How are they today?

Only the pink bows stay in her hair very long. Amy thinks it is because she likes pink. Just an interesting note: when everyone sees these guys for the first time they are shocked at how small they are (particularly Brandon). They say that the pictures don’t really show how small they really are.

Today is a good day.

Katelyn continues to do well. The doctors feel good about her steroid treatment and her oxygen needs seem to stay low. She has a good grip and loves to hang on to her mom's finger. She also has spend a lot of time with her eyes open and she loves to suck on her pacifier. Her hair seems to grow fast. I keep telling her to put her growing efforts elsewhere but she doesn't seem to listen.

We went up to the hospital on Friday morning to be there for rounds. The doctors discussed the switch to the new ventilator for Brandon. We felt good about it but we were still a little apprehensive. They switched him over after lunch and things seemed to go well. Shortly after the switch his oxygen needs dropped even lower than they where on the other ventilator. However there was one short period that evening when his oxygen needs jumped to 100% then came back down. When we called the hospital in the middle of the night he had also jumped back to 100%. The good news is that they figured out that when they suctioned him and cleared everything out he quickly dropped down again. So Today is oxygen needs are lower than they have been for a long time and he is now doing well on a ventilator that allows him to do more breathing on his own. It is much more like normal breathing.

We also learned that the plan is to do a “contrast” test on Brandon on Monday. They will put a dye into his T tube (in his stomach) and they can see how well things are moving. If everything looks clear they can remove the T tube from his stomach and he might be able to begin feedings soon. This is a big step for a little guy with so many bowl troubles.