Quick Update

James and Sandra and the kids came last night and stayed with us, and today were taking a family outing to the Inner Harbor. Stopped in to see Baby Nick this morning- he was resting comfortably and eating well. He has some elevated jaundice; they've checked him for blockages, etc. and he seems fine that way.....so the intern said the good news is that his biliary system seems normal to ultrasound, but they don't know why he isn't getting rid of the bilirubin....they have him on some meds to break it up-not sure if it's making much difference yet or not. Please pray for him! Well, better go for now!
Thanks,
Rob

Lookin'

Back to the Shore....for a bit!

Well, Alec & Mia got to come up on Wednesday with Con and Teresa. We went to the North East Market just down the road for lunch-it's a strange and interesting place with fresh fish, chicken, vegetables, socks, lottery tickets, chinese food, soft pretzels-you get the picture! We had a good time there, then I stayed at the Children's House with the kids while Naomi took Teresa and Con to see Baby Nick....they both got to hold him. I got to feed him last night and after 10:00, I got in the van and headed for Delmar, arriving there around12:45. I worked at the market today and got to talk to some of my customers and co-workers there....change of scenery for sure! I thought last night when I drove by Food Lion and Wawa in Delmar, that the parking lots looked like you could eat off of them....they look spotless compared to a lot of the city here. Anyhow, this evening, I got back in the van and headed back to Baltimore. While I was gone, they took the pole that had Baby Nick's medicine dispensers on it away....one less thing! But also while I was gone, he had another seizure, and Naomi saw it happen, which was not pleasant. He had been on phenobarb through his central line and they had changed it to an oral dose; not sure if that or the timing made a difference or not, but he came out of it. They increased his phenobarb some and are keeping an eye on him; he seemed fine this evening when I fed him and he took down 105 mL! When we left, he was sleeping comfortably. Tomorrow, Nathan Hostetler is thinking of coming up, and and in the evening, James Brunk's are going to bring Alec & Mia up and stay the night here, and on Saturday we hope to take a family outing to the Maryland Science Center....compliments of the Children's House. These people really are good to us! Well, Late Again as usual, so have a good day!
Thanks,
Rob

Rob had to go home tonight so he can work tomorrow. Waaaa! He said to let all know he will post tomorrow night.
Please pray for Robs mom as she has to have a heart cath done tomorrow! Thank you!
Thanks again for all the prayers on our and Baby Nicks behalf. Naomi

Off the TPN!

Well, today they took him off the TPN (Total Parental Nutrition) that had been given to him since he got here. It was administered through his central line because he couldn't eat. Now that he is taking a bottle at the current level, he doesn't have to get TPN anymore....another good step!
He has had bilirubin levels go up a bit when they should be going down as his bowels are now moving. Normally, food would carry it along. We're not sure why yet; they're gonna take some x-rays of his bones tomorrow and an eye test to see if there are any abnormalities that would indicate if he has a syndrome that would cause him to have more bilirubin. The GI doc says she's not ready to say that he has that syndrome.....sometimes the TPN can make babies jaundiced and sometimes the problem works itself out. So they'll keep an eye on him.
Connie is planning to bring Alec & Mia up to see us tomorrow....we're looking forward to that! Also Teresa Witmer is planning to come along. I didn't go back to the eastern shore yet....not sure what I'll do. Sam is going to PA to pick up supplies tomorrow, as he has in my absence there. Erin has Baby Nick again tonight....we got to help give him his bath and do "cares" again.
Well, once again, it's late.....More Later!
Keep holdin' him up!
Thanks,
Rob

More Video

Alec's First Visit

Yawning!

"Let Me Say This First...."

Awwww!

Stickin' His Tongue Out!

Baby Nick Smiling....Kinda Druggey Lookin' Tho! Kinda Sleepy.....

