Monday, November 24th - Before and After

BEFORE the UK vs North Carolina game
AFTER the UK vs North Carolina game

You should have seen his face after the VMI game! I can't help but laugh when he gets angry and his lower lip starts to quiver.

Despite the poor start to the UK basketball season, Aiden had a pretty good week. We discontinued four medicines on Wednesday. That makes bottle preparation and feeding a lot easier. Aiden sure doesn't miss the bottle that had sodium chloride medicine in it - he hated that one.

Aiden got a little oxygen support this weekend with his feedings. This was just a precautionary measure after Lisa discussed Aiden's fatigue level during feedings with the doctor. The monitor information was analyzed on Monday and everything looked good. As a result, we've discontinued the extra oxygen.



We hope that you all have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. We certainly have a lot to be Thankful for. We are especially thankful for our 10lb - 1 oz little miracle.

Keep Aiden in your Prayers!






http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Sunday, November 16, 2008 - Home in Paris

Our small family is finally home. We moved in this past Monday and so far everything has gone really well. It is a bigger adjustment for Lisa since she is now home alone with Aiden all through the week.

Aiden's oxygen tube has been removed for one week now. He has done great without it. The monitor has not gone off at all. He seems comfortable, but he does seem to be sleeping more recently. He certainly looks better without the tape and tubes on his face. Now the only thing attached to his body are the two monitor sensors.


Here is Aiden sporting his birthday suit...


Aiden is now 5 months old. He seems to be changing everyday. He has started following objects with his eyes. He also has started making some facial expressions. His favorite expression is similar to the one above in his bathtub - a look of what in the world are you guys doing to me.

Aiden's eye appointment on Monday went very well. The doctor said that he was able to see some progression of blood vessel growth towards the front of his eye and not towards the center. This is great news. He said that we are not out of the woods yet, but it is a good sign. His next appointment is in two weeks. Tomorrow, we will remove 4 of Aiden's medications. Only 3 more to go.

Keep Aiden in your prayers!

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Sunday, November 9, 2008 - Rock the Cradle and the Vote

Tuesday was Election Day.



ACORN enrolled Aiden, and Lisa took him to the polls. Aiden wouldn't tell us who he voted for but we think there's a good chance that he placed a write-in vote for SpongeBob.


Aiden's Doctor's appointment on Wednesday with the NICU Graduate Clinic went very well. Aiden weighs 8 lbs - 11 oz. Dr. Desai told us that we can remove his oxygen support while Aiden is awake now. Also, the oxygen flow rate was reduced from 1/4 to 1/8 while he is sleeping. If everything continues to go well, Aiden's oxygen support will be completely removed this coming Wednesday! Aiden has done great so far with the reduced oxygen. His monitor has only gone off twice this past week for low respiratory rate.

Dr. Desai gave us an exercise program for Aiden. She spent some time explaining how a preemie's muscle development is much different than a full term baby. We are supposed to exercise him 2 ~3 times a day. They also assessed Aiden's adjusted age to be his original due date (October 7th). Even though he is nearly 5 months old, developmentally he is about 3 1/2 weeks old.


Aiden is doing great. He is starting to look around a little more and stays awake a little longer. He is certainly a blessing, and we love having him home.

There are no doctor's appointments this week. Yeah! Tomorrow we plan to leave Camp Carol and head home. It will be a difficult adjustment, but I'm sure we can persuade Carol to visit us often. It will be nice to have our family home for the holidays.

Keep Aiden in your prayers. Have a great week.


http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com

Monday, November 3, 2008 - 1st Halloween

Aiden was 20 weeks old on Sunday. Aiden weighs 8 lbs 6 ounces, and he is 19 1/2 inches in length. He had his Synagis vaccination at Georgetown Pediatrics on Thursday. He will continue to get this vaccine on a monthly basis through the RSV season.

Aiden had an appointment with the kidney specialist, Dr. Chisthi, this past Wednesday. He decided to discontinue the amoxicillin. He does not feel that the antibiotic is necessary and could be less effective if he gets an infection in the future. He described his reflux as a mild grade II on the left side. He has a follow-up appointment in January at which time he will do a test assessing the status.

Aiden's eye appointment on Monday went ok. No major changes. Next appointment will be in two weeks.

This coming Wednesday, Aiden has a doctor's appointment with the NICU Graduate Clinic. This will be an interesting appointment because we will find out how Aiden is progressing and see if they will make changes in his oxygen support. As you can probably guess, all of these Doctors' appointments keep Lisa and Aiden busy.

We decided to venture out on Halloween night. Lisa wanted the whole family to dress in costume. Lisa was momma pumpkin, Aiden was baby pumpkin, and I was guy in a plaid shirt. We went trick-or-treating at Grandma & Grandpa Murray's house and Quentin & Missy's house. We got robbed....we didn't get any candy!!!

Here's our little pumpkin. He either doesn't like his pumpkin costume, or he is planning an escape.

Keep Aiden in your prayers!

http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com