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We are a family of fifteen: eight already with Jesus and seven in desperate need of Him. This is the story God is writing in our lives. Proverbs 16:9

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Special Request for Eliana

First the good news:

Miss Eliana is getting to be such a big girl~  She weighed 4 lbs. 1 oz. tonight!  She can take a bottle in just a few minutes and has a more mature than her age suck, swallow, breathe ability.  She is in the nursery with healthy babies and is looking cuter and cuter in preemie clothes. 

However, she has been unable to come off of oxygen to this point.  Right now she is only on 0.1 liter, which is the smallest amount she can be on without turning it off completely.  Every other day, the doctor is giving her a "room air challenge" where she is taken off and monitored closely.  Yesterday, she only lasted an hour without it before her oxygen level went down and stayed down below normal.  Tomorrow morning she will be tested again.

Our request is this:

Please pray that she is able to maintain her oxygen level without assistance and without an increase in her respirations. 

There have been goals set for her coming home and she has accomplished most them.  She is now in a big girl crib (maintaining her body temperature), taking all feedings well by mouth, and gaining weight every day.  She has also stopped having as many episodes where her heart rate drops and then she self-recovers.  Overall, she is a healthy, beautiful, growing baby.  Getting her off oxygen is the last goal.  If she isn't able to come off by the time she is 37 weeks, there is a possibility that she will come home with oxygen assistance.  I have mixed feelings about this~  On one hand, I can rest assured that she will have what she needs.  She will also come home with a monitor to track her levels.  While the monitor can give some peace of mind, it can also cause unnecessary anxiety.  On the other hand, I so desire for her little body to be strong enough without assistance.  I know this is another opportunity for me to trust God with Eliana and seek His help of her behalf.  He has taken such special, kind care of her~ I know He is able to do the same in this area. 

So please pray with us for her and again, we know God will hear.

4 comments:

Janet said...

I will be praying specifically for these needs for her as well as continued prayers for you all. This morning during my prayer time she specifically came to mind so I prayed an extra prayer for her. Then I got on FB and saw your request. I love how He prompts us to pray for needs even when we don't know the specifics.

She is so precious as are all your children. I'm glad she's doing so well otherwise.

I hope you are doing well too.

carrie said...

Our littlest guy (and TTTS donor twin) Owen came home on O2 at 39 weeks gestation, and was on it at home for 4 months. Clearly we had hoped he would be able to come home without all of the equipment, but he did so much better once he was home, and we did get used to it. I actually had anxiety when they took the monitor away...I liked knowing for sure that he was ok when sleeping. She is doing beautifully, and I wouldn't be surprised if she is able to come home without it. If she does, rest assured you will get used to it, and for us, we seldom had any false alarms with the monitor. Glad your miracles are doing so well!!! Hope Eliana is home soon!

Lara said...

Praying. Her incredible health is such a testament to God's constant care.

Ashley said...

Praying for her. God is good!