Chad brought Max home Tuesday night, and I took him back for a follow up today.  He seems to be doing much better, other than a little stuffy nose and cough.  He is starting to be more awake again, and back to smiling again!  He was actually doing some big time flirting with Mrs. Pamela next door today.

Izzy is still a little sick, so we are waiting until tomorrow to bring baby Kate back, and I am going crazy not being able to see her sweet precious smile.  I think Max misses his little sister, too, as he doesn’t seem as content in the crib right now!

I am hoping that all the next posts will be with good updates, and no more Vandy visits, but we have been warned that with the babies being so premature and born in October (right before cold and flu season) this may be ongoing until their little bodies are big enough and strong enough to fight off these viruses.  We do our best to keep everything clean, hands washed, keep the babies in the house, and they have still managed to get sick.  But we are just grateful that they haven’t been more sick, and that the outcomes have been so good when they were.

Here are a few of the more recent pics – Max has since lost just a bit of weight because of his sickness, but obviously he wasn’t (and still isn’t) hurting

Max got moved out of the critical care unit last night and is now in a regular room.  He was taken off of his oxygen at 12:30 today and seems to be doing great!  We were excited to see his regular pediatrician Dr. Carr here this morning – and he is happy with Max’s improvements.  Now it is just a waiting game to see how he does on room air.  He is not needing as much suctioning, either! 

I actually got a good nights sleep for the first time in months last night -  a whole 6 hours!!!  The sleep rooms here are actually pretty nice.  And Sue from our church brought me lunch from one of my fave’s – Puffy Muffin – today.  It was so nice to have some adult conversation that was not about respiration or suctioning.  But enough about me.

We are hoping to get little guy home late tonight or tomorrow as long as all goes well.  Little sister will stay at Nana and PaPaw’s for a few days until we are sure little brother is better, and Big sister will stay at Gramma and Grandfathers until she drives them nutty.  Thanks for all your prayers, yet again.  These little ones are ready for cold and flu season to be over!

Instead of telling the whole story – let me just say it is like deja vu.  Same critical care room in the ER, same trauma room in the ER.  Only this time it was Max.  Chad and I took him Sunday afternoon, after he developed a little stuffy nose on Saturday that progressed to a cough and shallow breathing by Sunday morning.  The doc sent us to Vandy where the same thing happened that did with Kate in December.  After we got there his breathing got worse, he started having apneic spells, his breathing became labored and shallow.  Luckily, after monitoring him in the trauma unit, his doctors decided he would not have to be intubated.  He was placed on CPAP (forced oxygen through his nose – attached to what is basically a cloth helmet to hold it in place) to assist with his breathing.  He seems to be doing better, so they have just switched him to the nasal canulas to help with his breathing still until he can fight it on his own again.  They are still suctioning gobs of mucus from his lungs.  It looks like RSV again, but the tests are negative.  From what we have been told, his lungs are just not completely developed, his airway is so small form the prematurity, and he is pre-asthmatic.  Unfortunately, it looks like this may be a way of life for us for the next couple of years with our little ones – with their prematurity, they just need extra help fighting off these infections.  Poor little guy is just so hungry and cannot take his bottle right now.  He is slowly taking pedialyte now, along with his IV fluids, since he had some episodes with vomiting yesterday.

Big sister has a stomach bug, so we are sending her to my moms.  Kate is the only one not showing signs of being sick – let’s just hope it stays that way – so she is going to H’ville with Chad’s parents.  For now, I am going to stay with my Max since he seems to need me the most.  Will keep everyone updated.