We came in this morning and after much discussion among many doctors, they have decided that Lindy will NOT be having her PDA ligation as planned today.
If you have read the blog you know that Lindy has an intraventricular hemorrhage in her brain that has caused hydrocephalus. The doctors, as well as neurosurgery, have been checking her each day. Until now they had just been checking, but this morning they felt that her head feels much fuller and that some of the fluid needs to be drained off. They wanted to schedule her for surgery to insert a reservoir tomorrow.
The attending did not feel that Lindy should have surgery done two days in a row. He got in touch with both the neurosurgeon and cardiac surgeon and they got in touch with each other. They all decided that having the reservoir surgery is most important right now and that the PDA can wait a few more days.
Therefore, as of right now, Lindy will be having a reservoir put in tomorrow and the PDA ligation is now scheduled for Tuesday.
P.S. Will is still doing well!!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Off the Vent, On the Vent
Tuesday was another big day for Will. Around 11am, they took him off the ventilator for the first time. Besides the time right after he was born, he has been on a ventilator his whole life. He has never had to breathe by himself so this was a big day. When they took him off the ventilator they switched him to something called CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). It is a big contraption where he has oxygen and pressure going through his nose. He looked like he was ready for his first football game in the new contraption! He looked so sweet though! He also got his first pacifier yesterday, so that his mouth would stay closed.
We knew there was a chance his little body would get tired and he would have to go back on the ventilator. Will did awesome for a really long time, but eventually around 11pm last night they did put him back on the ventilator. He was off it for 12 hours which is a really good sign that he can do it, he is just so little that all that work just wore him out. They will probably try again in another week or so.
Lindy had a quiet day yesterday which was good. We were hanging out by Will's bed most of the day, making sure he was still breathing!
Lindy will be getting all the attention tomorrow (Thursday), she is having her PDA surgery around 11:45am. We are anxious to get this taken care of so one problem will be solved (hopefully)! They say babies sometimes seem a little sicker after the surgery for a little while so it might be a week or so before we see the positive results.
Lindy had a cranial ultrasound today and there was no significant change. This is good news that things have not changed from last week. Therefore they will still just be watching her and still have no plans for removing any of the fluid yet.
Think of us tomorrow around lunch time! Little Lindy (and her parents) need your thoughts and prayers!!
Drew finally gets to hold Will today while we changed his blankets! He held Lindy Monday and Will today, so Drew's had a good week!
Lindy, just hanging out yesterday while Will was getting all the attention.
Will's CPAP contraption that he had for 12 hours on Tuesday. He still looks so precious, even with all that mess on his face!
Will sucking on his first pacifier. Of course he couldn't hold it in his mouth, so that is Daddy having to hold it while he sucked!
After they took Will off the vent and before they put on the CPAP stuff, they snapped a picture of him with NOTHING on his face! Besides the short time directly after birth, we have not seen the babies without something on their face. Will doesn't necessarily look happy but doesn't he have a beautiful little face?!
We knew there was a chance his little body would get tired and he would have to go back on the ventilator. Will did awesome for a really long time, but eventually around 11pm last night they did put him back on the ventilator. He was off it for 12 hours which is a really good sign that he can do it, he is just so little that all that work just wore him out. They will probably try again in another week or so.
Lindy had a quiet day yesterday which was good. We were hanging out by Will's bed most of the day, making sure he was still breathing!
Lindy will be getting all the attention tomorrow (Thursday), she is having her PDA surgery around 11:45am. We are anxious to get this taken care of so one problem will be solved (hopefully)! They say babies sometimes seem a little sicker after the surgery for a little while so it might be a week or so before we see the positive results.
Lindy had a cranial ultrasound today and there was no significant change. This is good news that things have not changed from last week. Therefore they will still just be watching her and still have no plans for removing any of the fluid yet.
Think of us tomorrow around lunch time! Little Lindy (and her parents) need your thoughts and prayers!!
Drew finally gets to hold Will today while we changed his blankets! He held Lindy Monday and Will today, so Drew's had a good week!
Lindy, just hanging out yesterday while Will was getting all the attention.
Will's CPAP contraption that he had for 12 hours on Tuesday. He still looks so precious, even with all that mess on his face!
Will sucking on his first pacifier. Of course he couldn't hold it in his mouth, so that is Daddy having to hold it while he sucked!
After they took Will off the vent and before they put on the CPAP stuff, they snapped a picture of him with NOTHING on his face! Besides the short time directly after birth, we have not seen the babies without something on their face. Will doesn't necessarily look happy but doesn't he have a beautiful little face?!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Will and Lindy and their teddy bears
Most people that visit the kids have said, "They are so little. They look so much bigger in the pictures!" I completely agree with everyone, the pictures do not really show how little they are.
To try and show everyone how little they are, I took pictures of each of them by a couple of their new teddy bears. I hope this will give everyone a little perspective of their size.
