Friday December 16

We have had a pretty busy and stressful week. The NICU life is certainly exhausting and emotionally draining at times. On Wednesday, we met with the neonatologist and a few other healthcare professionals to discuss each of our triplets. We had to make a few decisions during this meeting. It is so difficult to try to learn about what is going on with each baby from a medical perspective, try to understand and process it all, and then have to collaborate on what we have just learned.

Liam:
As mentioned in our last posts, Liam's PDA (a duct which brings oxygenated blood between the placenta and the heart while the baby is in the womb) is still open and remains a cause for concern. It is clear from the many chest x-rays that the PDA is impacting Liam's lungs. After four rounds of medication, the doctors indicated that the medication options were exhausted. Because Liam's breathing support needs are so high, the medical team strongly recommended to us that Liam needed heart surgery. As parents, we listened to the risks and benefits and decided to go ahead with the heart surgery. We were told that Liam would be a priority case because of the severity of his situation, and that the surgery would happen within a week's time. On Wednesday night, we made the rare decision to go to bed early rather than spending the evening at the hospital. When we called the NICU to check in before bed, the receptionist told us we were unable to speak to Liam's nurse because he was in a procedure. Naturally, we sort of panicked and Nathan ran over to the hospital to check it out. Liam had started showing signs of infection early in the evening. His health had been deteriorating so quickly that the healthcare team had not been able to update us. They had run a number of tests on him, taken blood cultures, and performed a lumbar puncture. They put a catheter in to help him urinate and put him on medication to bring his blood pressure down. They also put him on general antibiotics because preliminary tests strongly indicated a blood infection.
As of Friday night, Liam is doing much better. He is much less lethargic and he looks much better. However, the blood cultures have not indicated what type of infection Liam has. The hypothesis is that Liam's PICC line had a blood clot on the end of it which is a source of bacteria collection and potential infection. The PICC line is out and a temporary IV line put in. In the meantime, heart surgery has been postponed for at least a week until the signs of infection are gone and a course of antibiotics has been finished. We will also need to reconsider heart surgery entirely once he is well enough, as there is the possibility that the situation will have changed.

Our sick little man

Taylor:
We don't have too much to report for Taylor as she is still doing quite well. She is not quite ready for the lowest type of CPAP yet but is doing well for her gestational age and size. She still has spells where her heart rate drops quickly and/or her oxygen saturation levels drop. However, overall she is having less that she has in the past. We still enjoy lots of cuddles from our little girl because she is almost always well enough to come out of her incubator.

Little princess

A nice surprise from the nurses

Malachi:
At our meeting on Wednesday, the neonatologist discussed how coming off of steroids can cause a baby to do a little bit worse for a few days before improving. This did happen but in the past few days his breathing support needs have been fairly consistent. The doctors are hoping that he can continue to stay the same so that as he gets bigger and stronger he will be able to improve. We were told that 4.5 lbs is the goal before his lungs will begin to improve to come off of the breathing tube. Right now, he is about 2.6 lbs (1210 grams). Today, Malachi's ventilator machine was switched to one that has more settings and can therefore provide more consistent pressures in his lungs. The healthcare team has indicated that heart surgery is not off the table for Malachi but there are no definite plans for him yet. We continue to wait and pray that his lungs can improve as he grows and gets stronger.

Our baby boy all snuggled up

As parents, it is hard to watch our babies go through so much. All of the pokes for bloodwork, IV lines, tubes pushed down their noses and throats, medication... it seems to never end and most likely won't for a long time yet. We sometimes half-joke that we will have full-blown anxiety disorders by the time we are able to take our babies home from the hospital. Perhaps it is not a very funny joke though, because we hope and pray that the LORD God will continue to strengthen our faith and trust in Him. "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:5-7). May His peace be with each of you, also during this holiday season.