8½ Weeks

It's hard to believe that the boys are almost 2 months old. Glad it's moving along fast though! ;)

Liam's lung test came back negative... they're not the problem. His doctor's current theory is that it has to do with an immature brain, which I assume he got from his mom (ha!). We could be bunking with him in preparation for his release as early as Sunday, but that's assuming that he has no spells until that time. In other news, he's eating like a champ and seems to be growing nicely.

Today the boys visited with each other again, but this time it was Zefram who slept through it. Zefram is doing fine; he's a bit less fussy than he's been the last few weeks. And now, for your viewing pleasure...

Liam burping on mommy at the hospital

Our very first family picture with all 4 of us

Zefram telling his animals an exciting story

Yes, daddy needs a haircut and a shave

Zoiks!

Big Z having a nap

'Sup

7 Weeks

The boys are 7 weeks old today. I haven't updated in a while (sorry!), so I'll try and remember all the updates.

Liam may be coming home in 1-2 weeks. We've heard that before, but Liam's doctor has figured out that his spells, where his blood oxygen drops dangerously low, seem to not be related to his heart. Most likely, the problem is sleep apnea or a similar disorder. This is actually good news, as it means his heart isn't causing these spells; in fact, Liam's heart rate is excellent despite his Tetralogy of Fallot.

This past week, Liam and Zefram got to meet for the first time in about a month. Liam slept right through it, and Zef was too busy fussing to care, but it was still pretty cool. Liam has been awake for our last few visits, and so we've been able to see his eyes, again for the first time in about a month (he's always sleeping when we visit, and we don't want to wake him).

I just called the NICU, and Liam's weight is up to 7 lbs! I did a rough weighing of Zefram today, and he's around 10 lbs. Woohoo!

Zefram's still quite fussy, but things could definitely be worse. He's smiling more often, which is an incredible thrill. I'll upload a video of him shortly (and by shortly, I mean before his third birthday).

Liam

Zefram

Reunion at McMaster

Mommy and the boys

Zef being propped up

Zef and dad chilling out

Liam at the NICU

I went to go visit Liam today (this is Mary) with Zefram my mom and sister Marlene. He's doing well, but he had a really bad tet spell just before I came in which meant he need some oxygen and he couldn't be moved from the area where he is, which meant Zefram and Liam couldn't have "chit chat" time. It made me really sad since they haven't seen each other in 3.5 weeks, if not longer. So next time I'll just have to call a head of time to make sure Liam and Zefram can have some time together. But for now here are some pics of Liam. He's still cute as a button. Enjoy!

Liam

Auntie Lar, mommy, and Liam

In his prison (aka his bed at the NICU)

Cuddle time which I LOVE

Look at those lips

Grandma and Liam

his bed

Auntie Lar giving kisses

5+ Weeks

Yeah, so it's taken a lot longer to get an update in than I expected.

Liam's almost up to 6 lbs now; Zefram nearly 8 lbs. Liam is doing better little-by-little, and he's tolerating full feeds now; the bowel issue seems to be gone. We had a meeting with his doctors last week, and while they can't give us a date for when Liam can come home, they said he's making progress. The current goal is for his weight to increase as fast as it ought to, as weight is an important factor relating to when he can have surgery, and how risky it will be.

Zefram's being a bit of a handful lately, as he's been colicky for the past few days... very restless and cries seemingly at random. Hopefully we'll have more pictures of Liam soon, but for now, here's some of Zefram.

4 Weeks!

Wow, it's hard to believe the boys were born 4 weeks ago today. Time's already flying by.

We have more pics of Zefram since he's come home that I'll be posting shortly. Liam's got some catching up to do once he comes home.

We're hoping to have a meeting with Liam's doctor tomorrow to discuss his current status and what's next. The latest news is that he has resumed bottle feedings, and his feeds are being regularly increased while he becomes re-accustomed to it. There isn't really any news regarding his heart condition; he's still requiring oxygen to be administered on a regular basis. New news will hopefully be forthcoming also...

Day Twenty

Liam's out of his isolette again and seems to be doing well enough. Mary got to hold him today (after not really being able to for more than a week), and he looked and sounded a lot like Zefram... I'll be surprised if they turn out to be fraternal twins. Also, his weight is now up to (almost) 5 lbs.

Zefram had a doctor appointment a few days ago, and had a clean bill of health. He's up to 6 lbs, 11 oz now!

The boys turn 3 weeks old tomorrow.

Update on Liam

Last week, we found that Liam's heart condition was more serious than was previously known. He's currently still at McMaster's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and while we thought he might be coming home today, we've since learned he'll be staying for at least another week; possibly more.

Liam has a cogenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. As a result, he has to be kept calm at all times, or he risks not getting enough oxygen to his lungs. He will require surgery between 3 and 6 months of age in an attempt to do a total repair of his heart. If he has serious complications before then, he may have minor surgery as a temporary fix, followed by the major surgery once he turns one year old.

We visited Liam today, and were told that he has another problem with his bowels. They're not 100% sure of the exact diagnosis, but they're treating it somewhat preemptively as a precaution. It's not as serious as his heart problem, and should hopefully be cleared up within the next week.

Zefram continues to do well at home, although he sure likes to keep us busy at night. He visited much of the Gerryts clan this past weekend, and grandma has been great in helping us out with him while we visit Liam in the hospital. Thanks grandma! :)