To try and show everyone how little they are, I took pictures of each of them by a couple of their new teddy bears. I hope this will give everyone a little perspective of their size.
New Will pictures and updates! 4 weeks old today!
Will has continued to do so well. He had a really quiet weekend as well. He has continued to do well with the conventional vent and his feedings.
He has done so well with the conventional vent that there is talk of extubating him tomorrow morning. That means he would come off the ventilator. No tube down his throat! They are planning on trying tomorrow morning. Some babies do have to go back on the ventilators, but we are hoping Will can stay off. He will move to what they call CPAP, which is where he has a little tube up each nostril that will provide him a little pressure support for his lungs. We're keeping our fingers crossed it goes well! It's a little scary to think about!
He weighed 2 lbs 8 ounces today and is 14 1/4 inches long.
And now pictures of Will!
Will, looking very concerned about something. I wish we could read his mind!
Will loves to sleep with his arms up.
Bright eyed and bushy tailed picture of Will!
Chill Will, all stretched out for his nap.
Nestled down in the rolls in his bed.
I was having a mother-son chat with Will in this picture. I think he was really listening to me, don't you?
Giving sweet Will some sugar!
He has done so well with the conventional vent that there is talk of extubating him tomorrow morning. That means he would come off the ventilator. No tube down his throat! They are planning on trying tomorrow morning. Some babies do have to go back on the ventilators, but we are hoping Will can stay off. He will move to what they call CPAP, which is where he has a little tube up each nostril that will provide him a little pressure support for his lungs. We're keeping our fingers crossed it goes well! It's a little scary to think about!
He weighed 2 lbs 8 ounces today and is 14 1/4 inches long.
And now pictures of Will!
Will, looking very concerned about something. I wish we could read his mind!
Will loves to sleep with his arms up.
Bright eyed and bushy tailed picture of Will!
Chill Will, all stretched out for his nap.
Nestled down in the rolls in his bed.
I was having a mother-son chat with Will in this picture. I think he was really listening to me, don't you?
Giving sweet Will some sugar!
I think Will was saying, "Mom, not another picture!"
Another picture of Will with his eyes open. He seems to be opening them more and more each day.
Another picture of Will with his eyes open. He seems to be opening them more and more each day.
New Lindy Pictures and Updates! 4 weeks old today!
I have lots of new Lindy pictures from the weekend and today. We FINALLY got to hold Lindy and love on her today. I have held Will three different times and today is the first day we have gotten to hold Lindy. Since I have held Will, Drew got to hold Lindy. I was jealous! They were changing her bed today which is why she is out of her isolette. After we changed her bed the nurse put on some of her new clothes. It was like she was dressing up a little baby doll! She looked so funny! It was so nice to be able to see her up close and kiss her precious little head!
Lindy had a quiet weekend. The question about an infection last week has been resolved, she does NOT have one! This allows her to have the PDA surgery now that there is no question. The attending doctor was supposed to talk with the surgeon today about scheduling it this week. So far we have not heard when it has been scheduled for.
They are continuing to measure her head circumference and check her fontanel (the soft spot on her head) each day. There have not been any real changes so there are no plans for any interventions right now. They are planning on another cranial ultrasound on Thursday. We hope there are no changes before that.
Other big news for Lindy - she has had a couple small poops this weekend! She had been having some issues with this area, so we are excited about this new development! It's the little things in life we get excited about now! There has been talk of starting to feed her sometime this week. We'll have to wait and see.
Lindy weighed 2 pounds 8 ounces today and was 13 5/8 inches long.
And now, time for the pictures! Anyone who knows me well knows that I take a ton of pictures! Will and Lindy will never know what I actually look like since I'm always behind a camera!
Drew, holding Lindy and looking a little bit nervous!
Lindy's new shirt from Mimo (Drew's mom, Lynn). Mimo thought I might be getting too big for it. But she's not, it's pretty big on her!
Lindy's first day with clothes on! The nurse continued to give her a make over with a new cap and booties! Doesn't she look like a little baby doll?
Lindy had a quiet weekend. The question about an infection last week has been resolved, she does NOT have one! This allows her to have the PDA surgery now that there is no question. The attending doctor was supposed to talk with the surgeon today about scheduling it this week. So far we have not heard when it has been scheduled for.
They are continuing to measure her head circumference and check her fontanel (the soft spot on her head) each day. There have not been any real changes so there are no plans for any interventions right now. They are planning on another cranial ultrasound on Thursday. We hope there are no changes before that.
Other big news for Lindy - she has had a couple small poops this weekend! She had been having some issues with this area, so we are excited about this new development! It's the little things in life we get excited about now! There has been talk of starting to feed her sometime this week. We'll have to wait and see.
Lindy weighed 2 pounds 8 ounces today and was 13 5/8 inches long.
