4 Months Old

Time is going by sooooo fast. She is getting so big.
*eyes are still blue
*sleeps through the night (she will go to bed around 10 and I will have to wake her at 8:00 or we will have a bad day)
*she is losing her hair
*started rice cereal (loved it her first time and doesn't really care for it now)
*will have 5 (6 ounce bottles) a day. No more, no less.
*grunts, growls, and babbles
*giggles out-loud (only has done it twice)
*puts all her toys in her mouth
*starting to recognize strangers (she wants her mom)
*loves to watch baseball on tv
*loves for u to sing to her
*She has been to new mexico and austin so far

Kenley in the Towel Basket

Yesterday I was folding towels and Kenley was tired of being in her bouncy seat and didn't want to do tummy time so I decided to put her in the towel basket. She loved it. She loves the pink and white towel she always looks at it during bath time, it must be the stripes.

3 Months Old

*eyes are still blue

*sleeps through the night

*6 ozs. every 3 to 4 hrs.

*likes to fall asleep on couch

*smiles a lot

*coooos and makes spit bubbles

*starting to grab and reach for things

*rolls over from stomach to back and scoots around

*drools a lot

*loves being outside

*likes to be carried facing out, doesn't like to be craddled

*wears 3 month and 3 to 6 month clothes

*size 1 in diapers

Update

10 weeks old

9 weeks old

8 weeks old

7 weeks old

6 weeks old

Luke Not Feeling Well & Kenley 5 wks. old

Yesterday afternoon Luke said he didn't feel well. Around 4 in the afternoon he started throwing up. He threw up 5 times but had no fever. He said it was the chocolate milk in the cafeteria. As you can see Luke's feeling much better today. Kenley had to a doctor's appt so Luke went to Mimi's so that he wouldn't catch something else. She's a little piggy, she gained 11 ounces in one week. The doctor said that was a little to much, but with everything she has gone through it's okay. Mollie enjoying the sun today.

Tummy Time and Ruffles

Visiting Dr. Gibson

As we were waiting in the waiting room I took this pic of her. We went to see Dr. Gibson so that he could look at her incesion and he said it looks perfect.

1 Month

Luke holding his baby sister

Luke finally got to hold his baby sister. He hasn't been able to since she has been sick and because he goes to school we didn't want her to catch something that he could have got from school and get her sick. He loves her so much!!

3 Weeks Old

3 weeks old at the hospital, sleeping peacefully.

Back to the hospital: Long Update

Kenley had been doing really good at home. Right after Easter I started noticing that Kenley wasn't eating as much and was sleeping more. It wouldn't be a big deal except she had lost weight being in the NICU so we were trying to get her back to her birth weight which was 7lbs. She didn't have a fever and was never fussy. Sometimes, but not every day, she would throw up everything she drank 2 hours later. So I thought maybe she has a really sensitive stomach and we don't need to move her much after her feedings. Well, on Easter when I was burping her she threw up. I am not talking about spit up, this is real throw up. It never bothered her when she would throw up. She kept doing this every other day: either throwing up hours after a bottle or while I was burping her. Well on Tuesday April 13 I thought we were getting better. I thought I had figured out how to handle her and how to burp her without throwing up because she had an awesome day. She didn't miss a feeding that day and never threw up. Well that night several hours after a bottle she threw up and I mean everything. The next morning she was throwing up after every feeding so I decided to call the doctor. We went to go see him and he said she might be sensitive to milk so we changed her formula. For some reason I really didn't think that was the case, but I am not a doctor. Also while we were there we found out that a stool sample that I had to take to the lab to see if she still had salmonella came back positive. So her doctor decided to put her on medicine. I knew she wasn't going to be able to keep it down since she was throwing everything up. So I was so upset as you can imagine. I wanted her to be better and instead I found out she still had Salmonella. The throwing up had nothing to do with the Salmonella. My mom came and stayed with me because I was so upset and Kevin had to go back to work. When I gave her medicine to her, she threw up. So I called the dr. and he wanted to put her in the hospital because she couldn't keep her medicine down. So we went to the hospital Wed. afternoon. They put her medicine threw an IV so that she wouldn't throw it up. He also took her off formula and we did pedialite, which was a terrible decision because she threw that up so fast. I did some research on the internet and found Pyloric Stenoises. Again I am not a doctor and didn't want to say anything to him. The following days she kept throwing everything up. Her doctor decided to see if she had reflux. We went down to Xray and they gave her barrium to drink. You could actually see on the Xray as she swallowed it, it was coming right back up. It never got to her stomach, so that tells us she has REALLY bad reflux. He then told me about Pyloric Stenoises so went back down to the ultrasound room. The results were inconclusive because it didn't show that she didn't have it, but it didn't show that she had it. They said we will do it again on Monday. Well on Sunday one of the nurses saw Dr. Gibson and stopped him and begged him if we could do the ultrasound today because they were pretty forsure that was what she had. So he arranged for that to happen and sure enough it showed on the ultrasound that she had it. They look for this thing that looks like an olive. I was releived when they said that's what she had because I knew it could be fixed. Where as if she had reflux we would have to deal with it until she out grew it. My mom knows Dr. Gibson and he knew how stressed I had been so he said he would do the surgery today. Well, I was now so scared, not of the surgery, but of the anasthetics. The Anathesiologist came and talked to me and reasurred me that he felt confident putting her under because all her labs came back looking real good. I couldn't even take her down to the waiting room were they take her from you to go into surgery. I was so sad and scared. My mom took her down for me and Kevin stayed with me because I was at rock bottom again. Her face was covered in my tears when I was saying bye to her. Time went by so slow as we waited for Dr. Gibson to come and tell us how it went. Finally he came out and said it went perfect. I was now crying with happy tears. He did mention that they could still throw up 48 hrs. after surgery. Well the next day in the evening she threw up. Her pediatrician decided to keep her a few more days and to put her on reflux medicine because he thought she might have that. Well after that she didn't throw up again but we kept giving her reflux medicine. I could see a big difference in her fast. She was eating more and was burping normal. When we left the hospital she was back to her birth weight at 7 lbs. We ended up staying in the hospital for a week and 1 day. We are now at home and she hasn't thrown up and she is eating 4 ozs. which is really good for her.

