Kayleigh met several furry friends this week including her little pumpkin bear. She enjoys play time with her singing duck, Spot the Leopard and her doctor bear. Since she is too small for Halloween this season, we just got her a little sleeper with bears and pumpkins on her feet. Our little boo is doing well and continuing to eat better each day and she is spitting up less. She goes to the pediatrician again tomorrow for a weight check. 
Our little girl is getting stronger, eating better, and crying louder. She's keeping Mom and Dad (OK, mostly Mom) up at night with constant feedings, diaper changes, and general fussiness. She's getting stronger every day and is starting to lift her head up and move it from side to side. She enjoys her bath time, but has gotten into a routine of throwing up all over herself after she is freshly cleaned. Mom and Dad are really discovering the joys of parenthood!
Kayleigh is a happy girl and wanted to let everyone know that she is adjusting well to home life and thrilled to be away from the hospital. She saw the pediatrician on Monday and has gained several ounces just since leaving the hospital on Friday afternoon. Feeding continues to be a challenge, but it is improving each day. She goes to see the Cardiologist on Thursday for a check up. All these appointments are forcing Mom to venture out on her own - a daunting task. 
Kayleigh came home today! 
Yesterday, the feeding tube was taken out of Kayleigh's nose. She continues to improve her eating and no longer needs it. She is wearing clothes for the first time since the surgery.
Kayleigh is doing much better with her feedings now. Today, she was able to take between 25 and 30 ml during each feeding. This is about twice as much as she has been doing since the surgery. The doctor says that she needs to be taking at least 45 ml consistently in order for us to be able to take her home. Hopefully, she will continue to progress at this rate.
Last night, Kayleigh's final IV was removed. That means that she no longer has any needles poking her. She now only has a feeding tube and monitors hooked up to her. She is also now able to use her left arm which was wrapped up with tape and a splint.
Kayleigh moved out of the ICU yesterday and into a regular room. She is still recovering well from the surgery. The IV was removed from her leg, so now she just has the IV in her arm and monitors hooked up to her. We can also pick her up and hold her again.
Kayleigh is recovering from surgery very well. Yesterday morning, by the time we arrived at the hospital, they had already removed her drainage tube and catheter, as well as the lead wires for a pacemaker (that were never needed) and an IV line that went directly to her heart. She still has a couple of IV's, one in her leg and one in her arm, but is now only on a couple of different medicines. Yesterday, they began feeding her again. Once she was fed she looked much better and more comfortable.
Kayleigh's surgery went very well today. She is now back in the ICU and is doing well. The narrow part of her aorta was too narrow to patch, so instead, the surgeon removed the narrow portion and connected the ends together. He indicated that this was more of a risk during the surgery, but will be better for Kayleigh in the long run because of the absence of a patch. The surgeon also told us that the patch he used to close the hole between her ventricles (VSD) was about the size of a dime. The ventilator was removed just a few minutes after the surgery and she is breathing on her own. 
Kayleigh's heart surgery is now scheduled for Thursday. Dad went back to work today, but stopped by the hospital in the afternoon. Mom spoke with the surgeon, and he explained the procedure. Kayleigh's defect is actually called Hypoplastic Aortic Arch (not Interrupted). The Aorta, rather than being disconnected (interrupted), is very narrow. She also has a small hole between her left and right atrium as well as the one between the ventricles. Apparently, all newborns have the hole between the atriums, and it usually closes on its own, but the surgeon is going to stitch it closed. He is going to place a patch between the ventricles since that hole is too big to stitch.
Kayleigh did not have her surgery today. Apparently, the two surgeries scheduled before Kayleigh's took a little longer than expected. The best estimate is now for Thursday, but they're still not sure.
Today, Kayleigh had lots of visitors, including Auntie Cindy and Uncle Pat, Andrea, and Ryan, Auntie Pam and Uncle Mike, Laura, Rachael, and Matthew, Grandma and Grandpa R., and Great-Uncle Tom and Aunt Sandy.
Kayleigh has not been eating well and she's been spitting up some of what she does eat. So, yesterday, the doctor's decided to constantly feed her through the tube in her nose. That means that, unfortunately, we will no longer be bottle feeding her. Also, they tried to take a blood sample from the IV in her belly button, but couldn't get it. They ordered an X-Ray to make sure that the IV hadn't become dislodged. Luckily, the x-ray showed that it is still in place because this is how Kayleigh is getting her prostaglandin. This is the medicine that is keeping the PDA, a temporary vessel in her heart that usually closes a few days after birth, open. The bad news, however, is that they needed to put a second IV in her arm. This IV is there just in case they need to give her anything else. So, now she has her left arm taped up in a splint to keep it straight.
Grandma and Grandpa L. are coming to visit today along with Auntie Kelly and Uncle Chad. Grandma and Grandpa R. and Auntie Patty visited on Thursday and Aunt Sandy came to see Kayleigh on Wednesday. We also had a preacher from our church come to give Kayleigh a blessing on Friday. She will be baptised sometime closer to the surgery date. Mom and Dad are very thankful that so many of our family members will be able to see her before her surgery.
