Need Prayers for Ashlynn

I've heard people say before that having a baby in the NICU is really hard and is like being on an emotional roller coaster. They weren't kidding. I've had days were I've spent a few hours with her and left there feeling happy and good. And then there are days like today where I feel completely sad and helpless. I can't even imagine what it feels like for Ashlynn. :( Some days she seems to be doing really well but I have learned that things can turn around in a heartbeat. I'm going to let Dave do today's update, so here he is...

Today was a rough day for our little Ashlynn. I went in to feed her at 9am and the nurse told me she had blood in her poop and wouldn't be eating. She was going to have to get the IV back in to get her nutrition since they aren't letting her eat until they find out what's going on.



They are doing lots of tests with her blood, poop & urine and doing some x-rays of her belly & chest every few hours. For the most part so far everything is coming back normal. The cultures take 1-3 days to come back, the longer it takes to hear about those the better it is though. They check for bacteria so if it grows they know it's positive so if it's 3 days & no growth it's negative. They are thinking it may be some sort of infection in her intestines so they are giving her 3 different antibiotics to try and fight it off. She also was having trouble breathing in a good rhythm & that was causing her oxygen levels to drop off a little so she is getting some oxygen to help keep her levels up too.

I stayed while they were starting the tests & the IV's when it all started then called to let Jamie know what was going on. After that I came home to get Jamie. Dawson went to stay with Sandy for the day. Her & Ed have been life savers through all of this. It was hard seeing Ashlynn hooked up to everything & hearing the doctors talking about everything that was going on, but you could tell they were doing everything they could to make sure they are doing everything they can for her. We also felt lucky to have one of our favorite nurses taking care of her today & one of our other favorites helping out since he was with the other baby in the room. She seemed like pretty much the same baby for most of the day. There was an hour or two when she seemed pretty drained and not wanting to move much but then she started getting more active and showing how hungry she was before we left. It was heartbreaking knowing that we couldn't feed her. She is getting nutrition through the IV but that doesn't help her little belly from feeling empty and hungry.

Please pray for our baby girl. We just want her to be happy and healthy.