Easter

Luke and Nana

Luke and his Aunt Lindsey

Our Other Children

Mollie and Wilson enjoying some time inside. I feel so bad for them, they have been staying outside all day and night when we were at the hospital. They are still staying outside because they are really really interested in Kenley and won't leave her alone.

Picking Up Big Brother

Kenley's first time to go pick up her big brother from school.

2 Weeks Old

She looks really big in this pic., but she is actually very small.

Kenley and Luke

Update

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, we have been really busy. So I am going to give an update. Kenley was born on Wed. March 17 and on Friday March 19 Kenley got really sick and they admitted her in the NICU. Kevin and I stayed at the hospital till she was out. We would rotate to go see Luke and he would also come up there to see us. We left the NICU Monday March 29.

Going Home

Mollie and Wilson were really interested in her.

Luke's 1st baseball game

Saturday was Luke's first baseball game. Kevin and I decided that both of us would go together. Someone has always been staying at the hospital with Kenley, but the nurses thought that it would be a good idea for us to both get out. This was his first time to hit with a pitching machine and he did awesome. He had 2 games and his team won both. After his game we took him to Wal Mart to get a book that he has wanted since he has been so good through all of this.

Update

I am going to tell you everything and PLEASE if you have any information and/or have heard of anything PLEASE let me know. They tested me for salmonella and sure enough I have it. I haven't had any symptoms which can be normal for adults or at least I don't think I have. Right after Kenley was born I lost my appetite and I did the same when Luke was born too. So I really haven't eaten anything since Wed. March 17. On Monday they wanted me to give a stool sample. Well I couldn't go to the restroom so I had to take stool softeners and drink 1 dose of Miralax. I was able to go but it was very hard. Well on Friday March 26th at 1:00 am to 3:00 am I had very very loose stools. I thought maybe all those stool softeners and Miralax were finally hitting me. Not to be gross but it smelt like Kenley's and was yellow and stringy (not sure if that's because i haven't eaten or am I trying to pass the Salmonella). When I went to go see Kenley in the NICU the lab called and said I tested positive for Salmonella and I just broke down in tears because no one was able to give me for sure information. The nurses were so sweet and they comforted me and told me that it would be better if they kept Kenley instead of me taking her to the room by myself. Poor Kevin was in Big Spring when all this was happening. The GI doctor finally came and visited with me quickly because I am considered an out-patient. He told me that they normally don't treat this, but I am going to give you medication. He also said something about something going to my gallbladder. I told him about my very loose stools (not sure if it's from the stool softeners or if I was trying to pass the bacteria) and he didn't give me an answer. He told me he wanted me to continue taking the Miralax but only half the dosage and if I continue to have loose stools to call him. So I was really confused, because I was already having loose stools and wouldn't the Miralax just make it worse. I was also confused because I didn't know if I should take this medication because it might prolong the Salmonella. Well, Kevin and I did some research from some reliable websites and found out that I might be a carrier (not sure what that means), I could just pass it by going to the restroom, I could shed it for 5 weeks (don't know what the means either), and it can only be passed from feces to mouth or by food poisoning. This is what we found out about treating it with medication. They usually don't do that unless a young child has it, an elder person, or someone with a weak immune system. As you can tell this has added some stress on me because I am not sure if I should take this medication. I am going to call the doctor on Monday and try to find something out. However on the good side, we were glad to hear that I have it because we now know how Kenley got it. When she was born she caught it. The doctor told me that you can get salmonella from anything, like taking a bite of a bad piece of lettuce, so we have no idea where I got it from. This makes me wonder if there are other people who might have salmonella and not know it because they don't have any symptoms. I want to know if we would have found out that I had it before Kenley was born and had a C-section would she have caught it. Her doctor told me that when babies are born (not by a C-section) they are exposed to everything in your front private area and back private area. Please let me know if you have any information.

