Our big news is that Andrew is being weaned off his ventilator. He had an appointment on August 6th and over the last four days, the nurses have been slowly weaning him off his rate (the amount of times the ventilator breathes for him in a minute). They removed his rate for two hours twice a day for a couple of days, then four hours twice a day, and now they are trying him with no rate for twenty four hours. Yesterday was a hard day for him, and he was exhausted. They had to put his rate back on last night to give him break, but so far today, he's been with no rate. If all goes well this week, he will try a trach collar trial for an hour a day on Monday. This is where they will remove the ventilator completely, and he will have the trach with only a small humidifier attached. He's gained only a few ounces over the last few weeks, but the doctor says he's a slow grower. We are now feeding him two full bottles twice a day and pumping the rest in through the feeding tube. He does pretty well with it. Some times he's too tired to feed and can't complete the whole bottle. We're not pushing him, so he doesn't get turned off by bottle feeding. He is trying to turn over from back to stomach and still smiles all over the place.
Adelaide is doing wonderful. She turned over from back to stomach three times over the last three days. She lifts her head very well, so we put her in a bouncy entertainment chair. She bounced, laughed and hit the keys to start the songs. She's picking up her feeding amount after struggling for a couple of days last week. She's trying rice cereal mixed with pears once a day.
Mattie is doing great off her oxygen. We still put the monitor on her overnight, but during the day she's free as a bird. She's getting better at lifting her head during tummy time, but hasn't attempted a rollover. We love hearing her laugh when we make funny sounds or blow on her stomach. She's got a great laugh. She eats oatmeal with pears once a day along with her bottles.
Praise
Andrew's weaning off the ventilator and the changes they've made for him.
Andrew taking whole bottles.
Mattie doing well off oxygen.
Adelaide's development.
Prayer
Kevin has left his company and is seeking employment as a video producer/director. He's looking for a staff position.
Rest for Tara. She's exhausted.
Strength for Andrew during these trials.
Mattie's development would increase.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunday, July 25 2010
We're back again. It's so hard keeping up with the updates. We're getting more used to having Andrew at home and the schedule that we keep. We're tired most times and there's always something to be cleaned or done around the house. The sad part is that we have help with Andrew, and it still feels pretty busy to us.
Adelaide is doing great. When she's on her stomach she lifts her head really well and reaches out for toys next to her. She's also discovered her feet and grabs them with her hands. She's close to turning over from back to stomach. She was on her side this weekend and almost made it. She continues to coo and talk. She weighed in at 13lbs. 14oz. this week at the doctor's.
Mattie is weaned off her oxygen! Praise God! We received the results from the review of her monitor, and the doctor felt that we could take her off the oxygen. We still put her on the pulse ox monitor when she naps and sleeps, but that's really only for our comfort. The doctor said that we need to wean ourselves off the monitor in the next few weeks. Mattie weighed 12lbs. 9oz. at her last doctor's visit, and she's moved up the the 40 percentile.
Andrew is doing really well. We've moved some of his bottle feeds up to an ounce. His orders are for 20ml twice a day, but some nurses are pushing him to try a little more. He's doing an excellent job of grabbing toys and pulling them to his mouth. He has one toy that he holds with one hand and spins the ferris wheel with the other.
Praise and Prayer - We want to do something a little different this time. We bought a world map and put it up in Andrew's room. We know that many people from all over the world have been praying for our family over the last 7 months, and we thought it would be neat to praise God for the wonderful answer to your prayers. We'd like to put pins in the map of each location that people have prayed for us. So, if you or someone you know have been praying for us, please let us know where you're located. Please respond to this post and let us know.
Adelaide is doing great. When she's on her stomach she lifts her head really well and reaches out for toys next to her. She's also discovered her feet and grabs them with her hands. She's close to turning over from back to stomach. She was on her side this weekend and almost made it. She continues to coo and talk. She weighed in at 13lbs. 14oz. this week at the doctor's.
Mattie is weaned off her oxygen! Praise God! We received the results from the review of her monitor, and the doctor felt that we could take her off the oxygen. We still put her on the pulse ox monitor when she naps and sleeps, but that's really only for our comfort. The doctor said that we need to wean ourselves off the monitor in the next few weeks. Mattie weighed 12lbs. 9oz. at her last doctor's visit, and she's moved up the the 40 percentile.
Andrew is doing really well. We've moved some of his bottle feeds up to an ounce. His orders are for 20ml twice a day, but some nurses are pushing him to try a little more. He's doing an excellent job of grabbing toys and pulling them to his mouth. He has one toy that he holds with one hand and spins the ferris wheel with the other.
Praise and Prayer - We want to do something a little different this time. We bought a world map and put it up in Andrew's room. We know that many people from all over the world have been praying for our family over the last 7 months, and we thought it would be neat to praise God for the wonderful answer to your prayers. We'd like to put pins in the map of each location that people have prayed for us. So, if you or someone you know have been praying for us, please let us know where you're located. Please respond to this post and let us know.
Bath Time Pics
No, the picture's not upside down. This is Tara looking down on Andrew after his bath. 
Mattie has more hair than her Daddy.
Adelaide and her princess towel. Thanks, Walchshausers.
Mattie has more hair than her Daddy.
Adelaide and her princess towel. Thanks, Walchshausers.
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