Abundant Blessings
My cousin had her twins 5½ weeks early. Kimber was 4+ pounds. Keegan was right at 3 pounds. Kimber learned to bottle feed quickly and was able to come home this past Monday. I got to babysit her yesterday while Cousin went to the hospital to be with Keegan. Oh...My...Gosh! I have never held a baby that small. She is only 5 pounds!!
Keegan was diagnosed with CAVC before birth, which is a combination of problems ranging from a hole between chambers to a leaky valve. It causes oxygen rich blood and oxygen poor blood to mix which, in turn, causes her heart and lungs to work harder to supply the body. The docs FINALLY admitted to Cousin that of the babies born with AVC, over ⅓ are also born with Down's Syndrome. Keegan is amoung those children.
She is still in NICU. She is still just a tad over 3 pounds. It seems for every 2 steps forward there is one going backward. She began therapy to bottlefeed. That got stopped because they found that a valve in her heart that usually closes after birth didn't close with her. So she was back on the IV for meds to close the valve. It worked...but she lost weight. Now they are working on the feedings again. She is still having trouble BUT she is learning. I pray she gets better fast. The docs are talking about a feeding tube very soon if she doesn't progress.
My fabulous cousin told me yesterday, through tears, that she prayed for her family to be closer and for her to be better mother. Her tears, she says, are because she doesn't know what she's done to deserve such a beautiful child as Keegan. She said she doesn't deserve this honor.
I have to admit, I look at this child and see someone who is going to teach alot of people some very treasured life lessons. She's already begun teaching her 32 year old cousin a thing or two about "gumption," determination, and strength. ;)
Keegan was diagnosed with CAVC before birth, which is a combination of problems ranging from a hole between chambers to a leaky valve. It causes oxygen rich blood and oxygen poor blood to mix which, in turn, causes her heart and lungs to work harder to supply the body. The docs FINALLY admitted to Cousin that of the babies born with AVC, over ⅓ are also born with Down's Syndrome. Keegan is amoung those children.
She is still in NICU. She is still just a tad over 3 pounds. It seems for every 2 steps forward there is one going backward. She began therapy to bottlefeed. That got stopped because they found that a valve in her heart that usually closes after birth didn't close with her. So she was back on the IV for meds to close the valve. It worked...but she lost weight. Now they are working on the feedings again. She is still having trouble BUT she is learning. I pray she gets better fast. The docs are talking about a feeding tube very soon if she doesn't progress.
My fabulous cousin told me yesterday, through tears, that she prayed for her family to be closer and for her to be better mother. Her tears, she says, are because she doesn't know what she's done to deserve such a beautiful child as Keegan. She said she doesn't deserve this honor.
I have to admit, I look at this child and see someone who is going to teach alot of people some very treasured life lessons. She's already begun teaching her 32 year old cousin a thing or two about "gumption," determination, and strength. ;)