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)"