HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! This is soooooooo KEWL, don't ya think!!??!! I am two months old today!! GOSH! I feel so old!! Ha Ha Ha!! "I'd like to send a big, BIG Thank You to all of my fans, for without every one of you this wouldn't have been possible!!"......Tee Hee!! Sounds like I am accepting an Emmy or something!! And I got the best birthday present of all, getting to move into this new room and getting a REAL bed!! It is suppose to be a crib, so they say, but it shaped like a big, plastic cake pan rather than a crib!! It is kinda like being in a plastic cake pan (REALLY) but mommy and daddy have more better access to me in here!! All they gots to do is reach down and snatch me up cuz I am right there in all my silliness!! I am doing well on my breathing and even keeping my own body temp, which is why they let me move in here!! I guess I am doing really good right now!! I just hope I can keep it up so I can go home!! That is my biggest mostest importantist goal, and I WILL reach that goal!! Cuz' I am a girl!! Girl Power!! YEAHHHH! Well, I gots to go !! I heard I might be getting some creamed birthday cake in my fortifier and I can't wait!! I hope that wasn't just a nasty rumor someone started to be funny!! Take care and keep up the prayers for my continued success!! I Loves Ya All!!!
Hello again!! Things are going pretty well right now and I have lots to tell you so get ready!! First of all, there is something wrong with the archives page so some of the previous updates will have to hang out here for awhile till Sunnie gets it figured out! It seems she can't get the stupid thing to open up for her!! I keep trying to tell her it's all that crappy, wet Ohio weather they've been having that has made the door swell and stick shut, but being the "Little Miss Smarty Pants" that she thinks she is, she says it is something different! Next, I gots to tell ya about me!! YES, I said "ME!!"!! The other day my mommy and daddy came to visit me and I showed them the new trick I learned!!! I kept trying to tell them I want to suck on everything I can get my little mitts on, but they didn't believe me, so when daddy stuck his hand in and looked away to tell mommy something, I stuck his finger in my mouth!!! WELL, it looked so much like one of those 'Gerber" sausage things I keep hearing about and they do call those things 'finger foods' so I thought, "What the heck! Why not give it a try!?!". Well, ya know, they make mommies and daddies wash their hands so good in here that all I got was a yucky soap taste in my mouth!! If that is what those 'Gerber' things taste like, I think I'll pass and go straight to table foods (or do those things taste like tables??? ICKY!). Anyways, daddy was suprised but I think he kinda liked it!! Hee Hee!!! Silly daddy!! Wait til' I get some 'toofies', Dad!! Also, I have been growing like a weed!! They weighed me on the 27th and I was 3 lbs. 4 oz. and when they did it again the next day I was 3 lbs. 5 (almost 6) oz. and I bet when they weigh me again, I will BE 3 lbs. 6oz.!!! Hee Hee Haa Haa Ho Ho!! And I am getting taller too!! I am actually BIGGER than a ruler now!! I am 16 inches long!! La La La La La La!! Have ya'll checked out the newspaper article yet?? Isn't that just so neat??!!??
Also, I have been on these continuous feed things where I am constantly getting food that averages out to 10 cc an hour, but soon I will get these 'Bolis' feeds. That means that I will have to eat my dinner when it is served to me or else!! No more of this diddling around!! They will only feed me every three or four hours based on whatever my schedule is and I will get the whole enchilada all at once!! Mmmmmmm, Enchiladas! Sounds pretty yummy to me!! And my oxygen is really good, too! I am breathing 23% through my nasal cannula which is almost like breathing room air!! Isn't that so wonderful??!!?? But I couldn't have done it without all of the prayers and these great doctors helping me out!! Once again, I thank you all from the bottom of my tiny little heart!!
