NICU Day 12

I've been trying to write this blog post all morning but the internet has been down at the hospital. So thank you all for being patient.

Will had another great night after an apnea scare he had when we were up there visiting that put his daddy into a state of shock. He is much better today and his daddy was able to rest easy knowing that Will was doing better. Apnea spells with preemies this small are completely normal. They bounce back out of it within 10 seconds.

His feedings have been increased from 6ml to 8ml and he is COMPLETELY off the TPN bag and he is getting all the nutrients from the breast milk that he needs! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!! He weighs 520 grams or 1lb 2oz which is down 20 grams from yesterdays weigh in. All his blood gas tests and chest xrays came back normal. He has been flipped over and is doing a little tummy time to try and ease the apnea spells. The respiratory therapist said he would be on his tummy for about 48 hours and he assured me this is good for him to do. So all is well in Will's life.

I found this prayer in a book that someone gave me so this is my prayer for Will for today and always.

Thank you for this treasured child of mine. Although you have entrusted him to me, I know he belongs to you. Like Hannah offered Samuel, I dedicate my child to you, Lord. I recognize that he is always in your care. Help me as a parent, Lord, with my weaknesses and imperfections. Give me strength and godly wisdom to raise this child after your Holy Word. Please supply what I lack. Keep my child walking on the path that leads to eternal life. Help him to overcome the temptations in this world and the sin that would so easily entangle him. Dear God, send your Holy Spirit daily to lead and guide him. Ever assist him to grow in wisdom and stature, in grace and knowledge, in kindness, compassion and love. May he serve you faithfully with his whole heart devoted to you. May he discover the joy of your presence through daily relationship with your Son, Jesus. Help me never to hold on too tightly to this child, nor neglect my responsiblities before you as a parent. Lord, let my committment to raise this child for the glory of your name cause his life to forever testify of your faithfulness.

Thanks for you prayers for Will and us. Will is growing stronger everyday so please continue to pray for him and the doctors and nurses that are attending to his bedside. It is still a day to day process that will continue but overall we have been pleased with his growth and the strength he is showing.

NICU Day 11

Will had another great night. He is up from 5ml to 6ml every 3 hours. So his feedings have increased! YEAH! He gained 10 grams and is up to 540 grams but still 1lb 3oz. They will do another blood gas test tomorrow as well as a chest xray to see if his lungs are still functioning well based on what the machine is saying. Pray that those tests go well tomorrow.

Thank you God for my sweet Will and his daily improvements! I pray that you will continue to put your loving arms around him and keep helping him grow stronger each and every day. Thank you God for this amazing gift of life! How can we ever repay you for such a perfect gift? Amen!

NICU Day 10

Will had another great night! His feedings have been increased from 4ml to 5ml every 3 hours. So that is great news and he is getting and taking the breast milk like a champ! His weight has increased to 1lb 3oz which we haven't seen in a week. Praise the Lord our baby boy is growing! His new ventilator is still working perfectly and he is adjusting well. As well as getting nutrients from the breast milk he is also getting additional nutrients from a bag that has a IV line running to his arm. They are going to lower the nutrients from that bag because he is getting more than he needs from the breast milk.

Please continue to pray for Will as he continues to grow stronger and in size too. He is doing well with his feedings so please pray that he will continue that. My milk is doing well but please continue to pray that I can continue to produce enough for him and to continue to nourish and help him in this way. Thanks again for all your prayers! God is amazing and is blessing us through him in so many ways! Continue to pray without ceasing! We are rejoicing and praising God with all the little steps he is taking!

This momma is slacking in the picture taking business so bear with me and I will get a few recent pictures uploaded tomorrow or soon.

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

NICU Day 9 - January 27, 2012

Will is still doing great! Somethings have changed but that is good! He is on a conventional ventilator (which is much quieter) and breathing on about 24% oxygen. We breathe on about 21% oxygen. The ventilator is helping him get about 25 breaths per minute at certain intervals. Basically, he is breathing on his own and the ventilator will help him breathe when he needs those extra breaths. He is out from under the bilirubin light for today. They have increased his feedings from 3mls to 4mls every 3 hours. He is pooping and peeing regularly. They are beginning to prick his little foot to take blood because they have removed the needle from his head. He is still trying to open his eyes for me but has not done that yet.

So today little Will is still progressing. I'm sitting here in his room today for a while just to be near him and reflecting on the amazing power of God. To take this little baby from me at just 24 weeks and to hear that he is improving each and every day, we just have to stop and give all the praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. Wow, I'm completely stunned at the awesomeness of his grace and mercy that he has placed over our little Will.

Please continue to pray for our little fighter! We draw our strength from him each and every day. We are resting well. Doug has gone back to work and I will continue on and try to get in a routine. I am going to be sitting with him every day as he continues to grow stronger. Please continue to lift up the amazing NMMC NICU staff, doctors, and nurses as they continue to press on and take care of our sweet Will. Where would we be without them?

Matthew 19:26: But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Happy One Week Birthday, Will

Wow, time flies! I can't believe it has been a week since Will was born. It has been a complete whirlwind of a journey. I'm so thankful that Will is still doing well in the NICU. We went to see him today and sang Happy Birthday to him. Yes, I'm cherishing each and every day I get to spend with him. So Happy One Week Old Birthday sweet Will! I hope we get to celebrate many more!

