I LOVE MOM

Trev is doing pretty well, he currently weighs 5 lbs. 6 oz. and is eating like a champion. He is now taking a bottle and he is able to eat the entire thing. We are so proud of him, He loves when Jannell holds him and burps him in between feedings. (As you can see in the picture) Trev has all the doctors stumped, they cannot figure out why he is not producing any Red Blood Cells. It is a scary situation for Jannell and I, they will be performing some further blood tests on Sunday. The good news is that Trev will be seen by a world renowned Hematologist on Monday. Dr. Ishee is from Jordan, he has treated babies all over the world. We are hoping that he is the answer to our prayers and can provide treatment for little Trev. It is an extremely eerie feeling of complete helplessness when the head Neonatologist tells you that he has no idea why our son is not producing red blood cells and that he has never seen a baby with these rare symptoms before.

HURDLES

Trevs time in the NICU has had its ups and downs and all around.(So have Mom & Dad) He has overcome many hurdles as he continues to fight and get strong. He has overcome his Oscillator, Ventilator, PDA (heart condition), Chronic Lung Disease, Phenomena, 5 Blood Transfusions, Jaundice, and so much more. He has some huge hurdles to clear again. Trev has developed a mild case of ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). ROP is abnormal vessels that grow over the tissues of the retina. The retina is the light detecting layer of cells at the back of the eye that allows us to see. The good news is that he has the most mild form of the condition and hopefully the veins will regress and his eyes will be perfectly healthy. ROP is caused by pre maturity, blood transfusions and the force of oxygen support into his body. In the most severe cases, ROP can detach the Retina from the eye causing complete blindness. There are treatments for the condition that require laser eye surgery, but we are hoping that his eyes will continue to mature and he will get passed this condition. The doctors are giving us positive response that he will overcome this with maturity. Trev will have an eye exam next week to determine the changes that his condition has made over a two week period. Trev is also not producing Red Blood cells on his own, he still is anemic which is a condition where the number of healthy red blood cells (RBCs) in the blood is lower than normal. RBCs transport oxygen throughout the body, so a shortage of these cells can be serious. He has had five blood transfusions due to his Anemia, his Hematocrit levels (which is the measurement of the red blood cells in the body) is at 32%, idealy the physicians like this number to be above 40%. The good news is that his RBC count is not decreasing, the bad news is that it is not increasing. They have given him two shots of Darbepoetin to try and stimulate the bone marrow to produce RBC's. So far this has not been successful. We are hoping with maturity and time for the Darbepoetin to stimulate his bone marrow he will start to produce on his own. Trev is in many of our family and friends prayers as these are two large hurdles for him to clear. We are optimistic about the outcome and are praying for his health. WE LOVE YOU TREV...

DRESSED AND COZY

Trev just taking it easy after his first bath. He looked so cute all clean..

SWADDLE BATH WITH DAD

Finally we were able to give our son his first bath after 50 days! Dad has been looking forward to this day for a long time. It has turned into a tradition in our family for dad to give our kids there first bath. He loved his swaddle bath at first, but I believe that we waited too long and his water was not warm enough. It was an amazing experience to give him a bath, we will be bathing him about every other day.

TREV, MOM & A WHOLE LOT OF PATIENCE

It continues to be emotionally draining beyond words to have our son in the hospital we are now at 53 days. Now that he is getting older and more stable we want and need to spend even MORE time with him. It is a full time job to fit the entire family into the equation. He loves his mom so much and he knows her very well. He is now to the point that he cries when we put him down, it is so hard to leave him as we wish for this all to come to an end. We are beyond ready to bring our boy home. However I never thought I would see light at the end of the tunnel, but I believe that we are getting closer everyday and we are finally starting to see it.

BREAST FEEDING!!

Trev has been attempting breast feeding for about 5 days now once a shift. A shift is a 12 hour period and a preemie starts out at Stage 1 feeding, which is either a bottle or breast feeding once a shift (he is fed 4 times a shift) then based on his tolerance that will increase. He still has a feeding tube for the other feedings. The lactation specialists are absolutely thrilled with the ability of this little 34 weeker to be able to latch, swallow and breathe as he is supposed to while feeding. He is ahead of the game and making some huge progress. We we literally told he is THE BEST 34 week gestation baby "nurser" they have ever seen. Even still it isn't easy for him at times, Trev will store the milk for too long in his mouth and swallow a large amount. He chokes, turns blue and scares mom and dad to death as we watch his heart rate, and respiratory rate plummet! It is fairly common for preemies to choke or "forget" to breath as this is completely new for him and he is still getting the hang of it. He also at times is literally too tired to wake up and nurse or gets too tired in the middle of nursing and wears out. This is a very exciting step but can be an extremely slow process with many ups and downs. Trev is also starting to pass Jannell up with his feeding needs and we've had to start supplementing with formula. Jannell has done so well, she sacrifices so much of her time pumping to produce milk for Trev. My beautiful wife has been able to keep up with Trev for 2 months! Far beyond expectations especially with her history and doctors and nurses predictions in situations like this. There is a natural hormone released when you are around your baby that will produce breast milk, that is difficult to release when your baby is at the hospital and not home. Considering the facts, I am so proud of my wife and what she has been able to provide for our little boy, I love you Jannell...

OXYGEN AND LUNG NEEDS

It is such a relief to see the improvement Trevs lungs have made. He started on a Ventilator for 23 days, CPAP for a week, high flow nasal cannula set at 4 liters per minute. From this point he was not making any progress, they started him on Nitric Oxide, the treatment of Nitric is designed to remodel his lungs that have suffered damage due to the amount of oxygen needs Trev was set on. The Nitric is a blessing, he has went from 4 liters of oxygen per minute and a Nitric setting of 20. He is now at 1 liter per minute on a normal cannula! His Nitric setting is now at 5 as they continue to ween him off both his nitric and his oxygen needs. We are so pleased with the progress of his lungs, his lung situation has been a HUGE hurdle for him to clear, he is well on his way to being weened entirely off of oxygen.

PAST TO PRESENT

It is amazing to compare Trev from the day he was born to the present day. Trev is 53 days old, he is 34 weeks 4 days gestation. He has gained a ton a weight and has made some extraordinary progress! He currently weighs 5lbs. 3 oz. We cannot believe how big he is getting. He is now taking 40ML for his feeds every 3 hours.

TREV IN HIS CRIB

The Nurse Practitioner mentioned to us that as soon as his oxgen flow is down to 3 liters per minute and is 34 weeks gestation, they will allow us to try and give little Trev a bottle. We are looking forward to the day that he can be bottle fed, which is one step closer to the day little Trev will be able to come home with us.

DADS WEDDING RING

DAD AND TREV

This is the best part of my day, everyday!

LOVE THIS KID

Trev is 45 days old today. He is currently 33 weeks gestation and is 4 pounds 12 oz.! He is 17 1/2 inches long and is doing very well. He is eating 37 ML every 3 hours and they switched his feeding tube thru his nose instead of thru his mouth now that he is on a high flow nasal cannula. They turned Trevs oxygen down to 3 1/2 liters per minute today. The Nitric Oxide they are giving him seems to be doing the trick. It allows his lungs to heal so they can continue to slowly ween him off of his oxygen needs. They will performing an eye test this week to test his vision and his eye development. He is doing so well and seems to be extremely alert, he absolutely loves kangaroo care which has been proven and studied to increase the growth of pre mature babies. He is a beautiful little boy and is getting cuter every single day. It is very difficult for us to leave him at the hospital now because he is doing so well and we are getting comfortable taking care of him. He is a very well mannered baby and he seems to be winning over the hearts of all the nurses at the NICU. He is a charming baby and is as cute as can be, He is going to be a special person some day. Jannell and I are so excited and feel very blessed to be able to raise him and watch him grow. He has jumped some HUGE hurdles and he is a brave little FIGHTER!

