Day 11

It seems we have quite the rebel on our hands with Little Lily Bug. Sometime early in the morning, while most of us were soundly sleeping, Lily decided it was time for her to come off the respirator—she managed to remove it herself!

Nobody is really sure how she did it, but when it happened the doctors thought that she must be ready to try breathing on her own for the first time. So all day, Lily has been on BiPAP, meaning the big clear tubes going into her nostrils are giving her oxygen every now and again, enough to make sure she’s getting all the air she needs in order to stay stable. Annaleigh is also off the respirator and on BiPAP.

Lily has had a number of episodes though. She’ll stop breathing on her own for a few seconds, which causes the alarms to sound (and her parents to panic), but the BiPAP is giving her all the air she needs, so there’s no worry. But her nurse says that she’s giving all the signs that show she is happy with her new breathing arrangements.

Charlie is still on the respirator. He is eating every three hours now and, for the most part, isn’t having problems with digestion. Annaleigh is loving her new home in the isolette, especially now that her most recent blood work has come back negative for any more infections.

Brooke go to change Annaleigh’s diaper twice today, and I got to take her temperature (don’t worry; I used an under-arm thermometer, not a rectal one—I would have let the nurse do that).

All three babies continue to do well. Lily is still slightly above her birth weight by about half an ounce. Annaleigh was one pound 9 ounces at birth and is now about one pound 7 ounces. Charlie was one pound 13 ounces at birth and is now just under that at one pound 12.5 ounces. Another day or two should see all the babies regain and surpass their birth weights—that will be cause to celebrate!

Two bits of non-baby-related news that we wanted to share:

1. My father is in the hospital now for extreme dehydration. The doctors are doing a number of tests because they’re not exactly sure why he’s so sick. This morning was extra hard for him because his beloved dog Bob died. Bob was a chow chow who was crazy when he was younger; all my high school friends were afraid of him because he used to run around the house at random times doing laps from one room to the next. If you ever want to get a good laugh, ask me to tell you the story of how Bob managed to hang himself on Christmas morning back in 1995. As he got older, he and my dad bonded in a way that was both lasting and beautiful to see. So those of you who are the praying sort, please remember him tonight.

2. Our dear friend Lauren is being induced tomorrow. Her two-and-a-half-year-old son Ryan is so awesome that when Brooke and I first met him, we both looked at each other and realized we were ready to have kids of our own. He’s going to make a great big brother! Good luck Lauren!


Annaleigh is happy to be off the respirator!


Charlie can sleep through anything (just like his daddy!)


You could see her beautiful face much better when she was on the respirator; the BiPAP just looks more constricting.