Well, Hello again!! Has everyone been to the 'pools' yet to cast their votes? I heard it was voting day today at the 'pools' but I don't know what it was all about! I guess they must be trying to figure out who's the best swimmer!! Anyways, remember last update when I said I would probably BE 3 lbs. 6 oz.? (If ya don't remember, scroll up!) Well, I exceeded even my own expectations!! They got me on that scale and I weighed 3 lbs. and THIRTEEN oz.!!!!! Working on that 4 lb. milemarker!! Hee Hee!! I am just getting to be such a chubby!! My mommy and family and friends and everyone is soooooo happy about that! Guess what else I am learning to do, folks??!!!?? (Those of you that can't handle stuff like NURSING may want to leave the room for a moment........Jon!!) Yeppers, they are teaching me to get milk from my momma and that is kewl cuz' when I can do it for myself mom won't have to pump so much!!! And I can eat till I can't eat no more if I want to! YUM! That means I'm gonna have a full tummy all the time cuz' my momma won't let me be a hungry baby for very long, I'm sure!! The hospital peoples don't want me to get confused about what is a bottle ands what is a nipple either, so they have been dribbling the moo juice down my face from a cup and having me suck up that way. Pretty tasty but rather messy, too!!
There has been lots more going on, too! Mom had her baby shower last Sat. and I heard she got LOTS of really kewl baby stuff!! YIPEE!! I can't wait to get home and use all of my new things!! It will be so fun to see all the stuff I'm gonna get to use!! There was lots of people there, Gramma said!! I am glad my mommy has so many good friends everywhere to be there for her!! That means there will always be lots of people she can call when she needs a babysitter!!!! LOL! : ) I'm just kidding!! And for those of you that e-mail my mommy, well, I guess someone musta sent her a letter bomb or sumpin' cuz her Juno account ate her mail and blewed up, so it is all gone!! No more Juno!! Oh well! I am having Sunnie put an e-mail link to her for you all to use, OK!!
Well, I better get going cuz' they will be coming in soon to check on me and it might give the nurse a heart attack if I'm not there!!
Loves Ya All Bunches!! Forever, "Nikki"
Hello again from Tacoma General Hospital and me, Nikki Gregory!! Well, ya know, it has really been a roller coaster ride for the last few days or so!! My weight is wayyyy up there, which is a good thing!! It is up to 4 lbs. 10 ozs. and rising faster everyday!! However, I have this thing called REFLUX. I am sure you have heard about it on T.V.! Well, my stomach shoves my food back up into my throat and it goes up past my trachea and most big people would just force it back down or cough it out, but I am not big enough to do that yet, so I do the only thing I can think of to do. I hold my breath and pray it goes away! But the doctors say I shouldn't do that 'cuz it causes my oxygen saturation to drop and my heart rate to go way down. This could even make my heart stop if it lasted too long! And THAT is not good at all!! So, they are going to try to give me medicine and hope that helps, but if not, I could end up having to have surgery. I do NOT want surgery!! That does not sound like fun, so say some prayers for me that it goes away!! They say it will go away as I get older but who knows when that will be??!!!?? We are praying for my daddy that he gets this really kewl job he applied for, too!! That would really help us out a lot, too!! Other than this stuff, everything has been going along pretty good and we are hoping these things get better then all will be well with the world!! I am still learning how to eat from my mommy, too and that is going pretty great as well, so please, keep remembering us in your prayers and I think everything will be just fine!! As long as we have the PPT (Prodigy Prayer Team) at our disposal, we can't go wrong!!! We loves Ya all!! Forever, "Nikki"
Hi again just four days after my last update!! WHY?? Cuz' I need to recruit the PPT once more!! See, you guys have been doing so good with the REFLUX thing that it seems to be working for the moment, however, there are more problems I need help with so PLEASE, boost those prayers up for me some more!! Remember when I told you all that I had developed something called "Chronic Lung Disease"? Well, I have been having lots of trouble breathing lately and it is getting very hard for me to breath. I have to work really hard and it wears me out. I am working so hard that my little tummy moves up and down and I have to use my neck muscles too, which I am not suppose to do!! My oxygen Co2 mixture isn't mixing right cause I can't get all the Co2 to come out and that is making my Co2 count wayyyy high, which is not good either. They put me on another steroid to try to fix this but we don't know yet if it is gonna work or not! Please pray it helps!! They