Missy Is Home

The first step in getting our family all together has happened. Missy came home today! Four days ago she was in dire straits and the possibility of her not coming home was quite real. Now, 96 hours later, she is resting in her own bed. I am so thankful to have her home. I'm so thankful to have her...

Leaving the hospital was a bittersweet event for Miss, as was expected. She is having a tough time leaving the little guy at the hospital. As I mentioned previously, knowing in your head that it is better for him to be at the hospital and believing in your heart that it is true are two separate things. I pray that she would be encouraged about it all.

We were able to come home to a fairly clean house; I spent this morning vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, washing, drying, folding, storing, organizing, etc. Thanks to my mom and grandmother, I have more domestic skills than I really want. It would be much easier if I could say, "Oh, I would have done [insert random household chore here], but I just don't know how." When you are doing it out of love, it's not nearly as much work though. The thing is, Anna will come home from school and be able to transform everything into a disarrayed mess in a flash. She is simply trying to obey the second law of thermodynamics and increase the entropy of the system. Who knew we had a little physicist living with us?

Missy and I had a wonderful lunch consisting of homemade chicken soup. Our good friends Scott and Karen Alexander brought the soup over a couple of evenings ago. It was fabulous. Unfortunately, we scarfed every last drop of it, so I'll have to get the recipe from Scott.

Today when we visited Noah he was doing fairly well. The most notable change in his status is that he was placed back on nasal CPAP. Last night he was having increasing difficulty with breathing, so the decision was made to resume the CPAP. He looks much more comfortable today with his respiratory status as a result. I had the opportunity to see his chest xray and it looks like hyaline membrane disease (a.k.a. respiratory distress syndrome). This is fairly common in these little guys. Hopefully Noah will be on CPAP for a few more days and then will come off for good.

Noah received his first dose of ibuprofen last night. He will receive the second dose tonight and a third tomorrow night. I didn't examine him today, but the neonatologist said that he still has a murmur. The difference between his systolic (upper number) and diastolic (lower number) blood pressures was less than it had been over the preceding couple of days, so perhaps the PDA has decreased in diameter with the first dose of ibuprofen. We'll have to wait and see what we have after the three doses. I spoke with the neonatologist regarding the plan should this course of ibuprofen not close the PDA. She is inclined, as am I, to try a second course. Let's hope that the first course does the job.

While he's receiving the ibuprofen and is on CPAP, Noah's feeds have been decreased to 5 mL every six hours (he's still receiving nutrition via the IV in his belly button). Think about that. Five mL is the volume of a teaspoon! Of note, Noah's weight was back up to 3 lbs 1 oz at his nightly weigh-in yesterday. He's going to be huge in no time...

In other news, my mom is going to be flying up tomorrow night to stay with us for a few days. She's going to be helping Miss get around the house and will be playing with Anna. This is a huge thing for my mom. She has what could only be described as severe, if not paralyzing, acrophobia (fear of heights) that she acquired in elementary school. The story, as I recall it is that she went on a field trip to a fire tower (who thought that up?) and a kid pushed her out of the top. Her sweater caught on a rivet and she was dangling high above the ground by this sweater. Thank God for well made sweaters! Anyway, since that time she has been terribly afraid of heights and has never gotten on a plane thereafter. However, because she wants to help us out and also see Anna and Noah, she's hoping on a plane. I'm looking forward to having my mom up for a few days. I'm sure that she and Anna will have a big time.

Thanks for checking on Noah and Missy today.

Please pray for the following:
Noah's neonatologists
Missy's OB/GYNs, Drs. Laveren and Heinzel
Strength for our family
Opportunities to be salt and light to others
Noah, and his big sister Anna, that they would come to know the Lord at a young age
Peace of mind for my mom as she flies to Philadelphia

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