dad got a very exciting phone call today too. Seems that they have so much confidence in him, that after a few other interviews, some crossed fingers and a little bit of fairy dust, he will be named loss prevention MANAGER at the new store. His very own store. Manager John. It should be official by next week.

Part of us is constantly bracing for the inevitable "bump" in the road, but we are also very thankful for days like today. Here's hoping for a great tomorrow!

Love and thanks.

Just wanted to say again how very thankful we are to all our family, friends and perfect strangers met along the way. It's amazing the impact of just cheerful words when you needed them the most especially without knowing it.

Myla has done so well since being held by her mom, all through the night even. She enjoyed being held again tonight and I got a little video clip of the nurse putting Myla back in her isolet. The perspective will be amazing many years down the road when Myla sees how small she once was against her mom and in the nurses hands. I'm still vying for my turn to hold Myla tomorrow, it may come down to a thumb-wrestling contest with Kara, which I may lose, but in the end I'm sure she'll let me hold her.

Teddy bear hugs are good!

Of course we didn't bring our camera this morning when we visited Myla since we didn't have a lot of time before I had to go to work and I didn't catch probably the best moment between mom and daughter.... Kara was able to hold Myla for the first time, with Myla's head over Kara's heart and wouldn't you know it, Myla did wonderfully!

They both enjoyed being close to each other again so much that Myla's nurse suggested Kara hold her everyday, it will do so much good for our baby. I hope to get some good pictures tomorrow or Wednesday, everyday we see our little girl if possible. It was a very heartwarming way to start the day.

I can't wait to hold Myla too! Hope she likes fuzzy bears, 'cause that's what it will feel like. ;o)

Another milestone hit!

Myla had a very big day. She finally got rid of the ventilator and is now on what they call a CPAP - which is basically the oxygen prongs up her very tiny nose. They have to keep it on with a helmet type thing, which you can kind of see. (Mom's hand is in the way of the full effect.) This machine still keeps pressure going into her lungs, but she is responsible for the breathing on her own. She is doing very well with her new accessory. Myla is also eating well and they are probably going to go up on the amount that she gets every three-to-four hours. Of course, any amount up from a 1/2 teaspoon is huge. We are so proud that our girl has reached this milestone!

Little by little.

Myla is very feisty. When she wants something done she does it herself, like pulling out her breathing tube. Not to worry, the nurses say it happens all the time but they did have to put it back in. Unfortunately, she hasn't been cooperating when we plan on holding her and it's a big enough chore just getting her out of her "glass condo" but maybe sometime this week.

She's doing good still, but needs to get stronger so that means lots of rest and feedings and hopefully she'll be ready for us soon. I plan to get video the first time Kara holds Myla, it will be something else.....

Glass Condo

Here is our baby girl in her new digs. She's doing very well and always looks so comfy when we visit. All of her tests have come back good over the past day and if everything goes right, we should be able to hold her soon. Crossing our fingers, they might even pull out her breathing tube on Monday.

One whole week

Its hard to imagine that its been one week since Myla made her appearance into the world. And what a week its been. They performed another ultrasound on her head today and everything looked good. She even moved into an isolette - her new little glass condo. The wonderful nurses have been keeping a close eye on her and she is doing very well. I think she likes her new digs. We were also surprised at our visit tonight to find a Halloween card from our girl with her tiny 1 1/2" footprints in it. They are so precious.

The enormity of the week is finally settling in. We have been humbled and amazed by the outpouring of support and love for our little girl and family. There aren't even words to describe how much every prayer and wish means to us. We know that there is a circle of love surrounding us and it truely means everything right now. Tonight we are going to get a good night sleep and get ready for week number two.

Whew! What a day!

Today was a good day around the Washburn household. Myla had another great night. The EKG found that the duct between her heart and lungs is closed - yeah! - they took the IV out of her little head and they are reducing the amount of oxygen from the ventilator. But wait - there's more! They weighed her tonight too and found that she's up to 1 lbs and 8 oz. 8 oz! They are going to discontinue the light for jaundice and if her progress keeps up, she might get to move into a "glass condo" sometime this week.

Myla flashed a big baby smile today when she found out that her daddy was going to become the assistant manager at a new store today too. He will be moving to a store a little closer to home probably around the middle of the month. This is a big step to becoming LP manager at his own store in the Macy's world and we are all very excited at the new challenge.

Did I mention that today was a good day? Today was a GREAT day.

Good going little girl!

One week since Kara was admitted to the hospital and one the day, Myla is doing so well on her own so the nurses took her off the high-velocity ventilator for starters. Then her cardiologist said that she had a perfect little heart, there are no signs of jaundice so maybe wednesday she won't need the light shining on her and won't need the little sleep mask. They are going to see if she can have a little milk and then get her on a regular feeding schedule soon. A very good day for Myla.

Kara was able to walk around a store today too, looking for something crafty to keep her mind and hands busy while recovering at home for the coming weeks. Everything seems to be going so well for my two girls and I'm even getting some sleep at night, at least last night anyway. I'm back to work and surprisingly I wasn't too distracted all day.

We really want to thank all our family and friends and co-workers and friends of friends, everyone who is praying for us and doing great deeds for us during one of the toughest times we will ever have. It's heartwarming to know that we can count on so many no matter the distance that might seperate us and we will return the love to any one of you as well. Thank you!

Myla - Day 3

Thank you to Uncle Tom for the picture! Here's our little girl!