wanted to try to get me off the oxygen before I went home but now it is looking like mommy and daddy might have to take the oxygen home with us. That has got mommy even more worried cuz she is getting 'nervouser' and 'nervouser' as the time for me to come home gets nearer!! Like I said earlier, the doctors are pleased with how the reflux meds are doing (and keeping me on a constant 'tilt' helps, too!) but they do not like the way I am breathing now AT ALL!! But I know how powerful prayer can be so I am once again enlisting your services!!! Well, I feel like I just ran a marathon and I need to get back to my bed and catch my breath!! BTW, before I go, I almost forgot!! I am 5 whole pounds BIG now, 17 inches long, and am wolfing down 44 cc an hour of 'mommy moo'!! That stuffs just so yummy for my tummy I can't get enough!! Gots to go now! I love you all and thank you so much for all of your prayers once again!! Forever, "Nikki"
11-21-97
I want to send out a BIG, 'Lil Ribbit' Thank You to the kids of the youth group at my Gramma's church!! As their "good deed" for this year, they went shopping for my family and brought like 9 bags of goodies from roast to cake to the Bagels my brother was munching on!! Not only does that allow mommy and daddy to put the grocery money towards other bills, but it saved mommy LOTS of time she woulda' had to spend shopping in the grocery store!! Isn't that so wonderful of them!!??!! They are a great, thoughtful bunch of kids and their help was really appreciated more than they could know!! I can't wait till I can be in a youth group and do nice things for people like they did!! Well, I just wanted to say thanks a lot to them! And, BTW, HEY KYLE!! Save me some of those bagels!! Love Ya All!
Hello everyone! We need prayers again! I am having some breathing problems again. The doctors think my reflux is causing milk to aspirate into my lungs which is making it harder for me to breath. I had chest x~rays and will have some more extensive tests for my reflux problem next Tuesday, the 2nd. Please pray these tests come out well, and that it is something minor and curable with something simple. I don't want surgery! I can't say that enough! On a lighter note, I did breastfeed today and actually got 10 cc in my little tummy. This is a good thing! I am learning to suck AND swallow! I am now 5 pounds 7 ounces and 16.5 inches long!! I am sure growing, huh!?! Well, gots to go! I hear they are serving creamed turkey via IV to the first 20 preemies in line!! Can't miss that! Your continued prayers are so appreciated. HAVE A WONDERFULLY ABUNDANT THANKSGIVING DAY! MAY THE BLESSINGS, THE GIVING OF 'THANKS' TO OUR LORD, AND THE FOOD BE PLENTIFUL!!
Well, here it is!! Had I been a full term baby, I would be ready to be born in 9 days! Instead, I am over 3 months old already! Where does the time go!??! And things have been realitivly calm so far, but as mommy puts it, the other shoe is dropping now! I should be getting ready to pack up and go home with my mommy and daddy! I am just a few ounces shy of 6 pounds and all, but now I can't go home becuz' they think I might have pneumonia!! Yesterday, I gots really bad with my breathing and my oxygen level had to be cranked all the way up to 70% from 40%!! It is soooooo hard for me to breath right now! And they really haven't figured out whether it's pneumonia or becuz' of the reflux thing or what! Could have even been caused by the milk aspirating into my lungs but no one can say for sure yet! They are looking at several options like sticking that nasty old tube down my throat again to intubate me, doing reflux surgery which I probably can't handle right now cuz I am breathing so hard, or just waiting it out to see what develops! Another choice is to go all the way back to the NICU which I do not like at all after I made it all the way through these other rooms! To me, that is like starting all over again! My family is frantic but my daddy was sweet enough to spend the night with me which, combined with some sedatives, made me sleep and feel somewhat better! Mommy will be here first thing tomorrow, too, so that will help me out knowing they are both here for me! They are the bestest parents a preemie could ever wish for! The sedatives calmed my stats down enough that I did ok for the time being. Just pray that they can fix this cuz' I don't like feeling sick! Also, they checked my eyes again and one is doing ok, but the other is +3 ROP, which means I could end up with a detatched retina or some blindness in it somewhere down the road. That doesn't sound good either. But that could be helped with some laser surgery later, too. We just don't know! I don't understand why all the sudden, when it's almost my parole date from this place, that all this had to happen! Anyways, please boost up the prayers for me again!! I want to get better and go home when I am suppose to! PLEASE!! Love to you all!
