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