More on Henry

Here's the latest on Henry. Thanks for praying for him and his family. Livi prays for him at meals and before nap and bed. If we forget...well, we don't because she says, "Heeeeeey, you forgot to pray for Henwy"...usually when we didn't even forget :)

"Greetings from Little Rock. We praise God for all of you, your notes and your lifting us up in prayers. He hears your cries, and continues to answer our pleas for Henry’s protection and healing. Thank you and praise Him for being the Great Physician and Healer. I have attached a couple of pictures of His work in our family.
Continued good reports on Henry’s lungs and breathing. He has been off the vent and breathing on his own for the past 9 days. Some days are better than others, but overall he is doing great! Most of the time he is resting comfortably and breathing as you would expect a newborn to do. Other times he struggles to catch his breath, arches his back, turns all red, scrunches up his face, and looks really uncomfortable. It’s hard to watch, but most of the time he recovers on his own with no intervention. He is still receiving supplemental oxygen through his nasal cannula which the docs are reducing his slowly. He completed another round of steroids aimed at boosting his lung strength and capacity, and it seems to have worked well. This is a long and slow process, but we are encouraged and are able to see visible signs of progress, and that is very reassuring to Nikki and me. Please join us in prayer for continued lung capacity and strength as the supplemental oxygen is reduced, and for Henry to be able to relax and not struggle for a single breath.
Another great report we received this week was the result of his last head ultrasound. The report came back “normal”. Although we still don’t have an answer on what that means exactly, anything we get that is reported “normal” is worth celebrating! We are working to get a complete review of his last few ultrasounds to better understand what the docs are seeing and will report more when we get more. For now, please join us in praising God for stopping the bleeding on Henry’s brain, and for healing his ventricles!
Henry had his second eye exam yesterday and there continues to be no signs of ROP, and his eyes are developing normally. It’s hard to tell for sure in the low light of the NICU, but we believe his eyes are brown, just like Nikki and An Na’s. His feeds are continuing to go well and he is up to 240ml of mama’s milk each day. His feeding schedule is working towards bigger volumes over shorter time windows, just like he will eat when he comes home. He weighs 3# 10oz and by Saturday morning he will have officially DOUBLED his birth weight (hence the size 2X)! How is that for a miracle right before your eyes! Praise God for the healing and nutritional power of mama’s milk.
This afternoon Henry’s incubator temperature control mode was switched from "baby temp" to “air temp”. Up to this point, his body temp was being regulated by the machine. He had a little temp probe on his skin, and as his temp moved the incubator would adjust accordingly to maintain a programmed body temp. In the air temp mode, he will be managing his own temp. This is a big step towards Henry coming home. Please join us in praying for Henry’s system to be able to regulate his temp, and for him not to be burning too many calories staying warm. The other side of this is that he finally gets to wear clothes. I don’t know if he really cares too much about the clothes, but Nikki does and he looks great in his first outfit. Everything he has is a tad large, even the preemie-sized stuff, but he will grow into them we’re sure.
The rest of the family is doing well most of the time also. An Na had a really rough night last night, and I’m convinced she was being attacked. As she cried inconsolably in her sleep, Nikki and I prayed over her and she stopped immediately, woke up slowly, and clutched on to both of us for comfort. Praise the powerful name of Jesus and for His protection over our daughter. There are so many blessings covering us in North Little Rock that we have continued periods where all of this seems “normal”; if that makes sense. Then I realize that this IS in God’s world, and He just let me have a glimpse into his plans for us. Henry’s progress, Katie and Ed’s home, the peace and comfort being heaped on us by our Father, and more are all adding up to a relatively peaceful life in our home away from home. I mentioned this before, and it continues to hold true that my faith seems much stronger when things are going well. This week my faith seems strong, and I know He is preparing and strengthening us as He sees fit. Praise Him for sending us to faith boot camp in Little Rock, and we don’t want to be sent home one minute before He is done with us here!
In His care,
Steve (Nikki, An Na, and Henry)"

And if that wasn't bad enough....

She's taking video of things like me smiling when she whistles and of me stretching after I wake up.

Photo crazy

My mommy needs help, friends! She CANNOT stop taking pictures of me smiling. It's a little obsessive and I'm afraid she may need to be on some kind of medication.

