July 1, 2011 - 118 Days Old

Well, we're at the beginning of another month. Crazy. I can't believe how time flies. This has been another week of ups and downs. It has reminded us that we are still on the preemie roller coaster and probably won't be getting off for a while. Aiden was doing really well until Wednesday when he had another little setback. His lungs weren't doing very well and they had to increase his oxygen flow rate to 4 liters. He had been down to 2 for several days, and we were very encouraged by that, so it was disappointing that they had to increase it again. He also didn't eat very well at feedings and the nurse had to supplement his feedings through his GI tube. He struggled for a few days and they kept him on 4 liters. Fortunately, he seemed to be doing a little better yesterday. Today, they felt comfortable decreasing his flow rate to 2.5. He seems to be doing well so far, but he still isn't eating like he should, so we're cautiously optimistic. Of course, all of this info is coming to me second-hand. I'm in Price working again.

We have mostly been working on our other building projects this week, so progress on our house has slowed. We did work there part of yesterday and all day today and we were able to get some of the exterior walls finished and stood. We will work there most of the day tomorrow as well, so we should be able to get most of the exterior walls up. This is a fun point in the construction process because daily progress is very noticeable. We have decided there's no point in rushing the project since we won't be able to finish in time to get Skylar in school anyway, so we're probably looking at getting in around Christmas. That will allow me to get a few more classes in at UVU in the Fall and will also keep us closer to UVRMC for a while, in case Aiden has any problems after he comes home -- KNOCK ON WOOD.

Well, I'll write more when I get back home this weekend. I don't usually write when I'm in Price, but I had a little extra time, so I thought I would post. I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!

June 25, 2011 - 112 Days Old

Getting Big!

It has been a long time since I last posted. I am out of town most of each week and I only post when I'm at home. Whenever I'm at home, we rush around trying to get things that I need to do done before I have to go out of town again. As a result, I usually only get about half a blog post written and then I run out of time. Today, I have promised myself that I won't leave my computer until the blog post is written and posted. Sorry to all of you loyal followers out there, for not posting more often. 

Aiden has been doing really well, but he had reached a bit of a plateau recently, and the doctor hadn't been able to decrease his oxygen settings. He wasn't feeling well for part of last week and his belly was filling up with air again, so they ran a few tests, all of which came back normal. The doctor ordered the respiratory therapist to start breathing treatments with a medication similar to albuterol. We have prescriptions for albuterol for our other two kids, so it really wasn't a surprise that Aiden, too, might need something like that. They also asked an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist (ENT) to come in and evaluate him. The breathing treatments helped immensely. He was much calmer and didn't seem to be struggling to breathe as much as he had been. He had been bobbing his head with every breath before, and with the treatments, that seemed to be much better as well.
 

Jasmine at the parade

Aiden's feedings are going really well. They moved him to two-a-day feedings and that went so well that two days later, they moved him to three-a-days. The day after that, the doctor called and told Amaraa that they wanted to start four-a-days. That means that Amaraa is at the hospital for most of the day, even if the fourth feeding is done with a bottle. They don't like her to do back-to-back feedings, but that has been unavoidable for her. Aiden's getting to be a real chunk. Today, he weighed in at 9.5 lbs.! He's getting about 77 mL every time he nurses, which means that they don't have to supplement the feedings through the GI tube on the feedings Amaraa is there for. We get the impression they are prepping him to come home soon. He will be four months old on July 4th. Maybe we'll have him home by then, who knows? That would be cool, but I'm a nervous wreck. They won't come out and say they are getting him ready to come home, but it seems like they may be.

Work is progressing on our house. This week, we put on floor joists, subfloor, and started building walls on the main level. This stage of the building process is always fun because it seems to move so quickly. It's fun to see it coming together. It's hard being away from my family, but it's only for a while.

Skylar walked in the Lehi Round-Up Rodeo this morning. It was a lot of fun. Jasmine and I went and watched. Sky wore basketball clothes and carried a rubber chicken.

Hard to see the color here, but it's Dark Cherry Pearl (Burgundy)

Last week, we traded in our Subaru Outback for a 2011 Honda Pilot. We had to get a bigger vehicle before bringing Aiden home. When we would all go someplace together, Amaraa's mom had to lean in while someone shut the door from the outside. There's no way we could have fit Skylar's booster, Jasmine's car seat and another car seat for Aiden in the back seat. And even if we could have, there would be no room for Amaraa's mom. Now we have enough room for everyone and some to spare. We love our new car.

Well, that's about all the news I have for now. I'll try to write more often from now on.

May 27, 2011 - 83 Days Old

It has been another good week for us this week. Aiden has continued to do well off of the ventilator and they have been weaning his settings on the cannula all week. He is now on a flow rate of 4 liters and around 25% oxygen. Once they can get him down to 2 liters, they will let him start trying to nurse. The doctors had him down to 3 liters once this week, but he was working really hard, so they turned him back up to 4.

Aiden in his blessing outfit

On Sunday, we were able to give Aiden his name and a blessing. We apologize that we couldn't invite more of our close friends and family members, but they only allow us to have a small number of people in the NICU and they stretched the rules for us as it was. Amaraa's mom didn't even go in, so it was basically my parents, my brother and his wife, and our bishop. Anyway, the blessing went well. We dressed Aiden in the outfit Skylar was blessed in that was given to us by Amaraa's American mom and dad, Jani and Oren Randall. It was much to big for Aiden, but we didn't know they would let us dress him in a blessing outfit until Saturday night at about 9:00 PM, so by then it was too late to find one that would fit. Skylar's outfit worked, though. We wrapped Aiden in a beautiful white baby blanket that Amaraa's good friend, Debbie Prichard, knitted for Skylar, and it looked great. He was so cute. He was awake the entire time and was quiet and peaceful as we have him the blessing. Aiden will probably be in the hospital for at least another month, so we were glad Bishop Price gave us special permission to bless him in the hospital. It was a great experience.

Pouring our foundation walls

I went to Price for most of this week. We had a basement finishing job to complete and then we were able to work on our own projects. We got our basement walls poured and we started laying out the footings for another home. We had subcontractors form and pour our basement walls and just as they started pouring the concrete, it started raining really hard. They stuck with it and it turned out fine, but I felt bad for them out there. I tarred the foundation and we worked on getting the window wells in so I can backfill. Anyway, the project's moving along.

I came back from Price yesterday because we had an infant CPR class last night. It was a pretty basic class, and since both Amaraa and I are CPR certified already, it was just a review. It was nice to be able to review, though. The NICU requires that all preemie parents take the class and they recommend it for other family members, too. I was able to hold Aiden for a while. He looked so good and he was wide awake. He was a little bit fussy, but I sang to him a little and he quieted right down. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

Today, I cut the lawn and did a little bit of yard work. We went to see Aiden in the afternoon and he was still doing well. Amaraa and the kids are sick, so we didn't stay long. Dr. Cheatham called me this afternoon and said that they were going to leave him on 4 liters for the day today, but that they would probably try to wean him to 3 tomorrow.

Skylar and Jasmine's birthday dinner

Tomorrow is the kids' birthdays. Jasmine will turn 2 and Skylar turns 6. Skylar wanted to have a party with his friends, but because he is sick, we didn't want to infect the world. We might do one next week or something. Anyway, they are both really excited. We took them out to dinner tonight and the waiters sang to them and gave them dessert. They thought that was really cool. I still can't believe they were born on the same day, four years apart. Aiden's due date was May 18th, so he would have been close, too.

Well, it's late and I can hardly keep my eyes open, so I had better get to bed. More tomorrow.