Noah – Some Good Pics and Health Updates

Noah - Mask Removed June 5th

It's hard to get decent pictures at this stage.  What my wife and I see of our children in the NICU is mostly a series of breathing apparati, feed tubes, and monitor lines.  We cherish the moments where we can reach into the incubator and touch their hands, gently, or to stroke their heads ever so lightly.  We ache to be able to hold them in our arms, but we know that this luxury is several weeks away.

Noah Opens Eyes

The beautiful moments this weekend were on Saturday, June 6th, where all three babies opened their eyes while we were there.  They were quite alert, even little Owen, just a few days after his surgery.  I'm not understating that this was one of the truly wonderful days of my life. 

While Owen is doing quite well recovering, the nurses are now being cautious with Noah as they found some abnormalities in an X-Ray on his abdomen.  They are concerned, because of what happened to his brother, that Noah may be developing intestinal issues as well.  They continue to give him regular X-Rays and so far they have no reason to believe that his issue is nothing more than a bit of intolerance to the breast milk.  They have taken him off his regular 9cc's of breast milk every three hours and continue to watch him, but so far, no other news on that. 

Bella swaddled

We spent a fair bit of time with Bella on Saturday.  She lay on her side as shown above, while Nikki stroked her fingers and hand.  She opened her little eyes and just stared at mom while I stood with my arm around my wife.  It was a Zen moment if there ever was one. 

Owen Resting After Surgery

Owen is our little fighter.  We are so proud of him.  His will to survive and thrive is really inspiring.  It's difficult for us to see him like this but he seems to be comfortable most of the time.  Tonight, he was resting on his belly and looked very comfortable.  In fact, all three babies were resting on their bellies today and the nurses noted that they all seem more comfortable that way.  Noah, particularly, gets extremely fidgety on his back.  This may be how the tubes rest inside their bodies, particularly when they are trying to breath. 

Owen is the only one of the three that is still on the ventilator.  His ventilator is sending him air that is 24% oxygen, so he is getting there.  By comparison, normal air is typically 20% O2.  Noah and Bella breathe mostly on their own, though they have a device called a Psi-pap with a little mask that goes over their nose that helps them breathe part of the time.  Bella's Psi-pap helps her breathe twenty times per minute.  She averages about 45 breaths per minute so many of those are on her own.

Noah's Psi-pap is set to help him breath twenty-four times per minute, and he too is averaging forty-five breaths per minute.  Both Bella and Noah sometimes suffer from what the nurses call "spells."  This means that their heart rates sometimes crash and they sort of forget to breathe.  If it happens frequently during the nurse's shift, they may intubate the baby again with a breathing tube.  This occurred with Bella early last week, but she was extubated again two days later.  They both had some spells today as well, so we will have to wait and see.

Owen, due to his surgery, is regularly having his tummy pumped out of waste.  They have started doing something similar to Noah as they watch his progress. 

Finally, Bella and Owen are back on the Bilirubin light to help treat jaundice.  The therapy uses a blue light (420-470 nm) that converts bilirubin so that it can be excreted in the urine and feces. Soft eye shields are placed on the baby to protect their eyes from damage.  Jaundice, untreated in infants, can lead to brain damage or cerebral palsy.

It sounds like a lot, and I apologize if it seems like that I only write about the problems they are having, but again, I think that understanding the machines they are on helps Nikki and I cope with what they are going through.  We know that the machines and tubes are there to help them and we try to find some solace in that.