My ducky

Mommy filled up this water duck thingy that Olivia used to play on. I didn't really get it so this is what I did:



Then Olivia showed me the error of my ways. OHHHH! I didn't know I was supposed to sit on it and give it kisses. It's a good thing I have a big sister to teach me this kind of stuff

Say CHEESE

Look what I've learned...it makes mommy so happy.

Regarding Henry

We've had some questions about our little buddy Henry and how he's doing. The picture is from a few weeks ago when his mama got to hold him the first time during Kangaroo care (skin to skin time with mom and baby).Thank you all for praying for him and please continue to do so. This is the e-mail that we received this morning from Henry's parents:

"Friends and family,

We’ve got great news to share tonight, so without further ado…

Henry was extubated yesterday! His doc decided during rounds yesterday morning that it was going to happen at noon, so we were able to be there and watch our sweet boy take his first breaths off of the ventilator! (Well, his first breaths this time…he was off the vent about 12 hours several weeks ago, but we were in Fayetteville that day!) He is still on oxygen, but in a less invasive way with nasal cannula (those little nose prong things). We don’t know how long he’ll be on the nasal cannula, but they’ve already reduced his oxygen level today because he’s doing so great! He’s resting so well…he just looks so much more comfortable today. His doc said that his chest x-ray this morning looked better than it has in a long time. Praise God for clearing Henry’s lungs and giving him strong and steady breaths all day!

I can’t remember if we updated on the results of his head ultrasound last Thursday, but if not, it was a good one! It looks like his ventricles have returned to near normal size and the clotting has reduced a bit. Any improvement is huge and we are so thankful for God’s healing our boy’s brain. They’ll do another ultrasound next Friday, so we’re continuing to pray for complete healing.

His breastmilk tube feeds are going well. They’re working on getting him to take the full amount slowly, but all at once, like if he were nursing. Right now he’s taking it over the course of 2 hours, and they’ll try it over an hour next. He also had his first occupational therapy session today. The OTs will work on oral stimulation to help him learn to draw his Mama’s milk when he’s ready. She said that she was impressed with him today, considering he came off the vent just yesterday. She said she felt 3 or 4 sucks in a row from his little tongue. After he’s taking his feeds all at once we’ll start working on nursing. We’re praying that he continues to tolerate his feeds and that nursing comes naturally to our little guy (and his mama!)

The rest of our family is doing well also. Baba and An Na have been spending a lot of time together, and it that has been good for both of them. This time together for them has been a Godsend, as nothing builds closeness like face time. Praise God for managing our lives. I’m doing well also, and am leaning hard into God for strength, and for protection against attacks for the enemy. He knows my vulnerabilities and exploits them whenever possible, but fortunately our God does not leave me to deal with this on my own and I know He is protecting me and my family. Praise Him with me for knowing what we need and when we need it.

This coming week we are praying for continued improvement in Henry’s breathing, and smooth going with his feedings. These are the primary objectives we need to have met before he can go home. Of course we are a way off from that glorious day, but please join us in praying for continued development and a healthy week.
In His care,
Nikki (Steve, An Na, and Henry)"

I'm an A student

I went to see my doctor today for a well check. I am well. Very well, as it turns out. I weigh 12 pounds and am 23 3/4 inches long. That puts me in the 95th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for heighth. I showed Dr. Davis my mad pooping skills while we were there too. He was impressed by my A+ performance. Developmentally, I'm right on track so far so thanks for the prayers. I'm smiling, holding onto things, starting to coo, holding my head up, eating, sleeping, and of course, pooping, just like I'm supposed to be doing at my age.
And, we'll leave you with this great picture. Mommy thought this was the greatest outfit ever. Those are my super awesome puppy booties (which barely fit) and my shirt says "Let's go back to my crib"....yeah, my daddy, the campus minister picked it out for me before I was born.

Papa and the Zoo

We're switching back to Malachi's point of view now so.....

I got to go to the drive-through zoo for the very first time this weekend with my Papa, Livi, mommy, and Daddy. I mostly slept in the carrier the whole time but I did wear my outfit with giraffes, hippos, and such on it just for the occasion.
Mommy made sure Daddy took a picture of us with the little pig because she says I'm a piggy too. I'm making a grumpy face at the kangaroo...I thought he was going after my mommy's milk in the bottle and we can't have that.

Did you know a baby llama can stand hours after it's born...unfair. This llama is only 2 days old

First Halloween

I took Malachi and Livi trick or treating on the Squarein Fayetteville and then we went to New Spring's Trunk or Treat party. It was lots of fun and lots of sugar.