Wednesday, March 10

We've had steps forward and steps back over the last few days.

Adelaide is struggling again with bottle feeding. She goes a day of good feeds, and then either cries while taking the bottle or is so tired that she falls asleep. The staff thinks it's acid reflux still, and she is on medication to help her. Yesterday was not a good day for her on the bottle, so the staff is going to hold all bottle feeds for 24 hours to see if she can get better. They're mixing a little bit of rice cereal with her milk to add some weight to it. They hope the weight will keep it in her stomach and not come up her throat. The good news with Adelaide is that she's off of nasal cannula and breathing without any help. She weighs 6lbs. 7oz.

Mattie has been doing really good. She's taking bottles every other feeding. A majority of the time, she takes most of the bottle. She does get tired and falls asleep because it takes a lot of energy for them to bottle feed. She weighs 4lbs. 9oz. We've been joking that wouldn't it be ironic if she passes Adelaide and goes home first. The little dynamite makes it home first.

Andrew has been struggling the past couple of days, but Sunday was really good for him. The staff tried him on nasal cannula in the morning, and he loved it. He slept five straight hours and had an awesome carbon dioxide level at 5:00 that evening. He started to labor that night, and the staff put him back on CPAP. They decided to alternate CPAP and nasal cannula on an eight hour and four hour shift. Last night, his blood oxygen levels dropped really low, and the staff had to put him on SIPAP to get him back up. When we left last night, his levels were better. He was at 36% oxygen this morning, but his carbon dioxide levels were up again. They're not super high, but elevated. We have to remember that the girls went through this back and forth too. So, we're hoping he gets settled, and they can try him on nasal cannula again soon. Andrew is 4lbs. 13oz.

Praise
Adelaide is off of nasal cannula.
All the babies are growing.
Mattie is doing well on her bottle feeds.
Andrew got a try on nasal cannula.

Prayer
Please pray for some families we've met in the NICU. They're at a different hospital now, and their babies are going through a tough time. We ask that you pray for healing for Baby Taytem and Baby Tara. Pray for strength and encouragement for their parents and wisdom for the doctors and staff.
Pray that Andrew would settle his levels and stay on SIPAP. We don't want a return to ventilation. Pray that his lungs would clear, and he would be able to get back on nasal cannula.
Pray that Adelaide would be able to successfully and consistently feed from a bottle. This is her last step to go home.