September 30, 2008

Hello everyone! I am posting today while sitting at Laurie's bedside. She is now sleeping after enjoying her 3:30 bottle. There have not been any changes with Laurie's care plan today. Although she did gain a few grams last night, her weight stayed at 5 lbs. 1 oz. Laurie's oxygen has remained at about 30% on 1 liter with the nasal canula. She continues to have a few de-sats, but has not had any bradys since coming off the aminophylline last week. We are continuing to try weaning her off the nasal canual, otherwise Laurie is ready to come home! Mrs. Judy and I have attended the discharge class and Mom will be here tomorrow to attend the class. Although we are getting very excited about bringing Laurie home, we would love to be able to leave without any oxygen support (so we are probably still looking at another week or two)! Please continue to pray for Laurie's vision, hearing, and breathing!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 29, 2008 7:40 pm

Cole and Daddy playing football!

Daddy holds Laurie on her 3 month birthday!
6-28-08

Good evening! Laurie and I have had another good day in Birmingham! We enjoyed having Todd, Cole, and MeMa here with us over the weekend (although Cole was not able to go in and see Laurie because he continues to have sinus and allergy problems)! As you can see from the pictures we were able to take Cole to a playground, so the boys could play a little football! Laurie has not had any changes in her care plan. She continues to take her bottle feedings of 45 cc every 3 hours. She lost an ounce last night, weighing 5 lbs. 1 oz. Now our goal is to get Laurie breathing without the nasal canula. She is so close, but often just needs the stimulation of the oxygen flow provided by the canula. We are trying to keep her on as little oxygen as possible, so not to cause any more damage to her eyes. The ophthalmologist will also be back this week to continue monitoring her. Thanks for your continued prayers and support! Hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 26, 2008 3:20 p.m.

I'm a big girl now! 5 pounds 2 ounces

Happy Friday! Laurie continues to sleep and grow as we wait for Todd, Cole, and Mema to arrive! Last night she weighed 5 lbs. 2 oz. The doctors have not made any changes in Laurie's care plan today. The audiologist came to do a hearing exam on Laurie today and she did not pass in either ear. This means that she will have to have further testing done within the next month. Laurie does respond to voices and noises around her, but further testing will determine the degree of hearing loss. Again, being on the oxygen for such a long period of time and being born so prematurely are going to be contributing factors to Laurie's growth and development over the next few years. However, we know that God continues to answer our prayers and is watching over Laurie! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lungs, eyes and hearing! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll post again on Monday!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 25, 2008 5:30 p.m.

Hello everyone! We received wonderful news last night--the Avastin injections have stopped the progression of ROP in Laurie's eyes! The eye doctor will be back next week to continue monitoring her condition and hopefully there will be the beginning of new, normal blood vessel growth! God has blessed us again!!! Laurie also gained weight last night, weighing in at 4 lbs. 15 oz.! We may reach 5 pounds by the weekend. Laurie continues taking all her feeds with a bottle (40 cc every 3 hours). Since we are now on the second day without Aminophylline (medication used to prevent apnea spells), she has been de-sating a little more frequently, so the nurse practitioner and doctor are trying to find the right balance with her oxygen level and flow on the nasal canula. We pray that Laurie will make this new adjustment with her breathing and soon be able to do it all on her own! Thanks for continuing to remember us in your prayers. Please pray for travel safety as Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy travel to Birmingham tomorrow.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 24, 2008 3:00 p.m.

Hi! Laurie and I are having a great day...just waiting on the ophthalmologist to come and check her eyes! I am not sure if he will even come back today, but stated when he left last Thursday night that he would check her on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday!?! We are definitely learning patience!!! The doctors did increase Laurie's feeds to 40 cc every 3 hours, but she still weighed
4 lbs. 11 oz. last night. They will also be giving Laurie her 2 month shots today and tomorrow (just a little behind). Yesterday, they discontinued her medication that assists her with maintaining her oxygen levels. Hopefully, she is big enough now and breathing well enough to do this on her own! All of this is being done to get Laurie ready for going home! We don't want to have to go home with any more support than necessary (oxygen, medication, etc...). We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!!! Please continue to pray for Laurie's breathing and vision!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 23, 2008 5:00 p.m.

My new BIG girl crib!

Look Cole, I'm finally dressed in real clothes!

Good afternoon! Laurie has had another great day! She was able to maintain her body temperature last night and was in her new crib this morning when I arrived for her 6:30 a.m. bottle feeding! It was great to be able to just pick her up...like a "real" baby as Cole would say! Now that she is in a crib we are able to dress Laurie to help keep her body temperature up. She is wearing the smallest preemie gown we have and it is still a little big on her! She is also taking all eight of her daily feeds by bottle and tolerating it well! Laurie gained some more ounces last night and now weighs 4 lbs. 11 oz.-- we won't be in those preemie gowns long at this rate! She is on very low oxygen settings on the nasal canula. We will continue to try weaning her off this week, so that she will just be breathing room air (21%). We are also hopeful that the eye doctor will be doing another eye exam tomorrow afternoon and find the ROP is getting better. Please continue to pray for improvement with her breathing and eyes!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 22, 2008 3:00 p.m.

Good afternoon! Laurie, Todd, and I had a very restful weekend together! Laurie is trying to grow up today! The doctors have decided to try weaning her to an open crib! She will have to go 12 hours holding her own temperature inside the isolette and then they move her to the crib. She will have to go into the crib with a nasal canula because she is still requiring a little oxygen (22%). Hopefully, she will be able to come off the canula soon (again)! This weekend she has been taking every other feed with a bottle, so today we are trying to give her all bottles! So far she has tolerated it well without having to put any through her feeding tube. Last night Laurie weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz.! She is definitely moving right along! Thanks to all of you who continue to track Laurie's daily progress! We are blessed with great friends and family! Please continue to pray for Laurie's breathing and eye development.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 19, 2008

Laurie resting after the injection last night!

Hi! Laurie is having a very good day! The doctors did not get started on the Avastin injection until about 10:00 p.m. last night, but it went well. She does have some swelling today, which is to be expected after having her eyes dilated and examined each day Monday-Thursday this week and the injections last night! She has rested well today and the procedure does not seem to have affected her breathing or feeding. Her doctors did not make any changes in her care plan. She is still taking 35 cc every 3 hours and 3-4 bottle feedings a day, which we continued today. Laurie weighed 4 lbs. 5oz. last night! Thanks to all of you who said a special prayer last night for Laurie. We have faith that the procedure will work! The eye doctor will back next week to check her!

Laurie and I are looking forward to Todd arriving any minute now! I hope you all have a great weekend!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole and Laurie

September 18, 2008 1:30 pm

Hello everyone! Laurie is doing well today, yet Mom and Dad are a little anxious! The retinal specialist came last night to check Laurie's eyes again and to treat her eyes. Prior to the specialist coming Todd and I had decided to go with the laser surgery option (because it has been performed for 20 years and therefore there is result data available--50% reduction of a severe outcome-hemorrhage or detachment/blindness--still not great odds). However, the doctor strongly believes that the Avastin injection will be be Laurie's best chance for "normal" vision. We did not realize that Laurie's condition had progressed this far, so we decided to wait until today so that Todd and I could discuss the options further. After much discussion with Laurie's other doctors and prayer, we have decided that we have no other choice, but to do the injections. Although Avastin is not FDA approved for ROP, it does seem to be the best chance for Laurie's sight(It has been FDA approved for other diseases such as cancer). This drug has been successful in stopping abnormal growth and neither hemorrhage or detachment should occur with the injection. However, it has only been used for about 3-4 years, so there is not much data to see the long term effects on preemies. The doctors will do the injection tonight between 5-7 p.m. It should take 1-2 minutes per eye, so this short amount of time should not affect her breathing. We may have to wait a few days to resume bottle feeding. The doctors will check Laurie's eyes again in a week and should be able to see improvement by then. She will be closely monitored over the next few weeks, months, and years.

