Sunday, August 31, 2008 - Showered with Love

Aiden is 11 weeks old and weighs 4lbs - 12 oz.

He was pretty much exhausted today when Lisa and I visited him at the NICU. I believe he was exhausted over his pre-game crib party for the UK vs UL game. It wasn't a pretty game, but Aiden and I will take the UK victory.

He is still doing very well. He has really progressed on nursing and is doing slightly better on his bottle feeds. Lisa has started to nurse him twice every day now. He does much better nursing than taking a bottle.

Dr. Bada removed his caffeine support today (yet another drug off his list).

Aiden was showered with love today by lots of family and friends. We are so thankful for everyones thoughts, prayers, and gifts. We are so fortunate to even be at a point where we can celebrate.

Have a great Labor Day! Keep praying for Aiden.


http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 28, 2008 - Big Boy Bed

Aiden is still doing great. He is at 34 weeks gestational age, and weighs 4lbs - 8oz.

He has now moved into a crib! Yep, he is a big boy now. No warmers are needed. Controlling his body temperature is one more requirement for going home. The only thing left now is consistently taking in his feedings through a bottle or nursing. He is doing better in this category, but he is lacking consistency. It is only a matter of time now.


Aiden didn't stay in his new crib long with Grandma and Grandpa around...

With seven kids and eleven grandchildren, these two are professionals.

Wednesday night, Carol, Sharon, Lisa, and I took an infant CPR class at UK. This class is mandatory for all babies coming out of the NICU. We hope that we will never have to use this training, but we are better prepared if something does happen.

Keep Praying for Aiden!

Aiden's prediction for the weekend... UK 20 UL 17

Go CATS!!!

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 10 Weeks & 4 Big Ones

Aiden is doing fantastic. He is now 10 weeks old, and he broke the 4lb mark on Friday. Our little porker weighed in at 4 lbs - 5oz today. He's growing up fast. His whole body nearly fit in the palm of my hand when he was born, and now he is the length of my hand and forearm. He is 16.75" long (born at 12.25").


Aiden is doing very well with the low-flow cannula and the new warmer bed. Fortunately, the nurses rarely have to turn on the warmer. Lisa and I like the new bed because we can pester him more easily. For some reason he is always trying to sleep.


Keep praying for Aiden. We don't know when he will be able to go home, but it should be within a few weeks based upon the feedback we are getting from the nurses. We are getting really excited.

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 21, 2008 - New Bed

Aiden had a big day today. He got transferred out of his incubator and into a bed with a warmer. The bed is now open to the world. The warmer will kick on depending upon Aiden's temperature.
Grandma stole Aiden out of his new bed.


In addition to his new bed, the nurses also changed his high flow cannula to a low flow cannula. This is the tube in his nostrils in which he gets oxygen support. Aiden can go home on a low flow cannula. Yet another requirement has been met for going home. Now the only other requirements are for him to be able to control his own temperature and be able to drink milk on his own. He is doing both of these items right now to a certain extent, but he just needs to do them more consistently.

Aiden now weighs 3 lbs - 15 oz. One ounce away from 4lbs!

Keep praying for Aiden

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - Bottle of Milk

Aiden is at 33 weeks gestational age. He now weighs 3 lbs - 12 oz!

The nurses have been able to wean down his oxygen support from 30 to 25%. He has been doing good so far with this new setting. Today he only had a few oxygen de-saturations.

Nurse Sarah had noticed that Aiden seemed irritated and was crying a lot. She decided to try a small bottle of milk. Aiden took the whole bottle!!! This is great news since it is one of the requirements for going home. Lisa tried to nurse him later in the day. He did ok for a little while but seemed too exhausted.


Keep praying for Aiden!

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 9 Weeks Old

Aiden is 9 weeks old today. He weighs 3 lbs - 9 oz.

On Friday, we were told about the last head ultrasound results. The nurse practitioner said there were no signs of additional bleeding and that the intraventricular hemorrhage had been resolved. This is great news. His left kidney had extra fluid. This could be a mild case of reflux, where urine from the bladder goes back into the kidney. This makes him susceptible to urinary tract infections. They will consult with another doctor about treatment.

His eyes were also examined. The blood vessels in his eyes brought about some concern for proper development. More examinations will determine any required course of treatment.