Luke and Kenley

Luke finally got to see his baby sister. He had only been able to see her through the glass when she was in the nursery. No children are allowed in the NICU so he can't see her when she's in there. He was so excited and happy to finally be able to actually see her. He can't hold her yet, because the doctor wants to make sure she doesn't catch something. The first pic shows Luke getting hand sanitizer before seeing her.

1 Week Old

Kenley's one week old today.

Kenley's Outfit

We are still moving forward w/Kenley getting better. This afternoon Kenley had a few wires (TPN) removed so now we can dress her. She will now also be choosing when she would like a bottle. We have been feeding her every 3 hrs. but now we will let her choose when she would like to eat (from 2 to 4 hrs). She didn't really enjoy getting dressed, I don't blame her. After she was dressed she was happy. Her is a pic of her wonderful and caring nurse Julie dressing her.

Kenley Roo

Kenley's nickname that I came up with while feeding her is "Little Miss Roo." Here is a pic after her bath and eating. When we have to stop and burp she opens her mouth and snorts looking for her bottle. She has a nurse (actually all of her nurses) who absolutley adores her. She made her the hat she has on and also made her carebear with her birth information on it. I can't even explain how wonderful the nurses are hear. I love them so much for taking specail care of our little girl.

Monday

Hello, again. This is Tambra posting an update for Carley.

The test for what type of bacteria Kenley has, came back today. She has salmonella. Carley said that the hospital staff had seen very few cases of salmonella in an infant this young.

In order to keep family, friends, and nursery mates well, Kenley spends most of her time in "her house". "Kenley's house" happens to be an incubator in the NICU. Kevin and Carley are able to hold her and feed her still. Carely says they have to suit up in scrubs that look and feel like a sauna suit. The look is made complete with rubber gloves.

Carley hasn't missed a feeding since Kenley has been in the NICU and she says she is beginning to eat with gusto. Kenley's white blood cell count is also on the rise. She is also gaining the weight back that she lost!

The Smith's expect that Kenley will end up spending between 10-14 days in the NICU. The stay will be longer if Kenley's spinal fluid is infected with the bacteria.

Please continue to pray for Kenley's recovery!

Kenley Update

Hello all. I know many of you have been waiting on an Kenley update. Carley is not the author of this post, Tambra is. I had a chance to visit with Carley on Saturday at Luke's birthday party. I will try to keep it simple and try to keep all the details straight.

Carley said that in the day Kenley was born, she and Kevin thought they had been given the best, most mellow baby ever! She was calm and quiet all that day. Heading in to Thursday, there were signs that she might be very ill: not crying when she was changed, being completely cooperative when getting her hand prints done, and seeming lethargic. Kenley also had a fever and was not eating well.

On Thursday, Kenley was admitted into the NICU. They gave her an IV and she was placed in an incubator. The doctor says that Kenley has a bacterial infection. Kenley is receiving an IV antibiotic to fight the infection. Yesterday after Luke's party, Carley and Kevin were finally able to hold their sweet baby again! Today, Kenley got to have her first bottle since being in the NICU (they were feeding her by IV).

They expect that Kenley will be in the NICU from 7-21 days (Let's pray for 7!) depending on what type of bacterial infection she has. Carley says Kenley seems to be heading in the right direction. She is getting more "fiesty" each day!

It will take a while for Kenley to be able to meet the world. The doctors tested her blood counts, and she has a low white blood cell count. This will make her more venerable to other types of illnesses.

Carley and Kevin are thankful that Kenley is under constant supervision by great nurses and one of the best NICU doctors in Texas. They would like to thank you for your support and prayers.

I will try to post another update tomorrow so Carley can focus on showering her new baby with love. Carley said she is looking forward to returning all of her missed calls, your texts, and posting pictures of a healthy Kenley once they are on the other side of this.

Nursery Pics

We will be posting lots of pics, but not in order.

Welcome Kenley Nolan Smith

Kenley arrived at 5:05 today. She is 7lbs and 19 in. long. She is very healthy and beautiful. We didn't call people because the dr. said she was a little premature and nobody needs to be holding her except mom and dad, so that she doesn't get sick. We will have more pics coming.

My Next Project

I can't post pics yet because I don't want Luke to see. I am making him a big brother gift bag to give to him when he comes to the hospital. We just got his Big Brother T Shirt in. It's a football shirt. We also ordered him a Batman book. He loves Batman. The book will have his name and other information about him throughout it. I found it on internet and there's all sorts of books they will do like that. We are still waiting for that to come in. I am also going to fill the bag with little nick-nack stuff. I will post a picture of the bag after Luke gets it.

Luke Having Fun

Luke loves playing in boxes. He looks forward to baby furniture coming in so that he can have the box.

Hospital Door Decoration

Okay, for everyone who knows me this probably won't surprise you. I really had this cute and different idea for the decoration that will hang on the door at the hospital, so I decided I wanted to make it. I know someone is suppose to make it, but this is what I really wanted. It's hard to see but at the neck I put a pink crystal necklace on it. The flash takes the color of it.