"you sho-nuff drank from the Kool-aid son".
I couldn't have said any better!
All the boys have been put back on the CPAP (Continuous positive airway pressure; air or an air-oxygen mixture pushed into baby's lungs to keep air sacs open after each breath, reducing effort baby must make to breathe). Bad news they are on the CPAP, good news they are on the CPAP. They have been struggling to breathe on their own (not unusual for preemies) so this should help them not work so hard and make it easier in the long run for them to mature. They have been on the CPAP several times.... RO hates it!
The general reasons for difficulty breathing are common "preemie" issues that they face dailey; Apnea (pauses in breathing of 20 seconds or longer) followed sometimes by Bradycardia or Bradys (generally heartbeats less than 84 bpm) and Desaturation or D-sats (not enough oxygen in the bloodstream which causes a lack of oxygen in the tissues). Sometimes they are all so comfortable they just forget to breathe - it's still not their innate ability. None of this is out of the ordinary however seeing them stop breathing is a "little" unnerving. The terms above are frequently used in our conversations with the nurses, I added them because you have or will hear Jill and I use them. All of this being said the boys are doing very well.... They do struggle day to day. Some days are better for one, some days are better for for two. We just pray they all hit their stride together!
They all have had several spinal taps and blood transfusions. Not fun. The taps are done to check for infection and it generally takes two days for results to come back - so far no infections. Transfusions are done because baby's don't make their own blood until they are at least 6 months of age. All of the pricks and prods that occur they lose blood so it needs to be replenished, again not fun.
They are doing well and we are so thankful and extremely excited. I ask that you pray for strength for them, Jill and all the other babies in the RNICU.
We have really enjoyed receiving comments from you on this site - I have not been posting them because they have been so personal. They are e-mailed to us directly. Please continue to call when you can, it's great to hear what's going on outside....
....meeting JW,
RO
and RE
