Star-Trek Baby (Lt. Warf)

Front view

Back view

Two days since the last post in "real" time probably feels like the blink of an eye. In NICU time it seems like an eternity. The bottom line is that Brinley has been stable since they put her on the vent. She is getting an extra 20 breaths a minute right now. She can be taken off of the assistance for baths, transitions to holding her and things like that and handles it like a champ. The doctors are working really hard to try to figure out why she was having the apnea episodes. On Monday they called in the neurologist and developmentalist. It seems like she has had consultations with everyone now! Both of those Drs found reasons to be concerned that her brain has not developed to where it should be. It still could. Or not. Time will really tell.

Today the lil lady had an EEG. That explains the Star Trek- like picture above. The results came back normal! She also had PT, OT and an eye exam without the dilating drops (also came back normal). Tomorrow is another big day. She has an MRI on her head and neck. It will also look at blood flow or arteries or something like that...this is to help determine if there are any abnormalities in the shape of her brain. It will not determine the function of the brain, but helps narrow down the diagnostic search.

Now for the fun part. Peter and I both got to hold her chest-to-chest today! We hadn't realized it was possible with the trach tubing, but with the help of our awesome nurses, we got some really great snuggles! Second, today Brinley wore a sleeper that used to belong to her cousin Aubrey. Aubrey is two and a half weeks older and therefore Brinley wants to be just like her when she grows up ;) Last but not least, Uncle Sam and (almost) Aunt Olivia got to hold Brinley today! They were the first people outside of Peter and I, so be jealous.

(In this picture, she is protesting the fact that she can't come home with Mommy and meet her big sisters.)


I know Peter has already mentioned this, but I also wanted to take a moment and thank all of your for covering us (and our kids) in prayer. The cards, books, gifts, parking money, gift cards, meals, lawn care, housecleaning, babysitting, flowers, texts and facebook comments are such a blessing to us. One of our PAs said something yesterday about Peter and I handling things so well and I was able to say that it was because we have a lot of people praying for us. We are finding that the benefit of being in the NICU for a while is that we are starting to really build relationship with some of the staff. Brinley truly has a great bunch of people working hard to help her be as healthy as possible and we are grateful!

Please continue to pray for:
Healing and quick/accurate diagnosis for Brinley
Wisdom for the medical team that is working with her, but not just for her, but the other babies as well
Health for our family
Wisdom in balancing life between work, home and NICU
Our three precious "big" girls- that God will use this time for their benefit. That they would know His love and ours even though our time is more limited.

*Disclaimer- Peter insisted I write the post tonight...and it's late...so, I apologize for the stream-of-conscious "left overs."