January 31, 2009

Good Morning!
Kolton continues to do well. His feedings have been increased to 7.8ml per hour on a continuous 24 hour basis. Grow Kolton. Grow.
In order to get his red blood cell count high, Kolton will be starting a new medication today. Newborns naturally become somewhat anemic during their first few weeks of life. This triggers a response for the bone marrow to start producing red blood cells. Due to Kolton's heart condition, it would be dangerous to let him get anemic. In fact, the cardiologist need his red blood cell count to be higher than normal. (Hence, the medication.) By starting him on the medicine now, we can hopefully delay or skip altogether having to do another blood transfusion.
Last night I was able to kanagroo with Kolton. This is therapeutic skin to skin contact with mother and child. It helps the child start to more effectively bond, it relaxes and calms the child, and it helps with the mother's milk supply. To have Kolton nuzzled into me for the first time was incredible. We sat for an hour completely at peace and content. Another blessing of just being in the moment! We will be able to kanagroo almost on a daily basis at this point.We know his heart surgery still looms, but we are truly enjoying this precious time with him. What a fighter, and what determination!
We can't post without thanking each of you for continuing to pray, read the site, and reach out to us. We are most grateful for the continued kindness and generosity! Thank you so much for the donations to caring bridge in honor of Kolton! This site has been great for us, and I know it helps many other families as well.
Much love- Gretchen