Laken turns 1 month old!

Wow where has the time gone? Our little Laken was a month old yesterday! We had a long hard couple of weeks at first but Laken is doing much better! Doctors are amazed at how well our little girl is doing compared to her first few weeks. She is now taking 5 out of 8 feeds in a 24 hr period through bottle and the other 3 still through her NG tube. They are slowly working her up trying to get her on full bottle feeds. She has done really good taking to a bottle! As of yesterday she weighed 5 lbs 8 oz. She's gaining weight! She got moved about a week ago from cardiac ICU to neonatal ICU because they say her heart function is stable and not changing much so now it's time to work on bottle feeds and gaining weight! She gets an echo every week to make sure nothings changing. Wednesday the pressure in the right side was up a little but they aren't doing anything but monitoring right now. We can finally dress our baby girl and hold her any time we want!! She's out of her little "box" and in just a regular little bassinet like in the nurserys. Those of you that read the Andrews newspaper, Laken is not on the list for a transplant right now. It is not something that is completely out of the picture in the future but as of now she is not. Prayers are being answered everyday and we can't thank you all enough for helping us out so much! Please continue praying for our baby!


New pictures will be posted tomrrow! :)

Newest update...

Laken is now out of surgery. She did great and is stable. She has the drain out of her abdomen finally. Thanks for all the support and prayers. Keep 'em coming!!

Recent Pictures

Daddy and miss Mallorie loving on Laken...

Mommy and miss Mallorie loving on Laken...

Oh no!! She likes her finger!!

Again... she has the finger in her mouth. LOL

Isn't she just precious?!?

Mallorie loves her baby sister!!

Mami and Mallorie loving on precious Laken Mia

3 weeks old today!!

WOW!! Laken is 3 weeks old today. Doesn't even seem like it!! Well.... no news is good news right?!? LOL. Laken is staying pretty stable right now. As of 6/14/10 she weighed 4 lbs 13 oz. She has gained a little bit which is good. Tomorrow, 6/16/10 they are going to try to schedule to take out the drain that has been in her abdomen. It is a small surgical procedure to remove this. We just keep on praying that she continues to progress as she has been over the last 3 weeks. Please keep sweet Laken in your prayers.

more good news!

Laken was extubated on the 9th and is doing very well! She went from the vent to the nasal tubes. She started on 6L of room air and is now down to 4L. They will ween her down slowly and she should be off the nasal tubes in a couple of days. They are increasing her feeds every 6 hours hours trying to get to 9cc an hour and she is at 6 right now. Once she gets to 9cc they will start increasing her calories and she should start gaining some weight. She had an echo this morning and the function of her left ventricle is still normal (thank goodness!) and the right side still has the same issues that its always had. So what this means is, that if she keeps going at this rate, they will continue to let her grow. They don't necessarily have an ideal weight they want her to be at, but the bigger she is, the better she'll do in surgery. So as of right now, we don't have any idea when the surgery will be. Please continue to pray that she gets stronger and healthier before surgery is needed!

Good news...

Laken had an echo today.... GOOD NEWS!! The left ventricle is completely back to normal and the PDA is closed... AND she is tolerating it well!! Whoohoo!! We have to give a million thanks for all the prayers. We can definately see God working here. No word or decisions on surgery yet. They are planning on feeding her, letting her grow, and slowly weening her off the vent, with hopes that she tolerates everything. Please continue to pray for my precious neice and the family. Thanks again for all the support and prayers!!
Lots of love..... Chandra

Update on June 5

Laken has had several echos done in the last couple of days and they are now showing that her left ventricle is not functioning right. The doctors can't figure out what is causing it because up until 3 days ago it was really good. They are thinking it could possibly be an external issue, so they are no longer trying to get her off the vent. They are running tests and doing labs and will do another echo on Monday. Lots of prayers for our baby girl!

Mallorie hanging out at the Ronald McDonald house waiting to meet her little sister.


Mallorie loves her baby sister!! She finally got to meet her yesterday. She even got to color her a picture.

New news on Laken....

Today they inserted a PICC line, took out her umbilical artery line, and inserted a feeding tube. The doctors said she tolerated it well. Her heart rate and other vital signs stayed stable throughout the procedure. She's a strong little girl!! Not much else going on right now. Keep on praying...

Recent Pictures of sweet Laken and Mallorie

As of June 1, 2010

Sweet little Laken has continued to improve. Yesterday she was starting every breath on her own. They are considering taking her off the ventilator. They have even noticed that there is some blood flowing through the right side of the heart. They initially thought the right side didn't work at all. So this is GREAT news!! They are still monitoring Laken. No definate decisions on surgery yet. Keep on praying... Chandra