Liam came home this evening. There were no changes in his chest x-ray from yesterday to today but the doctor that was on today said he was ready to go home. He is eating much better and looks better. We'll see what happens...Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

Liam's lung isn't opening any more and his chest x-ray from yesterday to today was unchanged. It's open, but not by much. So, they've started IPV treatments every 4 hours and watching him do that ranks right up there with watching him be on a ventilator. IPV stands for Intrapulmonary Percussive Ventilator and it basically forces little bursts of air (mixed with saline and albuterol) into his lungs to try to break loose the mucous and open up his airways. The other treatment they were talking about doing is IPPV - Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation and I'm not sure what that entails...not sure I wanna know given how hard the IPV is to watch...he is so strong I could barely hold him when they started the treatment because he was throwing such a fit. I felt terrible...anyway, here's hoping tomorrow's x-ray shows some improvement! They're also trying to figure out why he's had diarrhea for almost 2 weeks so they've sent off some stool samples - the Rotavirus one came back negative but the others won't be back til tomorrow.

Scary Day

If you have any prayers left, please say one for Liam. He just got out of the hospital on Monday evening from being admitted for pneumonia. Last night, his temp started going up again and this afternoon was up to 102.6 at home (rectally), with Motrin on board. So, called the on-call doctor who said to take him to the ER. So, I did, thankfully. When we got to the ER, it was still over 102 so they did another chest x-ray and this one showed part of his right lung is collapsed. So, we're once again in the hospital. The plan is for IV antibiotics and fluids - IV fluids are already going. They NT-suctioned him (down his nose and into his chest) and he did NOT like that but sounds a lot better after it. Tomorrow brings labwork and another chest x-ray. My poor little trooper!
Thanks in advance!

Worst Mommy of the Year Award Goes to....ME...

So, I decided to take the three boys out of state to Dallas (well, Coppell), to visit my aunt. We were at this big indoor play place (Going Bonkers) and I was wearing Liam in a Babyhawk MT front carrier. I went to check on Xander then went back to the table to sit down. As I got close to the table, I tripped and fell forward, slamming Liam's head into the table. So, we spent all afternoon in the ER of Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas. After we got there, he spiked a temp of 101 and wouldn't eat. But, after some Tylenol, his temp went down and he ate so they discharged him. I'm still worried (of course) b/c they didn't do any x-rays or anything, but they said that neither the location nor his behavior made them suspect anything worse...so we have to watch him and follow up with our pediatrician when we get back to Missouri.

I feel rotten...like the worst parent, ever.

NICU Reunion

So, today, 4 months and 6 days after being discharged from the NICU, we took Liam to his very first NICU Reunion at the hospital he was born in. It was a bittersweet day. It was so nice to see the faces of the nurses, doctors, and even a very special social worker, who helped us through the first 74 days of Liam's life. We didn't get to see Liam's favorite nurse (and our's for that matter), though, but it was still a good time. Children of all ages and sizes and their parents/caregivers gathered together in a small area of the hospital to reminisce, eat, and be happy. I thought to myself, what a neat (and scary) thing - to know that all the children in attendance and MANY, MANY more have been through similar experiences to Liam and started those early days out in the NICU. It was also nice to see a few children and parents who were in there at the same time as Liam doing so well. Take one good look around a NICU or a NICU reunion and THEN tell me you don't believe in God! It is an amazing, altogether miraculous sight!

The bitter part? The bitter part was speaking with the nurses, who expected to hear Liam was doing so much better than when he was there and making strides toward normalcy...and not being able to tell them that. Perhaps I could've fibbed a little and just said "yeah, he's doing great" and left it at that. The truth is that he isn't doing better than he was when he was discharged. Aside from semi-consistent weight-gain, things haven't been heading in a more normal direction - quite the opposite.

I'm reminded every morning and every night what a special little boy I have when I draw up his medications - which now total 7 - and that's just the oral medications - he takes 3 more via the nebulizer, one of which is given 12 times per day. At one point, we were down to 4, total, and no breathing treatments. He's done numerous rounds of oral steroids in the last month and had a couple steroid shots (dexamethasone - remember the one that can cause learning delays...) to try to mature his lungs. He's up to between 1 and 1.5 liters of oxygen - up from 1/32 of a liter. I've left my "job" to be with him and ensure he's getting the best treatment he can get - while I wouldn't change it, it does hit me sometimes.

But, one look into my precious blond haired, blue eyed baby's face and it all becomes a distant nightmare. He has a way of making me forget all the tough times with a big grin and a half-laugh and the "talking" he's doing now. All of which, by the way, he is using right this very minute to try to "talk" Shane out of giving him the rest of his medications. He's also become a master escape artist - escaping from his nasal cannula, that is...that kid can pull off tape/tegaderm/dots like nobody's business! :)

Well, I'm off to snuggle with my little sweetheart before we hit the hay and start all over again tomorrow! A sincere THANK YOU is being sent out to everyone reading this who has taken time to pray for our little miracle in the last almost-7 months!

Bittersweet 6 Month Check-Up

Liam had his 6 month check-up today! Growth-wise, he's gained back the weight he'd lost so he's doing well, there, but his lungs still sound terrible. So, we have to continue the breathing treatments - he gets 3 medications through the nebulizer - Pulmicort 2x/day, Atrovent 2x/day, and Albuterol 6x/day...So, they're also going to double the dose of the Pulmicort to HOPEFULLY keep him from having to do rounds of oral steroids every couple weeks - so far, he's had oral steroids 3 times (5 days each) in the last month and a Dexamethasone (steroid) shot. The good news is he's finally getting adjusted to his high dose of phenobarbital so he's progressing a little on his tone. He was extremely floppy a few weeks ago and has lost all the things he was doing, physically - he no longer rolls or lifts his head while on his belly or puts pressure on his legs...BUT, socially, he's doing great - smiling, putting things in his mouth, starting to act like he's going to laugh, etc. We are watching him really closely because he's showing some signs of torticollis, again, so we have to get that under wraps. The doctor was really leaning toward re-hospitalizing him today when he listened to his lungs, but, in the end, decided to just raise the dose of his pulmicort and wait and see because the hospital doesn't really do anything - they usually start him on steroids and send us on our way...so he and I agree it's not really going to do us any more good to sit in a hospital room than to sit at home...He is also up to 1 Liter on his oxygen...which is a ginormous increase over where we were earlier in the summer, which was 1/32 of a Liter...we are no longer permitted to be trying to wean him, either, at least until his lungs clear out...

On another positive note - [knock on wood] He is BY FAR my most easy going child, yet...with the exception of that period of time every night...but he's so quiet when he cries that he still sounds like a cat meowing sometimes...he is such a sweet baby...who has Xander wrapped around his little pinky...everytime Xander hears him cry, he starts yelling at me "Mommy, be nice to Liam" or "Mommy, help Liam." LOL...he's VERY protective of Liam...When we went to the doctor today, Shane took his lunch break to come watch Avery & Xander since Liam was getting shots and Xander threw a fit because he wanted to stay and "Help Liam."

As of today, my Liam has gone his very first month, in his whole life, without being admitted to the hospital!!!!!!!!!

I just felt the need to share that with the world! It's exciting to us and I knew y'all would understand this quirky milestone!!!