Paige Barnes

Big brother holding little sister for the first time on her 1 week birthday in the NICU! On our 4th day in the NICU they told us that Kate would be moving to the other side which they called Progressive Care. It's like the NICU step-down unit. We were still a little concerned about her eating, but she was keeping her food down and so at this point of our journey we were making sure the food continued to stay down, she was peeing and pooping, and gaining weight. They were still monitoring all of her vital signs and such. She was still losing a little weight, which is normal for babies, and especially since they had not let her eat the first three days of her life. Her IV was out so she was not getting any supplementation. On Thursday, her 1 week birthday, we went in that morning expecting to take her home. But her bilirubin level had gone up and she was back under the blili-lights. We felt as if the wind had been sucked out of us. She would stay under the bili-lights for the nex...

Big Brother can't hold little sister, but he can kiss her! Mommy holding baby Kate in the NICU. Daddy feeding baby Kate, and hoping it will stay down! Kate stayed 4 days in the NICU side. They were constantly monitoring her heart rate, respirations, oxygen level, and temperature. On day two she went down for her tests for her bowels. We had been praying for poop as this would let us know that her bowels were functioning correctly. I even had one friend tell me "I have prayed for many things in my life, but this is my first poop prayer"! I was allowed to accompany the nurse and Kate to radiology, but had to wait in the waiting room during her test. I was told not only did she poop, but she pooped across the room on the radiologist. Yay for baby Kate! Prayers were answered. The neonatologist told us there was no evidence of the Hirschprung's Disease. She was also having trouble on the upper end of her gastrointestinal system - not keeping her food down. The doctor...

Big Brother with little sister before she is transferred to NICU at Huntsville Hospital. Kate just chillin' under the bili-lights. On Sunday, the day we should be taking our new baby home, we were told she would be transferred to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at the other hospital here in town. The hospital we delivered at was great, but their nursery was not able to care for her at this point in the journey. We were sent to the Regional NICU at Huntsville Hospital . We can't say enough about the stellar care that our daughter received from the nurses and doctors there. I was able to ride in the ambulance with her and when we arrived we got a crash course about life in the NICU. We were only allowed to see her at certain times and couldn't hold her or even touch her that first day. It was very hard. They had to put her under the bili-lights because her bilirubin level was too high. I was a ball of emotions. I mean, I had just had a baby, and now our sweet baby ...

Mommy holding baby Kate in the Special Care Nursery for the first time since the delivery room. Baby Kate and her little IV. Before this was all over she had an IV in three different places, bless her little heart! We were so proud to welcome our new baby Kate into the world. She started her journey in the nursery with some minor breathing problems because she was born about 4 weeks early. She was then moved to the Special Care Nursery because her abdomen became distended (swollen) and she was not keeping any of her food down. We were allowed to see her when we wanted to, but she wasn't able to come to our room. Big Brother was not allowed to see her except through the nursery window. He was so sad that he couldn't hold baby sister. He loves her so already! They put an IV in her and were not allowing her to eat. We were so worried about our little girl, so the prayers started going up! We knew God had our baby in His mighty hands so we prayed for healing. Now we would jus...