Day 60

This week has felt very long to us. It seems like a lot has happened... although maybe it's because it has been emotionally very tiring.

Liam:

Our little man finished his antibiotics early this week and was fully recovered from his pneumonia. On Wednesday, the doctors received his echocardiogram results (from Tuesday) and confirmed that Liam was still a candidate for heart surgery to close his PDA. We signed the consent forms and were told that Monday was most likely surgery day, although if anything sooner came up they would try slot him in. That night we received a phone call in the middle of the night that Liam's surgery would be the next day (Friday) in the afternoon. Usually, babies are brought down to the Operating Room for surgeries, but Liam couldn't go because of his oxygen level supports. Thus, the OR needed to come up into the NICU to perform the surgery. No one was allowed in the NICU during the surgery and so we anxiously awaited a phone call outside. After about an hour, the surgery was over and we were allowed back in to see our sedated little guy. The doctors were very happy with how the surgery went. Although there were a number of potential serious complications, the doctors felt that so far everything seemed well. As of Saturday night, Liam continues to do well. His pain medication has slowly been weaned and he seems to be comfortable, though still quite sleepy. We were told before his surgery that his oxygen supports would likely go higher immediately following surgery, before going down in the next few days. We are very pleased that this has not been the case and instead, Liam's breathing support levels have gone down! It's still early to say, but it certainly seems as though the surgery is improving his lungs and breathing. Hopefully in the next week, he can come off his breathing tube and move on to CPAP. The one issue post-surgery that remains to be of concern, however, is that his heart rate is quite low. A number of tests have already been run and haven't revealed any potential reasons. The doctors have contacted a cardiologist to assess his heart, which will likely be tomorrow. 

Liam still remains our biggest triplet at over 4 pounds. This is double his birth weight! We can't wait to hold our sweetheart again soon! It has been so hard to feel entirely helpless as we watch our little baby go through so much...

 A few hours post-surgery

Taylor:

In this past week, Taylor has switched back and forth a bit on her breathing support levels but overall is still doing very well. The doctors feel as though the main reason why she fluctuates a bit is because of reflux. This has been an issue that Taylor has been having for a number of weeks. She is still growing well, though, and has passed Malachi in weight. She is 3 pounds and 5 ounces. We have enjoyed some more hands-on care with Taylor, such as little sponge baths and learning how to swaddle her (around all of the monitors and probes of course). 

A quick glimpse of Taylor's face during a bath

All bathed and dressed by Daddy and Mommy

Malachi: 

Our youngest and smallest sweetheart started steroids last weekend and they have certainly made an improvement on his lungs. On Wednesday, he was able to come off his breathing tube and put on CPAP! We were thrilled and thankful. His support settings were great at the start. Over time, however, the doctors noticed the carbon dioxide levels in his blood were rising too high. To compensate, Malachi needed to come up higher on his breathing support levels and eventually was put on an oscillator again to try improve the air exchange in his lungs. As of Saturday evening, Malachi is still on CPAP but has quite high settings. We are nervous that he will need to be re-intubated in the next week, especially since his steroids are being weaned. However, we are thankful for each day that he is remaining on CPAP so that his lungs can continue to heal from the damage that the breathing tube causes on the lungs. We are really enjoying our snuggles with our little man since it is way easier to hold a baby on CPAP rather than a baby on a breathing tube (this is because the breathing tube needs to stay in the exact same spot so it doesn't go too deep into the lungs or come out too far). 

Malachi has not been gaining a lot of weight lately. Some days he loses weight. We are guessing this might be from his high activity level. He loves to look around and move around in his incubator. He seems to be awake a lot more often than his siblings. Hopefully he can start growing and gaining some weight a bit better! On Thursday, Malachi met his sister Taylor for the first time since birth. A number of weeks ago, Jodi was able to hold Liam and Taylor together when they were both on CPAP. This time, Malachi and Taylor got to snuggle together! They seemed to really enjoy it and slept soundly together.

Malachi and Taylor bonding for the first time

We want to express our thanks again for all of your prayers and support! We have felt so uplifted and encouraged by you all. What a blessing it is to be among family, friends, and the communion of saints both near and far.