Isaak's big Update

I'm going to try to make this relatively short. Isaak is doing great this week. Fantastic even.

Early in the week they made another effort to get him off supplemental oxygen, and so far, 5 days later, he's been a little champ.

First off, new pictures: Here and There

Now on to the update.

Here's a bulleted list of Isaak info:

• Now weighs 7lbs 5oz.
• Off oxygen
• Still anemic but his reticulocyte count is improving. There is still a chance he will need a transfusion again and they'll be checking his blood-work again in a couple of days. Hopefully he's bottomed out on the anemia and will show signs of improvement. This makes the fact he's not using oxygen all the more remarkable.
• Off IV nutrition (TPN) for now. He's tolerating g-tube feeds really well and if he gets up a couple of more notches, there is a chance he will not need to go back on TPN.
• RoP has improved quite a bit. Ophthalmologist was optimistic after the exam on Friday. His eyes have begun maturing and the hemorrhages that were present have begun shrinking. By no means is he out of the woods, but it surely is looking better (no pun intended there).
• We might move him to a regular pediatric ward. He doesn't really have any preemie problems right now (apneas and bradys) and Bekka could room-in with him and bring Penny along. Of course, there is a big safety net in the NICU if something suddenly occurs, so it's not an easy decision.
• Moving to a regular floor was definitely the plan when we were positive he was coming home on TPN. He would need to be on GI service so we could get TPN training and get his mixture calibrated. Staying there may still help the GI folks assist us in getting him used to bolus feeding (and he might also need TPN if he has any problems over the next few days).

If he really doesn't come home with TPN (double yay!), he will hopefully be getting bolus feeds (bottles and nursing) during the day and then continuous feeds overnight. This will help make sure his system isn't overwhelmed and that he gets enough calories and nutrients. Again, a lot is still up in the air. He is doing significantly better than anyone expected at this point and some small setbacks are to be expected but he is a tough little hombre.

Not that much to report on Penny. She continues to light up her parents' days and is now up to a whopping 6lbs 4oz. Tiny, but much bigger than she was. Big enough for a regular car seat even! We don't have length measurements on either of these little tykes. We'll try to get those soon. She's a spunky little girl (hmm, wonder where that comes from?) and seems to have inherited her mom's sleeping patterns.