Statue of Jesus under the dome

Johns Hopkins Hospital

Feb. 23rd

Well, today we got over to the hospital in time for rounds- that's what they call it when the attending doctor, the respiratory therapist, the interns, etc. go around to each of the patients and discuss their conditions and readjust their meds, etc. Baby Nick is supposed to go off of the vancomycin this evening, and they put some medicine in his nose to decolonize the MRSA there if there was any present at that time. They also increased the amount of milk he can have by a higher percentage than before; the attending doc said she thought they were not advancing his feeding amounts fast enough for his age, etc. That's good news to us. He had more food this evening and did pretty well with it. Tomorrow, I have to decide whether to go back to work and leave Naomi behind or not, so that's a tough call to make. She doesn't like to be without me here-it's not the greatest section of town....plus I wouldn't like it much either. So we'll see....
I've got some pics to post, so I'll talk to you later.
Thanks for remembering us!
Rob

Sunday, Feb. 22nd

Well, we had nice day today. James Brunk's brought Alec & Mia up to see us and also brought lunch and supper! Sandra outdid herself; we couldn't finish it all....even Shawn at the front desk got some pecan pie, and he was impressed. Phil Bears stopped in on their way back from Jacob Bear's wedding in PA, and we had supper together, then Phil's took Alec & Mia back to Salisbury.
That's always hard for us and for Alec & Mia, I think also for Phil's. But they are in good hands there, and we wouldn't be able to both be with Baby Nick if we needed to be, because the children are only allowed to visit him on Sundays. They were both going to visit him today, but Mia came down with a bunch of hives, I think from the penicillin, and couldn't visit him today. She didn't seem to take it too hard-she's younger. Alec got to see Baby Nick for the first time today and then afterward we went to another room, where one of the nurses, (who incidentally is from Salisbury), served a snack and helped him with a craft project.
Baby Nick is drinking more and more milk and seems to be doing remarkably well! They took the dressing off of his incisions and they look to be healing pretty good. We get to hold him a lot more now than we used to-now we can bond better! Erin was with him last night, and also tonight. We always enjoy talking to her....thank God for good nurses! She gave him a bath again tonight and combed his hair all fluffy again! It's so cute, all sticking out from his head on top!
Please continue to pray for Baby Nick, and also for Alec & Mia, as we are apart. And, pray a special blessing on the ones who are taking care of them.
Well, I probably should get to bed soon.
Thanks,
Rob

Not Happy With Bath

He gets so red when he's upset, I call him Chief!

Supper was fine, and now I'm gonna sleep!.....is my hair ok?

Did someone say light socket?

Erin hookin' me up

Ah, that's better!

Bath Time! Somebody save me!

Oxygen Canula out of his nose!

Well, the EEG didn't show any signs of seizures while they did the study, but he is on phenobarb, so it's not totally ruled out that he wouldn't have any more. Since he's been on the phenobarb, he's not had any seizures as far as we know-so we're glad of that. He got to have the canula, the oxygen line that went to his nose, taken out today; it's always cause for celebration when they take another tube or line away. I think they are cutting back or stopping the vancomycin also, which is good, I think. Well, tomorrow, Lord willing, Alec & Mia will get to see Baby Nick for the first time! We're excited about that! James Brunk's said they'll bring them up in the morning, and also bring us lunch.....also excited about that! Naomi got to help Erin give Baby Nick a bath for Naomi's first time tonight, and we fluffed up his hair; it cracks me up! He wasn't all that happy with the bath experience, but when we started putting the lotion on him....well, let's just say he seemed to be more forgiving! He quieted right down. We gave him his bottle after that, and it took him a little bit to decide to get serious, but then he gulped it down. After that, he went to sleep pretty quick and was resting well when we left the NICU. Well, better quit for the night.
Thanks,
Rob

Sleepytime!

Listening to Lullabies

We may have a pacifier baby after all!

Hmmmmmmm......

In His New Crib!

Funny Faces!

Baby Nick Crying

My mom said she'd like to know his weight and hear him crying....well, his weight today was 9 lbs. 11 oz. and here is a video of him crying. AWWWW!

Pacifier

No MRI Today

Got to the hospital this morning and the Baby Nick's surgeon was there. He took time to talk to us about the progress, etc. and I'm impressed at how much time he will take to explain things to us. One thing I am happy for is that he said they were not going to go ahead with the MRI today; the surgery hasn't been that long ago, and he thinks it's more important to let that heal than to intubate him right away....I said that's what I was wondering about, and he said that's a good thing to wonder about! Baby Nick will maybe have an MRI several weeks from now....they took another EEG today, which does not require anaesthesia. I said EKG a while back, but it was an EEG-there's a difference. Anyhow, they've stopped Baby Nick's other antibiotics and have started him on vancomycin every 8 hours for the positive MRSA culture. He doesn't necessarily have an infection with the MRSA, but the bacteria was present, and they want to fight it. They'll probably do this for 3 days, then retest. He seems to be doing fine and he's breastfeeding and eating,( they keep moving up the amount he can have), and he also gets nutrients in his central line. So, we're happy with progress he seems to be making, and we know that he has many people praying for him....that's a real comfort! And, his nurses have done great at taking care of him. Well, I probably should hit the hay soon. Thanks,
Rob

Yawn!