Lisa gave Aiden a bath today for the first time. His bath consists of wiping down his whole body with a wet wash cloth. I think he is giving Lisa a dirty look...




Congratulations to Justin and Chara Murray on the birth of their baby girl. Olivia Layne Murray was born Saturday, August 16th weighing 8lbs. Mother and baby are doing great. Olivia is Aiden's younger and already bigger cousin.


Keep praying for Aiden!

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Thursday, August 14, 2008 - Our future Olympian

Aiden "Phelps" Murray is still doing great. His lungs aren't quite ready for Olympic swimming but it will only be a matter of days. If he doesn't become an Olympian, I will settle for a UK basketball scholarship. Either way, we have big expectations.




















Little Phelps is now 3lbs - 7oz. He is still nursing for a few minutes every day.

On Wednesday, Aiden received his immunization shots. That really bothered him for most of the day as he seemed irritated and kept having de-saturations. He did much better today.

Keep praying for Aiden. And... Go USA!

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 32 Weeks and Nursing

Aiden is now at 32 weeks gestational age. If born today, he would still be 2 months early.

He weighs 3 lbs - 4 oz. He is still off the ventilator and doing very well. The doctors and nurses haven't been able to wean down the oxygen support though. At his current level, he rarely has de-saturations. When they decrease his oxygen, he will do good for a little while before he has de-saturations and then has to be adjusted back up.

Aiden is now nursing a little. He does it for a few minutes and then gets exhausted. UK's Lactation Consultant said that Aiden did very well considering his age and size. Lisa will try nursing every day now. Here is a picture of Lisa nursing...



Here is Aiden hanging out with Nurse Rosa...

Thanks for all of the support. Keep praying for Aiden.

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 8 Weeks Old

Aiden is now 8 weeks old. He gained weight on Saturday but lost a little on Sunday; he remains at 3 lbs. - 2 oz. It's hard to believe but one of his xs preemie outfits is too small for him...he'll be wearing newborn sizes before you know it.

little baby in a big hat


Aiden looks like he's waving at Daddy in this picture. He could just be trying to grab that hat.





He may be outgrowing his clothes but not his pacifier. That thing is huge!


Keep praying for Aiden!

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 7, 2008 - Broke 3 Pounds

Aiden now weighs 3 lbs - 2 oz!!! He is putting on the weight fast. He seems to change every day that we see him. My wedding ring will not go around his hand anymore.

His last course of amphotericin was today! One less drug is off his list and one less tube is attached to his body.

He is doing really well. Lisa holds him every day. I held him on Wednesday. He has started making sucking motions with his mouth. Lisa has been trying out the pacifier with him.


He cried quite a bit when I held him. I plugged him up with the pacifier. So much for those cute, quiet cries. :)

Here is a picture of Aiden's cousins (less Kayla and Colin). They were all a big help this past weekend as we prepare our house for Aiden's homecoming. As evident in the picture, we Murrays don't believe in child labor laws. We can't wait until Aiden gets a little bigger so he can start doing some work around the house.


Congratulations to Tim and Laura Brown on the birth of their baby boy! Mom, Dad, and Baby are all doing well.


Keep praying for Aiden!

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - small cries

The Murray family came to our house on Saturday and Sunday to help us with some unfinished projects. That "honey do" list is close to completion now but I'm sure Lisa will find a way to add to it. Aiden's room is almost ready for him. Our friend, Tina, is giving us the furniture from her son's room since he's graduating to a toddler bed. The busy weekend is my excuse for missing the Sunday posting-I actually fell asleep writing it. Fortunately, we continue to have great news to share about Aiden's progress...

Aiden was 7 weeks old on Sunday. He weighs 2 lbs - 14 oz.

Aiden is still off the ventilator and doing great. The nurses have already been able to wean down his oxygen support and his flow rate. He only has a few de-saturations throughout the day now.

On Saturday, Lisa and I visited Aiden during his care time. We changed his diaper and clothes. I heard him cry for the first time. With the ventilator in, we could not hear Aiden cry. It's a very small, soft cry. It is nice to hear. I'm sure crying will not be so enjoyable in a few months.

Lisa has been doing kangaroo care with Aiden even after he came off the ventilator. It is a lot easier now to get him in and out of the bed. He has been doing very well during kangaroo care.




Keep praying for Aiden!


http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com