Video Time

After a long wait....I have been able to post a video to the blog.

Just press [play].

Back to Katy

We finished our weekend in Louisiana and made it back to Katy late yesterday evening. After bath time last night, Kailey was both awake enough and content enough for a few posed pictures. Below is my favorite:

What do you think?

We have another hurdle tomorrow. We'll be taking her for an appointment with a cardiologist. They want her heart murmur to be monitored. Our hope is that it will improve on its own and not require any surgical intervention.

bienvenue vers la Louisiane

"bienvenue vers la Louisiane" or "Welcome to Louisiana". Kailey got to "see" that sign as we crossed over the Sabine River and into Louisiana on Friday. It was her very first time to leave Texas. We are all three spending the Memorial Day weekend in Lake Charles. I had some time to day to do what everyone seems to enjoy the most.....take some pictures.



I'm still working on a few that may be *published* on the blog. However, there is one that I really like. After getting so many compliments on the one of Kailey holding my ring, I decided that I wanted one of her holding both of our rings. It is below:



Well, there is not much else to report. We are all doing fine and enjoying our time in Cajun Country.

Doing just fine

Yesterday afternoon, the three of us took Kailey to a doctor at the Houston Medical Center complex to have her little head looked at. The news could not have been any better. The doctor said that her head had no problems and that he was "99.99999%" sure of this. We are going back in one month for a checkup. Also, we have another appointment one week from today to have Kailey's heart murmur checked. Hopefully the news will be just as good. Also, she is gaining weight. She weighed in at 6 lb 11 oz yesterday!

Monday

We had another good weekend. The three of us went out to dinner Friday night, went to a friend's house on Saturday (thanks for dinner, Debbie), and then shopping yesterday. We have a busy week ahead of us. Kailey has an appointment with a specialist tomorrow to have her soft spots examined. The pediatrician is a little concerned that one of the locations may be beginning to solidify too early. Also, for the first time in five months, we are going "home" this Friday. We'll be spending most, if not all, of the Memorial Day weekend in Lake Charles.

A quick note about pictures. The following link is very similar to the last one that I had posted. The difference is in the album. With the earlier link, it took you to a testing album that I just posted some random pictures that I have taken over the past years. The following link will take you to a folder that will have just Kailey pictures. Also, I *plan* to put all of the pictures on both the blog (easy to view) and Kodak.com (easy to order and print).


http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9kz4g3ec.5igmaulg&x=1&y=62negj

Kodak picture clarfication

Based on some more thinking, and a little feedback, I will again be posting all of the Kailey pictures on the blog (not just Kodak.com). This is because most of the blog viewers have no interest in ordering pictures. The ones that do (mostly family and ourselves) will still b able to go to Kodak.com.

My favorite recent picture is below.

Blog Transition

As the blog has grown, the popularity of the photos have outpaced the text. As part of this evolution, I have decided to begin to host my pictures on a web page from which they can be printed. Also, I will not focus much anymore on writing updates.

While I haven't started posting many pics to the printing web page, if you would like, you can get a head start accessing the page.

The following link should get you started:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9kz4g3ec.6fepzulw&x=1&y=-mrregm

If you have questions or comments, let me know (mi.barrett@yahoo.com).

A few pictures

Kailey at 2 weeks and six days.

A rose from Shelli's first Mother's Day

Mother's Day in the Barrett household

____On Saturday, all three of us went to Sugarland for a little shopping. Kailey and Shelli had never been. We had a good time. We picked up a new camcorder while we were there. I hope to be able to start posting videos of our little one shortly.

The other major part of this weekend was the fact that today is Mother's Day. Shelli was able to celebrate Mother's Day for the first time. It has been a good day for all of us.

I know that as much as everyone 'loves' to read whatever I have to write, the big 'star' of the blog are the pictures. I'll try to get some more posted tonight or tomorrow.

First Doctor Visit

Today Kailey was able to venture out of the house. Mom and I took her to see her Pediatrician for the first time. She has gained 7 ounces in the last six days and now weighs in at 5 lbs 11 oz. Those are all good numbers. The rest of the visit was without incident. We will have to take her to two specialists later this summer (head and heart), but there's nothing that we are seeing as an immediate concern.

And baby makes three.....

It's been a few days since I have had the time to write much on the Blog. I guess you have seen the comments that Kailey was able to come home the other night with her mom and I. All three of us had a great weekend. Shelli's parents, along with my parents, spent the weekend with us. Both our moms and dads are first time grandparents so this was a very big weekend for many generations of Barretts and Bridges.

Even with the time away from writing, it has not slowed down the tremendous support that we have been receiving. Shelli and I really appreciate everyone's encouraging words. If you have time, please email either of us (mi.barrett@yahoo.com or slbbarrett@yahoo.com) or just post a comment in the blog. My goal is to take the comments, compile them, and then place them in Kailey's baby book.

Also, spending some time away from writing has led to a back log of pictures that need to be posted. Below are some from the past several days.

Kailey came home last night and is doing great

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Carseat.

Kailey's night was good. The carseat challenge was passed without any trouble.



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After a long wait...time for pictures

Also, Kailey is gaining some weight back. She weighed in tonight at 5# 4oz. That is a very good thing. For right now, the more the better.

Also, she will have her "carseat challenge" later this evening. That too is very good. The carseat challenge must be passed before she can go home. They litterally put her in her carseat for one hour. During that time, she is monitored to make sure she can tolerate sitting still in that position. We think she will do just fine.

Finally, we have some very good news that is not about Kailey, but I think is worth sharing. One of Kailey's roommates, a little boy, has been in the nursery for 6 weeks. Tonight is his last night at the hospital. We saw his dad tonight. He told us that he gets to take his son home tomorrow. After their long road, we are very happy for their success.

Doctor update

The results from the tests that were done yesterday on Kailey are back. While nothing is an immediate concern that must be addressed, there are a few items that will need to be looked at by specialists once she is out of the hospital. The doctor's current estimate is that she will be able to come home sometime next week.



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Our first day of Kailey's second week

Now that Kailey is over a week old, we have begun to settle into a routine with her. Unfortunately, that routine still involves driving to the hospital late at night and again first thing in the morning...and several times in between. Shelli and I alternate as best as we can during the day so that she has at least one of us there during most of her feeding times. Personally, I don't know if I have ever gotten out of bed this early without my activity of the day involving a fishing pole or a football game. However, it really is great for me to get to spend time with her early in the morning. She's normally rested, the hospital is always quiet, and it's generally a calming atmosphere.

Kailey had some precautionary testing done yesterday (x rays and ecocardiogram). So far, we have not heard the results but are assuming that no news is good news. She seemed a little tired last night and didn't quite take her bottles as aggressively as she had been. However, she did still take them. It just took a little longer.

I know I still need to get some new pictures uploaded. There just aren't enough hours in the day. I'll try to post some new pics this evening.

michael

Almost one week old

It's still early Wednesday morning. I just got to the office after spending about an hour with Kailey this morning. I fed her a bottle at 5am. She did a great job taking it as she has the previous several. We'll visit with the doctor later today. Our hope is that she will continue to eat well, get stronger, and be able to come home soon.

I have several pictures that need to be posted. I just haven't had a chance to download them from my camera. Hopefully, I will have time later today or tonight.

Tuesday night.

High everyone. I almost broke the streak of days with an update, but that streak will go on for at least one more day. For lack of any other word, Kailey is doing awesome. The last 48 hours have been good and the last 24 have been outstanding. She is getting so much stronger and has been feeding normally since last night. We are being cautious not to get too optimistic, but we truely believe she should be able to come home soon.



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