Back on Contact Precautions

Well, he did good today, but when we came back for his feeding this evening, the nurse said he was getting his own room in the expansion space there, and he's back on Contact Precautions, because a swab of his nose from Tuesday came back positive for MRSA, a bacteria that many times comes from hospitals that is resistant to many antibiotics. They last night started him on antibiotics for that sort of thing, but we never knew it until shift change tonight. We kept asking why they had put in another peripheral I.V., but no one seemed to know. Anyhow, that is a concern to us, although the nurse says it's not as alarming as what people see most of the time on T.V. about MRSA. Anyhow, he's in his own room now; that part is nice! They took his little puppy and put it in a biohazard bag, so we are supposed to wash it before it comes back, in case it could have the bacteria on it, but some of the other stuff he has in his bed is not bagged, so were kinda confused about that. He seems to be resting well, and very alert when he is awake, and his vitals are good, so we have a lot to be thankful for!
He can't have anything by mouth after 12:00 this evening, because they are going to intubate him again and put him under general anaesthesia, so they can give him an MRI on his head, to see if they can determine what was causing the seizures. I wasn't too happy about him having the tube put back in, or the anaesthesia again, but this way, they may be able to figure it out while he's here.
James Kurtz made a special trip down from PA, where he is attending minister's meetings to see us and Baby Nick, and we enjoyed having him here for awhile. He was heading back to the meetings after that.
Well, that's some of what is going on in Baltimore, so I'll let you go. But continue to pray please!
Thanks,
Rob

Wassup?

UPGRADE!

We got to the NICU today, and there was an incubator where Baby Nick had been. That was kinda startling! The nurses told us that he had been moved to a crib! It does look more normal than where he was....there's a mobile over his head, and someone even put a tape recorder in the crib with lullabies on it! I have a bunch of songs on my cellphone, and I played some of them for him....he seemed to listen to them. You know me----I have to let him listen to music! We had company today....Elaine Eby, Cheryl Yoder, Judy Kurtz, Jenn Kurtz, and Holly Hostetler all came at once to visit us and Baby Nick! We had a lot of laughs, all cramped into the little waiting room. I was a minority, being the only guy in the bunch.....you have to feel sorry for me, right? Just kidding! We really did have a good time.
Well, Baby Nick has a great appetite; he gulps down all they'll give him in the bottle, then looks around and smacks his lips like, "Hey, wheres the rest?" They have to be careful how much they give him until they know that he isn't having acid reflux, etc. I think he's already getting wise to the pacifier! He's fun to watch....he looks around with quick little eyes, and smiles a good bit....whether he know is or not, I don't know, but it's still cute! Well, this computer's been playing tricks on me, and it's the 3rd time I've tried to write this, so I'll quit while I'm still ahead!
Thanks,
Rob

Baby Nick Dressed!

If you want to see more posts, you can go to the right hand side of the page, click on February, and all the posts should appear.

Another Wonderful Day!

We got to the NICU today to find that the "Contact Precautions" signs were removed and we didn't have to wear the gowns and gloves anymore! Then Erin told us that the surgeons had also removed Baby Nick's chest tube, the one that drained his chest cavity. Great News! Then she told us that we could start to try to bottle feed him! A lot of good news for one day! At first, he wasn't into Bottle-feeding, he was too cozy in Naomi's arms and wanted to sleep. But we kept persisting and bothering him, and finally he decided to try it....he glugged it down quick then! Later, I got to feed him, and once again, it was challenging, but enjoyable, and he had some more! Later this evening, he was awake, and that time he drank the milk about right away! We had run into town, and when we came back, the nurse, Kristin, had given him a bath and washed his hair, making him look somewhat reminiscent of an 80's rocker! Was cute though! He also got to put on clothes for the first time! It was a great day for us and him. Keep Praying that his healing will continue!
Well, I may post some video here soon!
Thanks
Rob

What's Not To Love?

First Time with Clothes On!

Reminds Me Of Woodstock From Charlie Brown....Sorry Bud!

Nice Hairdoo!

baby Nick's First Shampoo

Spending Time with Erin