And now, time for the pictures! Anyone who knows me well knows that I take a ton of pictures! Will and Lindy will never know what I actually look like since I'm always behind a camera!
Drew, holding Lindy and looking a little bit nervous!
Lindy's new shirt from Mimo (Drew's mom, Lynn). Mimo thought I might be getting too big for it. But she's not, it's pretty big on her!
Just a sweet picture of Lindy on her belly! I love how her legs are scrunched up!
Lindy gets her turn with Drew's wedding ring. It slides right over her hand onto her wrist.
We finally get to give our little girl some love!
Lindy's first day with clothes on! The nurse continued to give her a make over with a new cap and booties! Doesn't she look like a little baby doll?
Friday, August 24, 2007
Friday Update and Pictures
Will and his first stuffed animal, a blue bear.
Lindy and her first stuffed animal, her pink bear.
Will's crazy bed head hair!
A little perspective on how little they really are. They look much bigger in pictures than they actually are. Here's Lindy's precious, TINY hand with her long fingers.
Lindy says, "Oh My!!! It's hard work being in the NICU!"
Will says, "Oh Man! My iPod ear piece fell out again."
Sweet Lindy, checking out the scenery.
A big yawn from Lindy!
Super chill Will, relaxing in his isolette.
Happy Friday! I bet everyone is looking forward to the weekend. Our weekends will be quite similiar to our weekdays now, sitting in a NICU! Unfortunately, our little babies don't take NICU breaks on the weekends.
Will is continuing to do very well. He is still on the conventional ventilator and is doing very well. He is also still tolerating his feeds. Yesterday he was up to 1.5 mL an hour and today they have increased him to 2 mL an hour. A little meat on his bones will continue to help everything else develop.
Lindy is doing about the same as Wednesday. Her PDA surgery was orginally scheduled for today but it got postponed when they thought she might be developing an infection. The surgeon will not do surgery if there is any chance of an infection. New blood and urine cultures were taken yesterday and it will be 24-48 hours before we know for sure. If they come back negative then the surgery will hopefully be scheduled for early next week. If there is an infection, the surgery could be put off for some time.
Lindy's other major complication is an intraventricular hemorrhage in her brain. She has a grade 3 bleed on the left side and a grade 4 bleed on the right side. It is on a scale of 1-4. The bleeding has caused her to have hydrocephalus, which is water on the brain. This is caused by spinal fluid backing up in the brain. The nurses measure her head circumference every day and they have neurosurgeons that are consulting with them. The neurosurgeons are checking her soft spot each day to see if there is too much pressure on her brain. When they feel there is too much pressure they will insert a needle and draw off some of the fluid. They are watching her closely and so far feel that she is okay. She had a cranial ultrasound done yesterday which showed no change.
The days have been pretty quiet and we are thankful for that! Have a great weekend!
Lindy and her first stuffed animal, her pink bear.
Will's crazy bed head hair!
A little perspective on how little they really are. They look much bigger in pictures than they actually are. Here's Lindy's precious, TINY hand with her long fingers.
Lindy says, "Oh My!!! It's hard work being in the NICU!"
Will says, "Oh Man! My iPod ear piece fell out again."
Sweet Lindy, checking out the scenery.
A big yawn from Lindy!
Super chill Will, relaxing in his isolette.
Happy Friday! I bet everyone is looking forward to the weekend. Our weekends will be quite similiar to our weekdays now, sitting in a NICU! Unfortunately, our little babies don't take NICU breaks on the weekends.
Will is continuing to do very well. He is still on the conventional ventilator and is doing very well. He is also still tolerating his feeds. Yesterday he was up to 1.5 mL an hour and today they have increased him to 2 mL an hour. A little meat on his bones will continue to help everything else develop.
Lindy is doing about the same as Wednesday. Her PDA surgery was orginally scheduled for today but it got postponed when they thought she might be developing an infection. The surgeon will not do surgery if there is any chance of an infection. New blood and urine cultures were taken yesterday and it will be 24-48 hours before we know for sure. If they come back negative then the surgery will hopefully be scheduled for early next week. If there is an infection, the surgery could be put off for some time.
Lindy's other major complication is an intraventricular hemorrhage in her brain. She has a grade 3 bleed on the left side and a grade 4 bleed on the right side. It is on a scale of 1-4. The bleeding has caused her to have hydrocephalus, which is water on the brain. This is caused by spinal fluid backing up in the brain. The nurses measure her head circumference every day and they have neurosurgeons that are consulting with them. The neurosurgeons are checking her soft spot each day to see if there is too much pressure on her brain. When they feel there is too much pressure they will insert a needle and draw off some of the fluid. They are watching her closely and so far feel that she is okay. She had a cranial ultrasound done yesterday which showed no change.