We are trusting God to use this procedure to heal Laurie's eyes! We have already seen Him work miracles in her life and answer our prayers! Please pray specifically for the doctors performing the injection, for there to be no further complications from the procedure, and for visible healing to begin!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 17, 2008 4:20 p.m.

Good afternoon! Although Laurie is having a good day, today has also brought about many important decisions about her care that Todd and I are having to make via phone calls! The retinal specialist did do another eye exam on Laurie late last night and called me to discuss treatment options for ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). After faxing over more information for me to read and discuss with Todd, he will be coming over to do another eye exam and possibly do treatment tonight. This will make her third eye exam in three days. Our treatment options are laser surgery or an injection of avastin into her eyes. Not only do we have further questions about the treatment options, but also concerns about the possibility of the treatment causing her to regress with breathing and feeding. As we have learned from the past few weeks, one procedure or change can affect many other areas of Laurie's care. We are trying to weigh all the options and make the best decisions for Laurie now and for her future health! Please pray specifically for wisdom as we make these decisions about treatment, Laurie's doctors as they perform the procedure tonight or tomorrow, and that treatment will stop the progression of abnormal blood vessels while limiting vision loss.

Laurie is still taking 35 cc every 3 hours and taking three feeds by bottle each day. She gained an ounce last night and weighs 4 lbs. 3 oz. She is still on 26%-30% oxygen in the OE.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 16, 2008 3:00 pm

(Good afternoon! Laurie is having another good day. The doctors increased her feeds to 35 cc every 3 hours and we will try 3 bottle feeds today. Laurie gained 10 grams last night, but still weighs 4 lbs. 2 oz. and is 16 1/2 inches long. She has also come down to 26% on her OE settings. Late yesterday afternoon the ophthalmologist examined Laurie's eyes again and the ROPretinopathy of prematurity) does seem to be progressing. Another ophthalmologist will come by sometime today to go over treatment options for Laurie, which could be medication or laser surgery. Thank you so much for your continued love, support, and prayers. God has blessed and provided for us through your kind gestures! Please continue to pray for Laurie's eyes!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 15, 2008 2:15 pm

Good afternoon! We are having a quiet day here in dreary Birmingham. Over the weekend the doctors increased Laurie's feeds to 33 cc every 3 hours, but have not made any other changes today. I am still feeding her with a bottle for two feedings a day--6:30 a.m. and p.m. Laurie also continues to grow and weighed 4 lbs. 2 oz. last night. She is on 28% oxygen in her isolette, so hopefully we will be at room air (21%) very soon and can move to an open crib. Although Cole was not able to go in to see Laurie this weekend due to having a "runny nose", we enjoyed having Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy here with us! The time just passes too fast on the weekends when they are here! Thanks for continuing to check in on Laurie and for your prayers. Please continue to pray for her lung development, eyes, and resistance to infections!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 12, 2008 6:00 pm

Laurie gets comfortable after taking her 6:30 a.m. bottle.

Laurie in her "little glass house"!

Hello everyone! Laurie has had another great day! She did much better yesterday with spacing her bottle feedings further apart. We will continue to try bottle feeds at 6:30 a.m. and again at 6:30 p.m. through the weekend. Hopefully, next week we will begin trying three bottle feeds a day. She must be taking all eight of her daily feeds by bottle before going home, so we are slowly working toward that goal! Laurie did reach the 4lb. mark last night!! She is such a big girl! The doctors also ordered an eye culture today because Laurie continues to have drainage from her left eye. They have already begun treatment for the infection.

While Laurie had a restful day, I spent the afternoon getting ready for Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy to arrive. As some of you know, Cole is not allowed to stay overnight at the UAB townhouse due to many other guests being here for transplants etc... We of course understand that little ones often bring in harmful germs, but we do have to make alternate plans when Cole comes for the weekend. The Alabama Power Company offers a great service to families of hospitalized members who need short term lodging while in Birmingham. We are so thankful that we have been able to stay at one of their townhouses the weekends that Cole comes, rather than having to get a hotel for the weekend. However, this does require that we "pack-up" and take clothes, linens, and food to the Alabama Power townhouse several blocks away. After moving all our "stuff", Laurie and I are now all ready for the boys and MeMa to get here!!!

