G0 Gamecocks!!

 

This picture was taken on the Carolina/Clemson game day 2 years ago. This was the last Gamecock football game Daddy was ever able to attend. For those of you that knew him, knows that he was at almost EVERY Carolina game and EVERY Byrnes games. He loved football. Football season has been very hard on me. I cry every time I hear the fight song or see them play on TV, etc. He did not know he had cancer at the time this picture was taken. He had not been feeling well, and it was a few weeks later that he found out.

GO GAMECOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We miss you Daddy! You are always in my heart and in my thoughts. Not a day goes by I do not think of you. Sometimes I laugh at the memories, sometimes I cry, and sometimes I get angry. I know you are no longer in pain, no longer sick, and no longer suffering. I know you are watching over us and that you are with us. WE LOVE YOU!!

H1N1 round 2

Kaley has the H1N1 flu. She managed not to get it when Kelsey had it a couple months ago, but now she has been hit with it. Please say a little prayer for her and that Kinsley doesn't get it. Looks like Kaley and I will be spending Thanksgiving with just the two of us while Mom, Kelsey, Kinsley, and my brothers family go to my Grandma's. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

1 month milestones

Where does time go? My sweet girl is a month old already.

* Baby Girl still sleeps at least 23 hours a day. I will be so glad when her thyroid levels get straighten out.

* She likes to take a bath.

* She HATES having her diaper and/or clothes changed. She screams like you are beating her.

* She loves her little stuffed Giraffe.

* She LOVES to be held and rocked (I think she is spoiled already)

* She does not like her arms to be swaddled. She always wants her hands by her face.

* Loves her big sisters

* Very impatient when it comes feeding time. She is drinking anywhere from 2 to 4 oz. every 3 to 4 hours.

* She is about 22 inches long. (2 inches longer than birth legnth)

* She weighs 7lbs 15oz (finally back at birth weight)

* Smiled her first "Real" smile at Kelsey 3 days ago but hasn't smiled since.

Please keep my sweet girl in your daily prayers. They are still trying to regulate her thyroid levels. She is still VERY tired (some days more so than others). I worry so much about her. She acts more like a preemie baby than the twins did, and they were born 7 weeks early.

Kinsley at 4 weeks

Where does time go? My baby girl is almost a month old already. We saw the Endocrinologist yesterday and she was very pleased with Kinsley's progress. Her thyroid levels are almost in the normal range and we don't go back for a month, unless her weekly labs come back "abnormal" or not showing improvement. So, my sweet pea has grown almost 2 inches in 4 weeks and is finally back up to her birth weight, 7lbs 15 oz:) The is long and skinny just like her big sisters. She is such a sweet baby. Here are a few pictures from when Shane was home.

 

 

 

 

A few pictures of Kinsley

I can't believe Kinsley is 3 weeks old today. She is improving on her feeds, it just takes her A LONG time to eat because it tires her out. I have to keep stimulating her to wake up. She is now staying awake for a total of an hour each day which is also an improvement. Her TSH level is still really high, but it is coming down. Her newborn screening level was close to 500 (Normal is between 1.0 to 39). Last week she was at 358, and I haven't gotten the results from this weeks lab yet. Hopefully, it has come down more. She is such a sweet and beautiful baby and I thank God for blessing me with her.

Shane is back in Afghanistan. It was so hard watching him kiss her goodbye. I did very well until then. The girls begged me not to cry so I was trying so hard, but the moment he picked her up, I LOST IT!!

 

 

 

 

Update on Kinsley

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers that have been sent on Kinsley's behalf. She has been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. Right now they are not sure if she was born with no thyroid glad or if it just isn't working. They started her on medication in which she will be on the rest of her life. She still isn't gaining weight and has lost a little over a pound since birth, but as of yesterday, she hasn't lost either so that's good. We saw the Endocrinologist for the first time yesterday and she assured us that she should have no brain damage or developmental delays because they caught it so quickly. She also assured us that she should live a normal life, as long as she has her medicine because her brain can not tell the difference between the medicine and they hormone her thyroid should produce. We will make weekly visits to the Endocrinologist and have weekly blood work until her levels are where they should be. God is good and I am so thankful that her disease can be treated.I know he is watching over my baby girl. She has been feeding better over the past 24 hours so that is an improvement. She has also been awake a little more. Please keep my sweet baby girl in your thoughts and prayers, as well as our family.