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