Nearer

It is almost certain that Liam will be coming home next week. We're excited and a little scared to finally know what it's like to have twins (...you know what I mean). Some more pictures of Zefram to appease the masses:

He always opens his mouth when you get up close

See his dimple? Just one, courtesy of mommy.

2 Visits

On Saturday, my brother Andy, sister Meg, and grandma came down to visit us and Zefram. It was our first get-together in 2 years, and Zef was happy to meet his great-grandma and see everyone again.




And yesterday, Mary and I went to visit Liam and got a few nice pictures of him... hopefully among his last at McMaster.




And finally, here's Zefram in a duck outfit.

Camping and Liam Update

Mary, Zefram and I went camping with the in-laws a few weekends back. Zefram did fairly well... not too fussy, and he seemed to enjoy the outdoors just fine. It'll be fun to have both boys camping next year.

I had a meeting with Liam's doctor today to discuss his current status. This time, it actually sounds pretty likely (to me) that Liam will be home before the end of the month. Mary's skeptical, and I can't blame her, but he's been doing better lately. He won't require the expensive machine we were facing having to buy/rent, but will come home with oxygen, just in case he needs it.

Some camping pics!






And some other pics of Liam and Zef.

3 months...WHAT?

I know it' been a while since we've updated. But it's summer and who wants to sit in front of a computer and write about something? Well apparently I do. There really isn't anything new with Liam at the moment. They have been giving him some air, not oxygen just slight air bubbles while he sleeps to help with his 02 sats dropping. So they are trying that over the long weekend and sometime this coming week we will meet with a Dr and figure out what's next with Liam. So if that works then he gets to come home and we aren't counting on it and if it doesn't then he gets moved to the 3rd floor of the hospital to the pediatrics ward where we will probably stay till his surgery. But Liam still cute as can be and apparently the nurses all love him and want to take him home AND they've been saying he looks like me. So it's no wonder they want to take him home ;0) He smiles and coo's all the time and eats like a champ. He's up to 9lbs 10oz (probably little more now) Now on to twin b, Zefram. He is probably over 11lbs now and eating and growing out of everything. He's been a good baby lately. Still fusses alot but not as much which is really nice. He is also smiling lots cooing and even starting to giggle. Which Matt and I love. The cooing and the "talking" is so sweet he breaks my heart. He sleeps better at night then during the day which is fine by me. So I don't get much done during the day as i would like to but thank goodness for my mommy. Hmmm? I was gonna post some pics of the boys but it's not working and Matty is at work. Well that's all the news we have right now. I enjoy being a mom but I don't enjoy the lack of sleep and lack of house work not getting done. But at least I have 2 beautiful boys.

My Pretties

Liam's back at McMaster, and we're waiting to hear how things went at Sick Kids. He had his heart echo and was studied for a sleeping disorder, so he won't have to go back at the end of the month. Mary visited yesterday with her mom and sister, and we're both going today, which I'm looking forward to because I haven't seen Liam in about a week.

My kids sure are beautiful. I'm sure most parents think that, but mine totally win. ;)

Zef

Zef

Zefram (edited by Mary)
(he likes to be cross-eyed sometimes, silly boy)

Liam & Zef visiting at McMaster

Liam sleeping, and look at those cheeks

Liam Visits Toronto

I just got home from work and Mary's sleeping, but there's a note saying Liam's going to Sick Kids in Toronto bright and early tomorrow for 1 or 2 nights, most likely to be studied in regards to his tet spells. Woohoo! Here's hoping they unravel the mystery keeping him away from home.

By the way, for those not familiar with Liam's condition, there's a little area on the side panel to the right which briefly explains it.

Next

Liam's doctor is attempting to have him admitted to the cardiac ward at Sick Kids in Toronto, in order for Liam to undergo a sleep study (his tet spells occur when he is in a deep sleep). Sick Kids has no respiratory beds available, but he may be able to get a cardiac bed due to having a heart echo scheduled at Sick Kids at the end of the month. While it would suck that Liam would be even further away, it may provide the answers we need to treat him and bring him home safely.

If Liam does come home requiring a monitor, we got the wonderful news today that such a monitor is not covered by the government. The price tag? $2,400. That's approximately $2,400 more than we have available. It's possible that he won't require a monitor (particularly if the sleep study gets a green light), and there's a slim chance that we may tap into funding to reduce the cost. If all else fails, it looks as though our extended family, once again, will help us take care of such a hefty financial burden.

We learned an interesting factoid today as well: Liam's nearly 11 weeks spent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit thus far would have a bill of around $150,000 if we weren't Canadian citizens. I'm feeling thankful we are. The cost to us: $0. Imagine if we lived south of the border (especially having seen Sicko). We'd be looking at bankruptcy or Zefram being an only child.

Liam's doing well otherwise. He's at 8 lbs 7 oz and eating like a champ. Nothing new with Zef... it still floors me every time he smiles (which he does often).

More news as it becomes available...