The days have been pretty quiet and we are thankful for that! Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Big day for Will
Today Will was switched from the jet ventilator to a conventional ventilator! This is definitely a step in the right direction! Will has made so much progress with his lungs and ventilator settings. He kept the doctors really busy last week and over the weekend. He has done well all day on the conventional ventilator and they have continued to lower his settings all day.
Will is also doing really well with his feedings. They started him this weekend with 1 mL every 8 hours! He was really getting full! He has done so well that they have increased them each day, from 1 mL every 4 hours, to 1 mL every 2 hours, and today he has gone to 1 mL every hour! Our little man is doing well. The doctor said he had a "Great night!"
Lindy has had another challenging day. She has completely taken on Will's problems from last week. She now has the lungs that we are really worried about, along with her other various problems. They thought she was getting an infection yesterday and started her on antibiotics. Today they are saying they do not think she has an infection. Of course they did tests that will tell us for sure.
Lindy is most likely going to have surgery this week on her PDA (the hole in her heart that usually closes on babies). This should help her out with her lungs and ventilator settings. We are waiting to hear from the doctors when this will be scheduled for. We are not looking forward to our little girl having surgery, but we are looking forward to seeing the results and positive changes as a result of the surgery.
Lindy has been very moody lately! All the nurses laugh and say she is going to be a lot of fun when she is a teenager! Lindy likes to desat (when her oxygen level dips down) a lot. Sometimes she does it when you are just looking at her. We hope this is not predicting the future!
Overall it's been a quiet day and we are thankful for that. Little Lindy might have a busy rest of the week but we will just have to wait and see!
Will is also doing really well with his feedings. They started him this weekend with 1 mL every 8 hours! He was really getting full! He has done so well that they have increased them each day, from 1 mL every 4 hours, to 1 mL every 2 hours, and today he has gone to 1 mL every hour! Our little man is doing well. The doctor said he had a "Great night!"
Lindy has had another challenging day. She has completely taken on Will's problems from last week. She now has the lungs that we are really worried about, along with her other various problems. They thought she was getting an infection yesterday and started her on antibiotics. Today they are saying they do not think she has an infection. Of course they did tests that will tell us for sure.
Lindy is most likely going to have surgery this week on her PDA (the hole in her heart that usually closes on babies). This should help her out with her lungs and ventilator settings. We are waiting to hear from the doctors when this will be scheduled for. We are not looking forward to our little girl having surgery, but we are looking forward to seeing the results and positive changes as a result of the surgery.
Lindy has been very moody lately! All the nurses laugh and say she is going to be a lot of fun when she is a teenager! Lindy likes to desat (when her oxygen level dips down) a lot. Sometimes she does it when you are just looking at her. We hope this is not predicting the future!
Overall it's been a quiet day and we are thankful for that. Little Lindy might have a busy rest of the week but we will just have to wait and see!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Health Update
Will: Will's doing pretty good today. His ventilator settings are down. The doctor said he hopes to be able to ween Will from the ventilator in the next week to ten days. Yeah, little man is having a good day.
Lindy: Lindy, however, is being a bit of a problem child. The doctors fear she has an infection, which they've begun treating with antibiotics. They have had to put her back on the jet ventilator (she had been on a conventional ventilator for about 24 hours). They will do another echocardiogram next week to see how significant her PDA (a heart condition common in premature babies) is and then make a decision on treatment. The neurosurgeons are keeping an eye on her head circumference to make sure her hydrocephalus (water on the brain) doesn't put too much pressure on her brain. I think she likes the attention.
Lindy: Lindy, however, is being a bit of a problem child. The doctors fear she has an infection, which they've begun treating with antibiotics. They have had to put her back on the jet ventilator (she had been on a conventional ventilator for about 24 hours). They will do another echocardiogram next week to see how significant her PDA (a heart condition common in premature babies) is and then make a decision on treatment. The neurosurgeons are keeping an eye on her head circumference to make sure her hydrocephalus (water on the brain) doesn't put too much pressure on her brain. I think she likes the attention.
The band's back together!
Lindy was moved over to Baptist on Tuesday, August 13th. Will and Lindy are right next to each other now and are already causing trouble!! They tend to get jealous when the other one is getting more attention.
It is so much better having them together. We have settled into a little routine. We do not have to worry about driving back and forth across town. We are able to come in the morning and hear the doctor's rounds on both kids. We are able to make ourselves at home back in our little corner by the window.
There is a really nice Ronald McDonald room on the 6th floor, the same floor as the NICU, which Drew has used to do some work. The parking is a lot closer here at Baptist as well. Overall we are very happy they are both at Baptist.
Lindy Pictures
Here are pictures of Lindy. She has her cool sunglasses on because she was under the phototheraphy light for jaundice for a few days.
She opened her eyes pretty quickly after birth. We love seeing her beautiful little eyes!
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