Hello everyone. It's me. Sorry I have not been able to update you all lately, I have been using all my energy getting well. Let me tell ya, I have kept the nurses hopping around here! But now I am feeling better, and wanted to let you all know I was alive and kicking. One problem though...... because I got so sick the doctors had me moved back into the ICU unit, but that is not the worst of it! They put me in an isolation room to keep the noise down around me! Well...... that means I couldn't sneak away to write on the 'puter! Ahhhhhhh, but finally I got away, but I don't have much time! I gotta get back before they catch me, so this will be short and, of course, sweet. I am HAPPY to say I am off of that nasty old CPAP. One day I ripped it off 4 times. They finally got the hint and put me back on nasal canula. It feels so much better. I don't have to cry all the time now! And hopefully I won't have any more nasty nosebleeds that icky ol' CPAP was causin' me!
And get this, I am at 28 to 38 percent oxygen! How is that for an improvement?!!? My eyes aren't any better, BUT they aren't any worse. I heard the nurse tell mom that the eye doctor took it as a good sign that my eyes have not worsened in the last 10 days. I may avoid that silly laser surgery after all! Cross your fingers! I would cross mine, but I haven't figured out how to do that just yet! And those Rice Krispy treats are working ( AND, I found chocolate chip cookies the other day. Yummmmy!). I weigh a whopping 6 pounds 6 ounces. They are so happy when I gain weight, although I hear that someday I will hate it when I gain weight and I will ACTUALLY try to LOSE weight. I still don't understand that one!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
I miss my mom right now though. She has been fighting getting sick for a couple of weeks now. Well it finally hit her. She went to the doctor today, and she is sick, and she does not have people waiting on her hand and foot like I do so she really needs some prayers. She has the flu and sumpin' called "Pink Eye". Can't imagine what pink eyes look like......EWWWW, but I just got an image!!! She is not allowed to visit me, and I think she is pretty depressed out it.
Well, I better get back before they catch me or they will punish me and make me lay on my tummy and I HATE that! God Bless you all for all your prayers lately. They did the trick. I am almost my old self again! Keep them up so I can go home soon!
Hi again..... it’s me....... a still very sick Nicole! I hate to ask but I still need your continued prayers. Not just for me, but for my family, too! See, I am not getting better. My lungs aren’t improving or developing and my tummy situation isn’t any better either! Soon, I am going to be looked at by a Pulminary Specialist and a Gastroentologist who will check me out and try to decide what the problem is and why this is happening to me. Then my Mommy and Daddy are going to meet with this care group who will have all of the doctor’s recommendations and they will try to help my mommy and daddy decide what to do about my situation. They will tell us our options and help us decide what is best. I would really appreciate your continued prayers 'cuz it would help me out a lot! All this worrying about meeting these new doctors and stuff is wearing me out! I am doing my best tho' and were keepin' a positive attitude!! And I am pretty 'tuff'! I wouldn't have gotten this far if I wasn't! I think those doctors are gonna be pretty smart, too, and they will know all the answers!! So, we will see on Wednesday what they have to say 'bout me! I will let ya know what they say, too, okay? 'Cuz I gots to keep all my fans informed! I love you all!