TREV WITH HICCUPS

I was able to spend some time with Trev and hold him for Kangaroo Care. He actually had the hiccups which was cute as can be. Jannell can remember him in her belly having hiccups all the time. It is interesting to see him move in a way outside of the womb that is the exact way Jannell and I could see him moving while inside her stomach.

Baby Myspace Graphics

Myspace Layouts

OLDER BROTHER

Little Drake is such a stud! He loved the water that he was drinking out of the syringe. It was all over though once he eyeballed the pink frosted cookie that was waiting for him at the end. Needless to say he got his wish and was given the cookie about half way thru the class.

FUTURE NICU NURSE???

MORE CARE

Taking Notes!

IM READY!

Reese was able to try on the isolation gowns that are worn while performing Trevs cares.

Diaper Change

I wonder if she is excited to help mom with Trev??

SIBLING CARE

The hospital offers a sibling class for kids to help them to understand what all those tubes and stickers that little brother has all over his body are doing. In this picture Reese is shown how Trev eats. This was a very fun day.

Trev is doing pretty well. He now weighs 1965 grams which is 4 pounds 6 oz. Since we cannot take children into the NICU Reese and Drake have not been able to see little Trev yet. I was determined to let them see their little brother, across the way from Trevs window is the cafeteria. Reese,Drake and I headed over to the deck of the cafeteria so we were looking back at Trevs window off of the balcony. I brought a pair of binoculars, called Jannell in the NICU and told her to hold Trev up by the window. My little Reese had the binoculars focused in right on the window, she was able to see Trev for the first time and she was so excited! We also let little Drake sneak a peak thru the binoculars. To say the least, Reese thinks that binoculars are about the neatest thing on the planet. I am so happy we found a way for them to see their little brother.
Trev seems to be stuck on his oxygen setting at 4 liters per minute. He is not making much progress with his lungs, they have decided to put Trev on Nitric Oxide which will help his lungs to develop quicker. The Nitric is given thru his nasal cannula for a period of 1 month. We are hoping this will make a huge difference and we will continue to see our Trev grow. Nitric is EXTREMELY expensive and is not very often used because of the cost, even though it is very effective. (About $90,000!)

UNCLE KASEY

Uncle Kasey stopped by to see his favorite nephew.

Trevs next step is to take a bottle. He still has a small feeding tube down his throat. We can do this as soon as his oxygen needs come down a bit more. Hopefully 1-2 weeks. We went to a Parent Support class the other night in regard to his speech development which amazingly begins with and is directly related to how well his first feedings go. Babies, fetus' actually, learn to suck at 12 weeks gestation but the ability to suck AND swallow doesn't happen until closer to 34-36 weeks gestation, that is why at times even full term babies have a hard time eating at first, let alone a preemie. How a baby learns to suck and swallow determines how well he forms his words and speech development later! Mother nature is AMAZING! Yet hard to mimic unfortunately. Preemies are also so used to being poked and prodded so much they have to learn 'good' stimulation when it comes to their mouths. Up until now, although it keeps them alive, nothing but tubes, sticks and medicines have been shoved into their mouths which can cause a negative reaction to anything near their mouths. Trev does suck on a binki now and then and thats a good sign he has a good sucking reflex. The other tricky thing for a preemie is remembering to breath while eating! So a slow but exciting step is coming up as Trev works his way home to us.

COMFORT AT LAST

You can just see the difference in Trevs comfort. Now that he does not have a CPAP on his little face he can just relax in his new room which has a window! The Eye doctor came in yesterday to check Trevs eyes. He dilated them to view the retina. His eyes are still too pre mature to test his vision, but his retina is attached which is a great sign. Sometimes side effects of oxygen to pre mature babies are eye complications, but so far so good for our Trevy.

TREVS NURSES

On the right is Lisa, on the left is Gorgi. Two of the many amazing people that work at IMC. Lisa is a charge nurse that has always been so caring of Trevs and our needs. She ALWAYS takes the extra time to talk to my wife to make her comfortable. She is one of our Primary nurses and she is an incredibly comforting AMAZING person. Gorgi is one of Trevs Respiratory Therapist, she is a very kind, loving person. She always comes in and talks to Trev every time we are in with him. She will go out of her way to take pictures of our little guy and made scrapbook pages for us of him. Trev loves her! We are extremely grateful for BOTH of them among many others. Trevs a 'big' boy now and moved into a different area of the NICU. These two nurses, among others, skills and care are needed for babies that are extremely sick. They are absolutely incredible at what they do. It is bittersweet not to see them as much anymore, but we know the reason that we do not see them is because little Trev is making so much progress! Jill, JANET, Robert, Dave, Karen, Becky, Michelle, Leanne, Stacey, Lynn, Janie, Hillary, Amy, Connie, Bonnie (and many more) are also some of our FAVORITE nurses and respiratory therapists to whom we are forever indebted and think the WORLD of to say the least!

GRADUATION DAY

Trev is officially in a normal crib! Stacie who is on the right is one of Trevs primary nurses. You can tell that she cares deeply for our little man and we are extremely grateful for her. Now that he is breathing on his own they have moved him into another pod of the hospital. It is bittersweet, we have grown to love all the staff in the D Pod. We will miss seeing them on a daily basis. They are the reason that our son is alive today! We could never thank them enough, they are such amazing people.

TAKING IT EASY

Trev is just chillin with his dad. Look at the size of my hand compared to his body!

MOM TAKING TEMPERATURE

Here is a picture of mom taking Trevs temperature. He is doing so well keeping his temperature consistent. His temperature is taken every three hours at cares to assure that he is sustaining his own body heat. It is important that temperature is closely watched. If he is having problems sustaining his own body temperature he will burn up much needed calories that help him to grow.

DRESSED IN CLOTHES

Trev is now 35 days old. (31 weeks 6 days) as you can see he has made some HUGE progress. He is able to wear clothes now that he can sustain his own body temperature. He is on a high flow nasal cannula, it is set at 4 liters per minute. We are so happy to see him off of the CPAP, which he was on for 7 days. Trev is getting so big and strong, he currently weighs 1830 grams which is 4 pounds 2 oz. His feedings are up to 35 ML every 3 hours.

Good Morning Trev

Nasal IMV

Trev was on this IMV nasal cannula which is shown in these pictures. It was so great to see his face, but he kept pulling the prongs out of his nose by moving around. These prongs were 2 inches long! The Respiratory Therapist was concerned that it would cause trauma to the back of his nasal passage so they changed him to the bubble CPAP. Jannell was able to hold Trev today for an hour. He just laid in her arms and slept so comfortably, Jannell is an amazing mom.

WIDE AWAKE

Trev, is doing very well, he is now on a Bubble CPAP with zero ventilator breaths for assistance! He just has a constant air flow going thru the cannula in his nose. We are very proud of our little boy and the progress that he has made. Trev now weighs 1680 Grams (3 pnds 12 oz.) He has grown so much and continues to grow every single day. Jannell and I stopped over at the hospital on sunday to see him, He just stared at us the entire time. Anytime that Jannell and I would talk to him he would open his eyes and follow us the best he could with his eyes. A pre mature babies eye muscles are still not fully developed so it is difficult for him to focus for a long period of time. They dropped his oxygen PEEP setting to 6 today down from 7 as they are continuing the weening process one step at a time as his lungs develop strength every day. His next stage will be the high flow nasal cannula and we are looking forward to this day. The only medication that they are giving Trev is Theothln, which opens up his airways to help him to breathe.