Enjoy these sweet pictures of Will. Unfortunately he is under the light again for jaundice. We are hoping that we get you a new ventilator tomorrow since you have outgrown your other one and are beginning to take more breaths on your own. Yeah for the small improvements!

Weight still remains the same 1lb 1oz or 490 grams.

Our one week old baby

Precious feet

Precious hands

NICU days 3-8, January 21-26, 2012

Will has began to make major improvements day to day. His heartrate is staying in the 160-180 range, his blood pressure is averaging between 30-40, and he is breathing on about 26% oxygen. He has begun to take breast milk by a tube that goes directly into his stomach. Breast milk gives the baby the nutrients that are needed during this time. They began him on 1 mls every 3 hours and he is taking that well and they have increased that to 3.5mls every 3 hours as of January 26, 2012. He is peeing and pooping regularly. He has had to have 2 blood transfusions so far since they are having to do alot of blood tests. Preemie's veins are so fragile and there is little blood that blood transfusions are normal in preemie's this early. The doctors have assured us that this will happen very often. On January 26, 2012 they did another ultrasound of the brain and everything checked out normal. There is no bleeding on the brain, which the doctors knew there wasn't because he has not showed any signs. They will eventually change out his ventilator because he is on the lowest setting on the current ventilator. We have been dealing with Dr. Nading and now are dealing with Dr. O'Mara. He has been on and off the heating lamp due to having jaundice which I understand is normal with newborns and preemies.
As far as physical features, Will is long legged, has long arms, long fingers and toes, and a little touch of blonde hair. He is a miracle! He is GOD's miracle to us!

Please continue to pray for Will's improvement. The doctors are happy with him and they have told us that they will continue to do what they are doing if we continue to do what we are doing. Prayer is a powerful thing and we feel them everyday, so don't give up. Pray without ceasing and constantly.

Stay tuned as our NICU story and journey continues.....

As a side note: The placentas were examined and come to find out, Drew was getting more of the nutrients and Will was not. Therefore, Will needed to be let out soon or he would have died in the womb. They tell us that this is sometimes the case with multiples. One can survive in the womb and one cannot and then when they are born it is the opposite for the twins. We may never know why and understand but we know God's plan is perfect and are relying and trusting in him to get through this day by day. We rest in knowing that Drew is with Jesus and are holding onto the strength and hope that Will will one day be home with us and in our arms forever. Keep praying, because our little guy is a FIGHTER!

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! 1 Chronicles 16:11 

Here is a picture of our little miracle, Will

Here is a reference to a dollar bill. It runs from head to his knees 

Drew's visitation and service - January 24-25, 2012

As we began to plan and work through the struggles of planning our baby boy's funeral, you begin to think how could I do this and how can we honor Drew in such an amazing way. My dad helped us through the whole planning process and then we decided that January 24, 2012 would be his vistation at Harrisburg Baptist Church from 5-7pm and then we would have a private family only graveside service on January 25, 2012 at 11am. We decided to bury Drew over my papaw's grave. I felt completely comfortable doing this because I knew my papaw would be watching over him, playing with him in heaven, and even teaching him a few lessons about golf.

Visitation was packed with people we knew. Our Sunday School group is an amazing group of folks. They have supported us, prayed for us, and encouraged us during this whole time. A few of the guys worked as ushers and checked on us during visitation. So thank you very much! The sanctuary was beautiful with flowers from different people. Drew's casket was white and adorned with baby's breathe and blue hydrangeas, my favorite. We had a few pictures developed with us and Drew during his last day with us and those were sitting by his casket.

We wrapped Drew in white blanket that had been monogrammed with his name on it and placed a dog that had been given to the boys at Christmas by Aunt Mary. Will will have his and Drew will have his so there will always be that connection.

Drew's graveside service was perfect. Dr. Forrest Sheffield, pastor of our church at Harrisburg Baptist Church, did an amazing job. God was speaking through him because what he said was truly amazing words from God. It was refreshing to know and believe that Drew is in heaven with Jesus. We then gathered back at my parents house for lunch and to be with our family and friends.

My dearest Drew,
Even though you are not here with us, we will see you in Heaven soon. We miss you very much! When we found out we were pregnant with twins, we began praying that our children would come to know Jesus as their personal savior. You have already done that and are now with Jesus. We couldn't be more thrilled to know that Jesus is taking care of you right now. Please continue to watch over your brother, Will, as we soon will tell him about you and how wonderful and perfect you were. Yes, we will miss the times with you since we had so much for you to learn and love but we know that you will be watching over us each and everyday soaking up all that fun in Heaven. God took you from us too soon and we may never know his plan for that, but we know his plan is perfect. You have touched so many lives throughout this whole process and your short life has been a living testimony for us, your parents. We loved you more than life itself and I enjoyed those 6 short months you were in my belly having a party. You were a very active fellow and enjoyed kicking me and making me so uncomfortable. I sure wish I could have that back for just one second. Thank you Drew for your sweet and happy self. We cannot wait for that day when we all get to Heaven and see you!

All our LOVE,
Your parents, Doug and Kara