Health Update

Lawson has been moved from the PICU to the general pediatric floor!  Woohoo (although I loved all of the attention he received there)!  He was on room air for most of the night, but took it upon himself to yank the nasal canula right out of his nose around 4 am.  Since he was doing fine without it, they let it stay off and later took off the canula completely.  While he was at it, he yanked out his NG tube too... for the fourth time.  They also opted to keep this out since his stomach was soft and he was drinking formula.  

He had an echocardiogram done this morning to rule out any underlying health issues related to his prematurity.  It came back perfect- whew!!  Upon moving to the pediatric floor, Lawson needed to be put back on a liter of oxygen which surprised no one.  Because he's needing more oxygen now, it is a possibility he will need to stay tomorrow night unless this episode is very short-lived and he makes it through the night without any support.

Because this type of virus has struck Lawson hard twice now, he is being referred to a pulmonologist- a local one this time!  We asked if the doctors here would go ahead and also refer Sutton while they were at it (even though he's never even been to this hospital) and they did!  We know there's only so much one can do to prevent these types of illnesses, but we are happy that the pulmonologist might be able to help.

So... In a nutshell: Lawson is still receiving albuterol every 4 hours, Pulmicort every 12 hours, oral steroids every 12 hours, and is now on a liter of oxygen.  Sutton is holding strong even though we all convinced ourselves he had a cough this morning, but alas, we never heard it again- can you say paranoid?

(Lawson yesterday)

(Lawson today while off oxygen)

(Sutton... not coughing;))

And so it begins...

We were warned about the boys having a rough winter, but the way late summer and early fall have been shaping up makes me dread winter that much more. Lawson had just gotten over his last bout with bronchiolitis when round two crept up.  He had been having a runny nose on and off for a week, but it was always clear, no fever, and he was eating like a champ.  We were keeping our fingers crossed that it was just a little cold or allergies maybe, but his cough came back Friday night.  We started up his albuterol breathing treatments again and those seemed to work for about 18 hours.  

Yesterday, Lawson started wheezing a little and we gave him a treatment around 4 pm.  Usually, the albuterol helps his wheezing, but this time it didn't.  We decided I would take him to urgent care while Andrew stayed with Sutton, thinking that it would be a short trip like last time.  Unfortunately, after several back to back breathing treatments at urgent care, his wheezing was still pretty prevalent.  They decided to admit him to the Pediatric ICU (PICU).  The reason for the PICU admission was that he was requiring breathing treatments every two hours or less and needed a one on one nurse for monitoring.  This all sounded reasonable, but did nothing to calm my fears.  We had a friend watch Sutton while Andrew came to the hospital.  

In the PICU, they placed an IV in his head (after failing three previous attempts-ugh) to keep him hydrated.  He was also placed on oxygen because his oxygen saturation (which ideally is in the high 90's) was in the mid to upper 80's.  They are giving him oral steroids which should help open his airways over time.  We decided Andrew was the best choice to stay at the hospital since he was just a tad bit calmer than me;).

An initial RSV/flu test came back negative, his chest x-rays don't look too bad, and we are waiting for the respiratory virus panel results that we should get later today.  The plan for now is to stay in the PICU for tonight at least, keep the iv going, continue frequent breathing treatments, and continue with oxygen.   My mom is on her way to Columbia now to help take care of Sutton.  While our priority is getting Lawson healthy, our other equally important priority is protecting the health of Sutton- who has a runny nose...

Please keep Lawson and Sutton in your prayers as we work to get over this hurdle.

8 months!

Our sweet babes turned 8 months this weekend!  What an amazing milestone!  We were able to spend the day tailgating with my family for a couple hours before it got too hot.

(Andrew with the boys [L, S])

The last few weeks have been very busy for us.  Lawson's respiratory virus really rocked his world (and ours) for a little while.  Little Buddy had it bad!  After going to the doctor on a Friday and then Saturday, we found ourselves at urgent care on Sunday when he just couldn't stop coughing and was having trouble catching his breath.  After some intense saline squirts and major suctioning, we were sent home.  I felt that it was time for some serious reinforcement at this point- grandma!  My mom came from St. Louis where she was already helping my sister with her two boys- sorry, Katie!

On that Monday Lawson was really wheezing badly, so we went back to urgent care.  They ended up giving him a breathing treatment and sent us home with a nebulizer.  That really helped a lot, thankfully!  My mom watched Lawson for the next two days while we sent Sutton to daycare.  Fortunately, by the end of the week. Lawson was much better and Sutton has still not gotten sick- fingers crossed!

This last week, Andrew's mom came in to help out while Andrew was out of town for work.  So basically, I got spoiled for two weeks by the boys' grandmothers!!  I guess I have to start cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry again (although none of that will be done as well as they do it)!:)

At eight months, the boys are suuuuuper fun!  They are both rolling from their stomachs to backs, and very close to rolling from back to stomach.  They are smiling all the time- especially Lawson!  They are eating baby food twice a day.  Sutton LOVES to eat!  On top of consuming up to 40 oz. of formula a day, we can't feed him his solids fast enough! In between bites he frantically kicks his legs until the next bite. Lawson is a bit more reserved when it comes to eating, but seems to enjoy it too.  Both boys are very vocal now!  Between Sutton's shrieks and babbles and Lawson's grunts and nervous cry/chuckle, things are pretty loud around here!

In occupational therapy, we are working on sitting.  Lawson seems like he is getting closer to sitting independently, but Sutton has a little ways to go.  Sutton had a month long break from tummy time while he was recovering from surgery, so he has a little more core work to catch up on.  

I'll leave you with more of our favorite pics from lately:

(L, S)

(Lawson)

(Sutton)