Little Characters (October 17, 2007)

It's been a little while since we last updated the blog, and as you can imagine, a lot has happened in the last ten days! All three babies are growing so fast and doing well, and we know that is the power of prayer. Thank you for continuing to keep them in your prayers.

As of last night, Aiden has just reached and passed the 4 lb. mark, all in one night. He now weighs 4 lbs., 1.9 ozs (he actually gained 5 ozs. in one day!). This is very good news because the growth and increased weight will definitely help his body heal faster and help his lungs to function better. Evan is still in the lead -- he also gained 5 ozs. in one day -- and is up to 5 lbs., 13 ozs!! Ethan is still growing steadily at 5 lbs., 2 ozs.

Aiden has been intubated on the ventilator since our last update and they had started to wean him in very tiny increments over the last couple of days; however, late last night he decided that he was tired of waiting and extubated himself by pulling out the tube that was down his throat. Rather then put him through the trauma of re-intubating him, they decided to put him on a nasal prong ventilator and see if he was able to do more of the work on his own. His last brain scan still showed a Grade 2 bleed (it has not yet resolved), but it was not any larger, which is a huge answer to prayer. They will do a followup scan in early November. He does have a couple of small hernias which will likely require some surgery in a couple of months (apparently this is fairly common in preemies).

Ethan and Evan are doing great. They are getting so big! They are both now in open cribs, since they are able to hold their body tempatures. The doctors have started to wean them off the nasal canula and they have just started feeding by mouth twice a day (rather than through their g-tubes). Once they are taking all feeds by mouth, are no longer requiring any oxygen, and are not having any more bradycardia episodes, they should be able to come home (most likely sometime in the next several weeks).

Characters...these boys are definitely characters and their personalities are beginning to show. Manish has come up with nicknames for each one of our boys.

Aiden is the "Little Engine That Could" because he keeps showing he "can" just when it seems like he can't anymore.

Evan is "Teddy Bear" because he is so big and when you hold him, he just melts into you (and if he keeps growing as fast as he has been, pretty soon I'll be his teddy bear!)

Ethan is "The Little General" because he quietly and steadily goes about his business but is very strong willed -- he knows his own mind and and knows when to step in and 'take the lead.'

Below are a couple of recent pictures taken this weekend. To view more images, click here

Ethan on Patrol

For Ethan, growing and feeding is tiring work for such a little guy

Evan may love his puppy, but doesn't like having gas



Evan lets out a big Yaaaaaaaawnn...



The little engine has parked for the night

Update - October 8, 2007

Very early Friday morning we received a phone call from the hospital, letting us know that they had re-intubated Aiden. He had been retaining carbon dioxide and was having to work very hard to breath after they made some changes to the settings on his CPAP -- and apparently it was just too much for him, so they had to put him back on the ventilator. They will leave him on the ventilator for approx. a week before trying to wean him off again. Please pray that his lungs will get stronger quickly and that he will be able to breathe on his own soon.

Update - October 4, 2007

The babies are officially 4 weeks old today. In some ways, it seems like it has been so much longer...still, it is hard to believe that much time has already passed.

Please continue to pray for Aiden. He is still on the CPAP vent. They are trying to gradually wean him down and eventually off the CPAP to breath completely on his own; however, it seems that each time they make changes to his vent settings, he has difficulty adjusting and consequently ends up back at a higher O2 rate then previously. Some days are better than others, but his lungs are still very weak and are not recovered, so he has to work very hard to breath even with the CPAP. He can't stand the long prongs (they are very irritating) and so he pulls on them and tries to take them out, which hurts even more and makes him more upset. His brain scan showed that he still has a Level 2 bleed. They will repeat the scan next week to see if it has resolved by then. PLEASE PRAY that his brain bleed goes away and that is lungs heal quickly. The good news is, that he continues to gain weight and just reached 3 lbs!

Ethan and Evan are doing very well. Today they were officially moved to the South Hall of the NICU, which is the "feeders and growers" section. They are both still breathing very well on their own with the assistance of nasal canula, and are having fewer bradycardiac / apnea episodes. Their IVs and central lines have been removed, and they are growing so fast! Ethan now weighs 4 lbs., 3 ozs., and Evan -- well, Evan is taking over! He has officially 5 lbs., 2 ozs. and is growing like a little weed. He has the cutest little chubby cheeks and double chin. They are both very alert when they are awake, looking all over and taking everything in and sometimes jabbering at us. Evan is very laid back and relaxed; it takes a lot to get him worked up. Ethan is very good, but he definitely has a mind of his own and knows what he wants. Their brain scans showed no brain bleeds!

Manish took a few new pictures of Ethan and Evan yesterday (see below -- Aiden wasn't having a very good day) and a new video clip. The video clip is posted under the "Pictures" section of the blog.

To view all images, click here

Ethan and Evan enjoying some quality time with Daddy and each other

Ethan and Evan reunited for the first time since birth ;-)

Ethan enjoying his first bath