Update on Will

I’m so sorry that I didn’t write anything yesterday. I’ve vastly underestimated how much energy this little adventure requires. I just didn’t have it in me write up a post. My apologies. My double apologies for the fact that there will be no new pictures in this post. I came home to relieve Kim’s Mom, who has been watching Hunter and Millie. I left the camera at the hospital, so I’ll try my best to upload some pictures tonight. I promise. If you’re still reading even though you know there will be no pictures, then thank you. It takes dedication to keep reading when you know there is no pictorial pay-off.

So, Will is making steady progress. Every time I’ve gone into the NICU I’ve been encouraged by little steps he’s making. The nasal cannula is out. Will is completely off breathing assistance! This is great news. His respiratory rate is still a little erratic. If you want to know it is Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN). There’s probably about 2% of you that have any idea what that is and the rest will now be able to ace that question on Jeopardy!. Basically, Will needs it to slow down and stabilize his breathing rate before he can breastfeed. The doctor wants to see him with a stabilized respiratory rate and breastfeeding for 5 days before he can discharge him and we can go home. This was somewhat discouraging for me. He’s still making good progress and there is very little that I could complain about…but I was hoping that we’d make it back home by Sunday (if not earlier). I guess we're dealing with the "Bondage of the Will"...ha! seminary jokes. My apologies to everyone else. So, our prayer request is that Will’s respiratory rate would slow down to below 70. The good news is that we were going to be in the hospital for the Super Bowl and now we’ll be at home with a one month old. That’s pretty cool.

Will is also dealing with a little bit of jaundice. I’m told this is perfectly normal for preemies. Of course, you could tell me that it’s perfectly normal for a tuba to be sticking out of his left elbow and I could only say, “OK.” I just have no grid through which to evaluate anything. Jaundice is determined by the level of bilirubins in the bloodstream. Bilirubins is pronounced like “Billy Rubens.” When the doctor told me his Billy Ruben level was high, I thought, “Who is he talking about?” Billy Ruben sounds like an infomercial host. “Hi folks, Billy Ruben here with an amazing new product…the Chop-inator!” But, we need his bilirubin level to go down as well. If not, they will give him some light therapy, and by “light” I mean photo-light not gentle-light. I actually got that one the first time, but I see how it could be confusing.