Thanks for your continued prayers, love, and support! We are truly blessed! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung and eye development! Hope you all have a restful and safe weekend! I will post again on Monday!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 11, 2008 4:15 p.m.

Good afternoon! Still not a lot to report from the CCN! Laurie is having a great day! Today we are trying to spread out her two bottle feedings so she doesn't tire out so easy. I gave Laurie her
6:30 a.m. feed in a bottle and will try again tonight at her 6:30 p.m. feeding. Last night she only took about half of her 2nd bottle feed before she began de-sating. We decided to stop and give the rest through her feeding tube. We will slowly continue to try increasing her bottle feeds. Hopefully, by next week we can try 3 bottle feeds a day. She is finally putting on the ounces and weighed 3 lbs. 15 oz. last night. She could reach the 4 lb. mark by tonight!! We are also trying to wean her off the oxygen in her OE. Thanks for your continued prayers. We can see them being answered each day! Please pray for Laurie's continued growth and for safe travel as Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy come to Birmingham tomorrow.

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 10, 2008 5:15 pm

Hi! Laurie is enjoying the rainy day in Birmingham by sleeping and growing! The doctors have not made many changes with her care plan today. They increased her feeds to 30 cc every 3 hours and we will now be trying 2 bottle feeds a day. She took all 30 cc this morning and I will try her second bottle at her 6:30 pm feed. Hopefully, she will be able to handle the two bottle feedings without becoming too tired. It just takes lots of energy to suck, swallow, and breathe! Laurie contiues to gain weight and weighed 3 lbs. 11 oz. last night! Thanks for your continued prayers.

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 9, 2008 5:30 pm

After my bath last night with nothing on my face!

Hello everyone! Laurie is having another very good day! Late yesterday afternoon the doctors tried her off the nasal canula again and she is back on OE (oxygen environment). She seems to be handling this very well! They did increase her feeds again today to 29 cc every 3 hours and I gave her the entire 12:30 feed with a bottle! She also continues to gain weight and weighed 3 lbs. 10 oz. last night. Laurie had another eye exam today and there are signs of mild ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). However, the ophthalmologist stated that there is no more scarring than he would have expected in a preemie born at 23 weeks gestation. When babies are born prematurely, the growth of the retinal capillaries is interrupted and when they begin growing again they can grow too fast, which can lead to scarring and damage to the retina. This is what seems to be happening with Laurie, so we are praying the capillaries' growth slows before more scarring and vision problems occur. The ophthalmologist will check her again next week and continue to monitor the capillaries in her eyes to determine if later treatment will be needed. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development, eyes, and eating tolerance!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 8, 2008 2:40 pm

Please, no more pictures Mommy!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Laurie had a few "bumps" late Saturday. After we gave her the 12:30 bottle, she began having more frequent and lower de-sat spells. She also had a couple of bradys and had to be "bagged" back up twice. Laurie was just trying to let us know that we were moving a little too fast for her with taking away the nasal canula and trying bottle feeds once a day! Therefore, the doctors decided to put her back on the nasal canula. They also ordered a blood gas which showed her hematocrit was low. So on Sunday morning she had a blood transfusion (30 cc). We decided to let Laurie rest on Sunday and did not try to bottle feed (as this burns lots of calories and energy). Laurie seems to be doing much better today (fewer de-sats and not as low) with the nasal canula back and fresh blood. We did resume bottle feeds today and she was able to take most of her 12:30 feed. The doctors did not make any other changes in her care plan today.

Many of you have been asking about when we might be able to come home. Although Laurie has made lots of progress, we still have a ways to go before we will be ready. The doctors say that a good estimate is until her original due date, which was October 19th. There are also several milestones we have to reach before going home--taking all feeds by bottle; continuously gaining weight (not a specific weight); in an open crib, preferably on room air only; and at least five consecutive days without any apnea or brady spells. Hopefully, Laurie continue to make progress towards these goals so that we can come home by mid-October!

