Day 4 in the Step-Down Unit

[Brandon here. Momma Bear decided that she wants to stay with Baby Bear tonight5. .] Today was a pretty normal day except for this morning. When I called the unit as Lauren and I were heading to church, the nurse said that his oxygen levels had gone down a few times this morning. She had to give him some oxygen via a mask once to get his levels to return to normal. The doctor said that Noah's lungs are "stiff" from the morphine and from being in bed a lot. So, they are monitoring his saturation levels and giving him chest PT every couple of hours to help his lungs get back in shape. (Chest PT is essentially having the nurse lightly beat his chest with what looks like a hard rubber bottle nipple. It helps loosen up the lungs.) Anyway, after hearing that news, Lauren and I went straight to the hospital and spent the day with Noah. He didn't have any more episodes like in the morning and seemed normal from what we can see. His morphine has been reduced again, and he's taking the bottle with some success. Noah always falls asleep when we give him the bottle, which makes it impossible for him to take the amount he's supposed to eat before he can switch to breast feeding. Thus we're experimenting with when the best time to feed him is, so that he can be awake for more of his feeding.

So please pray:
1. that Noah's saturation levels would stay stable and in the upper ranges of normal.
2. that Noah could be off the morphine as quickly as is safe.
3. that Noah could stay awake while we feed him so we can get on to breast feeding soon.
4. that Lauren would not get exhausted or stressed out by staying with Noah
5. that our trust would continue to be in the Lord as we wait on His timing for Noah coming home.

Our friend Jenny that Lauren mentioned last night is, according to the last report I received, doing okay. Her condition is stable and the doctors believe her to be out of the high risk category. Right now they are basically waiting for the clots in her body to dissolve while they monitor her vital signs. Please thank God that Jenny got to the hospital before her condition would have become much more serious. Please pray that the clots would dissolve quickly and that Jenny would have no long-term side effects from this problem. Lastly, please pray that Aaron and Jenny would entrust their lives into the hands of their loving Creator.

Peace.