Waiting on an update?

You waiting for an update? We are too. The NICU is closed from 6-8 am and 6-8 pm, so when 8 o'clock rolls around there is usually a small herd of impatient mommas and daddys waiting outside the door like long distance runners at the starting line. We did make it over this morning and this afternoon, however this evening was different. After arriving 30 minutes early (knowing full well we couldn't go in for another 30 minutes) we were greeted by a kind nurse who advised us the NICU was closed because of a new admission to the facility. After about 6 phone calls we were told the new little admission was in critical condition. Teri and I immediately started praying for the baby, the family, and the staff; we know what that is like. It is after 11 pm and we still can't go over there.

I will tell you what we saw earlier today, though. The progress of the babies is amazing. Little Wyatt is giving the nurses fits because he likes to move around so much. When he does that his O2 saturation levels drop-->respiration drops-->blood pressure drops. Kinda like a domino effect with a little human being. Because he is moving so much he has to be sedated, which is one of the things the NICU staff has tried. They have also tried a med that has caffeine to stimulate him when he does start to drop. If they keep that up daddy will be sharing his morning coffee with his infant son. His PDA (that "hole in his heart", which is actually a valve) appears to continue shrinking, though not gone. We still have faith that it will keep healing. He is also still on the conventional ventilator but doing okay. Wyatt really, really hates to have a wet diaper on. I say let him go commando, momma says no, so it looks like he's gonna keep wearing those tiny diapers. There is one thing we are proud of; Wyatt is now a gansta'. He is wearing a little beanie pulled down over his eyes. Yep, that's my boy.

Now on to daddy's little girl. She is now completely off the nitric oxide, effective midnight last night. So it's been almost 24 hours and she appeared to be doing great this afternoon. All of her levels were within the "normal" range, however she is still on the high frequency ventilator. There is one thing the nurse and neo noticed. Her left arm appears to have some difficulty bending. The skin from the forearm and bicep area is tight, thus not allowing her to straighten it completely out. After talking to the neo, this might be one of the problems associated with her premature rupture at 16.5 weeks. Her little arm might not have been able to move the same as it would have in a fluid filled sac. A physical therapist is going to work with her later on to see if it can be remedied without surgery. Whitley also as a small PDA but Dr. Patel said he's not "too" worried about it. One other thing he mentioned was the fact they have made it 108 hours without any any apparent brain bleeds. This meant, statistically speaking, both babies would have at least a 90% normal development. Can I get an AMEN...

Teri and I continue to be amazingly blessed. All the calls and comments from family and friends make us feel at home even though we are miles and miles from our real home. There is one family Teri and I keep up with and continually pray for. Pat and Jana Mies have two tiny babies in NICU in Kansas. We ask that you keep them in prayer. Also, we would like to thank Dena Jaramillo's mother for dropping supper by for us. That was extremely kind, and good.

Well, it's about time to make another phone call to the NICU so until next time... Hasta.