Keira Leigh is THREE WEEKS old today.

Keira finished off her antibiotics from last week, but unfortunately it did little to improve her breathing or her lung x-rays. For now it is still unclear if her weakened respiratory system is due to an unidentified infection or just due to her prematurity. Only time (and unfortunately more testing) will tell. A repeat brain ultrasound was done early last week and it showed no brain bleed!

Although her breastmilk feedings were put on hold while she was taking the antibiotics, Keira is now back to the breastmilk and doing very well with it. She even managed to gain quite a bit of weight this week. Keira is now TWO POUNDS FIVE OUNCES. You can really see the beginnings of her face filling out and her features are more pronounced. Although it's difficult to get a really good look due to the CPAP on her nose, I think she may look a little like Claire did as a newborn. All of the nurses continually comment to us how cute they think she is. Steve and I couldn't agree more!

Daddy finally got to hold his littlest girl and I started "Kangarooing" her. Kangaroo Care is a way of holding the baby so that there is skin to skin contact between mother and baby. (Basically Keira is only in her diaper and is placed on my bare chest...Sorry if that sounds weird to anybody. Trust me, there's lots of privacy. Curtains are drawn, a blanket is draped over the two of us...) It's a pretty unique and amazing experience....a closeness almost like during pregnancy (almost) Her little twitches and kicks as she's laying on me feel like the same movements that came from within when I was pregnant with her. I kangaroo'ed Claire too during her brief stay in the NICU. Supposedly this type of closeness promotes overall well being for mommy and baby as well as increases weight gain in the baby and stimulates growth and development.

Lots of love has been showered on our little one. The mailbox is constantly full of encouraging cards of love and prayer and the phone is always ringing for updates. (Apologies to anyone who has yet to get a return call.....between chasing Claire, spending time at the hospital, and recovering from bedrest/c-section, I am EXHAUSTED! I can only promise that I am trying my best.) It is overwhelming to know how many people have heard Keira's story and are offering up their prayers and hope for our baby girl. From the bottom of our hearts, Steve and I thank each and every one of you.