Thanks for continuing to keep up with Laurie's progress and for your continued prayers. We know that we would not have made it this far without the support of our family and friends!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 5, 2008

Happy Friday! We are having another uneventful day in the CCN. Laurie continues to gain weight and weighed 3 lbs. 7 oz. last night. I was able to give her a bottle at her 12:30 feeding and she took all 26 cc.! As you can see from the picture she has had her eyes wide open today. I believe she is anxiously waiting for her Daddy to get here! Cole will be spending the weekend with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Tammy. The girls are already teaching him how to "fight" with a sister!!! Since Todd will be here, I will not post again until Monday. I hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for your continued love, support, and prayers! We are so blessed with wonderful family and friends!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 4, 2008 3:00 pm

We do put the nasal canula back in to help with breathing while she is bottle feeding!

Hello everyone! Laurie is having another quiet day to rest and grow. Her doctor and nurse practitioners made rounds this morning and are very pleased with Laurie's progress. She is getting 27%-30% oxygen in her isolette on OE. We are trying to slowly wean her down to room air or 21% oxygen and of course we would prefer she had fewer de-sat spells. Hopefully, this will all come as Laurie's lungs continue to grow and develop. As you can see from the pictures, Laurie tried taking a bottle again today and was able to take the whole, increased amount of 26 cc! This still requires lots of energy and burns many precious calories, so we will only be giving her a bottle for one of her feedings each day for the time being. She continued to gain weight last night and now weighs 3 lbs. 5 oz.! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development, tolerance of feedings, and resistance to infections! Also, pray for safe travel as Todd comes to Birmingham tomorrow night.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 3, 2008 6:00 pm

Hi from Birmingham! Laurie and I are having a great week with many "firsts". She has continued to do well without the nasal canula on OE. Today Laurie also took her first bottle! Although she was not able to take all 25 cc by bottle, she did latch on several times. Laurie also gained a few grams last night, but not enough to change her weight from 3 lbs. 4 oz. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. I am amazed by all God has done in Laurie's short life! She is truly a miracle!!!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 2, 2008

Good afternoon! Laurie is having another great day. The nurse practitioner decided to try her off of the nasal canula and on oxygen environment (OE) only. This is just oxygen pumped into her isolette with Laurie doing all the breathing on her own. She is still having her normal de-sats, but seems to be tolerating the OE very well. They have also increased her feeds again to 25 cc every 3 hours. She gained another ounce last night and now weighs 3 lbs. 4 oz.! I hope you all have had a great Tuesday back to work! Enjoy the four day week! Thanks for continuing to check on Laurie and for your prayers!

NOTHING in my nose!
Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 1, 2008 7:00 pm

Daddy and Cole feeding Laurie!

All four of us!

Hello everyone! Laurie and I have had a wonderful, long weekend with Todd and Cole. We also enjoyed seeing all our other visitors! Todd and I were able to have some quiet time holding and playing with Laurie, while Cole entertained Nana and other visitors! Cole also loved rubbing Laurie's back and tried his best to persuade every nurse he saw to let him hold her! Sunday, Laurie's nurse finally took her out of the isolette and let him give her a kiss on the top of her head. He was so proud, but turned immediately around and said, "Now can I hold her!" We seem to have two very persistent and strong-willed children! Since Laurie was doing so well, we also had a chance to take Cole away from the hospital to eat and even find a playground. I was so thankful that Laurie was doing well enough that we could enjoy having some play time with big brother!

Over the weekend, the doctors have not made many changes in Laurie's care plan. They did increase her feeds to 24 cc every 3 hours. Friday night Laurie made the 3 lb. mark and now weighs 3lbs. 3oz!

We have really enjoyed our move to the CCN. We are now in a small room with only five other babies. The room is much more quiet and we have lots more room to move around. I am even posting tonight while sitting at Laurie's bedside! This allows me to periodically reach in to remind her to breathe when she de-sats and change a diaper when needed! Laurie and I finally persuaded Nana, MeMa, and Daddy that we are "big girls" and will be here by ourselves this week! Hopefully, she will have a quiet week of growing!

Thank you for your continued prayers! We can see God at work each day!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie