Prayers for Everyone~ Especially Eliana

So much of life is waiting...  and wondering... and learning to look into the face of Jesus and trust Him, even though everything around us distracts and misleads.  Even when I might doubt His very nature when circumstances are difficult, faith is entrusted as a gift to give me eyes to see His goodness and mercy.  God is for us, not against us.  And God is certainly for these babies and for equipping our family to love them. 

It is been a difficult couple of days.  Our babies have not had many of the anticipated challenges of prematurity as they have spent almost three weeks in the NICU.  Isabella and Isaac continue to amaze us with their growth and now their ability to take bottles before their little brains have the suck, swallow, breathe mechanism in place.  They are both on their way to being 5 pounds.

Isabella

 

Isaac

Eliana has been such a fighter.  God blessed her with strength that helped her make up for the lack of blood supply in the womb and now her lack of size since she has been out.  Monday evening though, Eliana started having trouble keeping her oxygen level up.  Her level would fall and then in response, her respirations would increase.  It was a circular problem~  Tuesday morning after hours of difficulty, the doctor confirmed a low hemoglobin and decided to give her a blood transfusion.  This was something we had anticipated as a possibility since the time the babies were born.  However, Wednesday morning when things should have been getting better, she had not improved that much.  By last night, she was still struggling and the doctor on call did a multitude of tests to rule out something more serious like infection or ineffective breathing.  In short, every test has come back negative.  She shows absolutely no sign of infection and her blood tests show that her body is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.  She was put on oxygen but despite higher levels, she still didn't relax in decreasing her respirations.  This morning, I finally had a clear conversation with one of her docs that finally explained why she is struggling.  He said it is like she has been running a marathon since birth~ one that her little body isn't equipped for.  As of now, she is tired and is reminding us that although she has done so well to this point, she is still a preemie baby and needs help for a bit.  All that she is capable of right now are shallow, quick breaths.

Eliana

Today, I went to be with all the babies for a while.  I was so thankful to see that after several hours of oxygen, her respirations have decreased.  Even last night while the numbers on her monitor were wavering, I spent time talking to her and was encouraged by her gummy smile.  She was moving around as if nothing was really bothering her.  She kept trying to put the IV port on her hand in her mouth and instead kept whacking herself in the nose!  She has the biggest eyes and as she looks right into mine, I am reminded of all the Lord has brought her~ as well as Isabella and Isaac~ through.  Did I also mention that she is now 3 pounds!  She hit that milestone yesterday as well.  We pray that she will regain the strength she needs to get back to maintaining her oxygen very soon. 

Please continue to pray for our little ones and our big ones.  Andrew and Elijah are ready for life to be more settled and Micah and I totally understand.  It has been trying going back and forth to the hospital.  It is odd; feeling more at home in a hospital waiting room than at our residence because it is where we are all the closest to each other.  I keep praying for patience as our babies grow and bring us closer to the day when we are all home together as a family.  Thank you, reader, for continuing to follow us and share in our lives.