Little Hurdles

It has been a busy few days! Kevin has been out of town for work, but is back home safely until Monday. I'm holding down the fort with his Mom's help (thank you, Kathy!!!).

The babies turned three weeks old this past Thursday. That morning, Susannah developed a case of intermittent apnea and drop in heart rate. Originally, the staff thought it was because she had been taken off her dose of caffeine, so they put her back on hoping that would resolve the problem. However, this is also a symptom of infection. They took blood (all counts normal) and started treating her for an infection as a precaution. As it turns out, she has a urinary tract infection, so it is a good thing they went ahead and started her on antibiotics early. She rests fairly comfortably, but they have restarted an IV, which means she has more tape on her arm, and restarted her on a cannula to help her breathe without wearing her out. As of this afternoon, she hadn't had any episodes of the apnea since the morning, so keep praying that it stays that way. She has also had to move out of her "condo" next to her brother and into a bed where they can keep a closer eye on her. Another possible cause of the dropped rates is anemia. Right now, her blood count is borderline, but a transfusion could be necessary if it doesn't improve.

Will is doing a better job taking his bottles. Dad fed him last night and he took 35 cc's! Here's evidence:

He's just trucking along, with his weight now up to 5 lbs, 6 oz! Susannah is still gaining as well, up to a hearty 3 lbs, 13 oz.

Another bit of info we got this week: All babies born before 32 weeks gestation have to have a particular eye exam before they are four weeks old or discharged, whichever comes first. Our munchkins fall into this category, and are four weeks old on Thursday. The problem is that Memorial doesn't have and can't seem to get a pediatric ophthalmologist to come over and do the exam. This means that the babies will need to be transferred to Baptist South in order to get their exams. The bad news is that once they leave Memorial, they won't come back. The good news is that we are familiar with Baptist South from our days there with Charlie, and it is a little closer to the house. They will be transported via ambulance with a very specialized transport team, and I plan to follow close behind.

Charlie is quickly approaching his second birthday, and some cousins and aunts and an uncle are coming to help celebrate. It should be an exciting week!

More soon...