2 Weeks Old

They say that every day in the NICU is a rollercoaster and we certainly can understand that saying... multiplied by three! The past few days seemed to have had a lot of dips and loops for our little babes.

Liam:
Our little guy has had a tough few days. On Sunday night, Liam's heart rate was high and he was not acting like himself. Blood work was done and by Monday it was confirmed that our baby has a blood infection. This could be from any of the needles, IVs, PICC lines, or the open sores he got from the sanitizing products that his skin reacted to. The healthcare team is monitoring Liam closely. He is being treated with antibiotics and some Tylenol to help him settle. Liam also has had a lumbar puncture (needle which goes into his spine and extracts some cerebral spinal fluid) to see if the infection has spread to his brain. We are waiting for the results and praying this is not the case. In the meantime, he seems to have more energy on Tuesday.

All three babies have come off the humidity in their incubators since they are now 14 days. Their skin is much better looking- not as red and see through. All the babies are also getting a millimeter more of breast milk each day and are almost at full feeds. To give an idea of what a full feed is: Malachi is 885 grams (900 grams = 2 lbs) and so 11 milliliters is a full feed for him. This evening he is at 10 milliliters. Once a baby is at a full feed, they will try fortify the breast milk with the nutrients that are currently going into their bodies through the PICC line (permanent IV). If the baby tolerates everything orally, they can take the PICCs out. Hopefully all three triplets can have this in the next few days.

Taylor:
Our baby girl has had better days than her brothers recently. However, she has still been swinging up and down in her oxygen requirements. The nurses and respiratory therapists have been playing with her CPAP settings and even had her on an oscillator for a while. As of Tuesday evening she is on fairly good oxygen levels. Another issue Taylor is facing is mucous and secretions in her nose and mouth (Liam and Malachi have also been having this to a lesser degree). This really impacts her ability to breathe properly and so she needs to be suctioned often.

Malachi:
On Sunday night, our Malachi was having some intensified breathing difficulties. The healthcare team finally determined his breathing machine was faulty and replaced it with a whole new unit. In the meantime, for whatever reason, his right lung partially collapsed. By late Monday morning, his lung was resolved but both lungs had a lot of fluid in them that needed to be emptied. The turn of events was especially disappointing because Monday was the day that the doctors planned to extubate Malachi and try him on the less invasive CPAP machine. Everyone is anxious to get him off the breathing tube because it is harmful and hard to get off the longer it is in. The doctors are now assessing him daily to determine when they will try extubate.

We are told and are also experiencing that every day and even every hour can fluctuate. Infections unfortunately happen to almost every baby in the NICU. Babies improve and regress and improve again and regress again all the time. It's nerve-racking to walk into the NICU each time, wondering what news we'll hear this time and how each baby will be.
We cannot express enough how thankful we are for the support we receive and for all the prayers to God for our precious miracles. Please continue to pray for these little babies. We remember our wedding text from Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths."