January 21, 2012

Travis has been growing very quickly this past week and he is now 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Travis has settled nicely into Pod A. This Pod is more relaxed than Pod C, and we are able to be more involved in Travis’s care. I was unable to see Travis from Monday to Thursday since I had a cold. Now I am spending full days there, hoping that Travis will improve with feeding!

Travis is still completely breathing on his own now. Today I came in and the nurse was just cuddling with him outside of our room. They can take him completely off of all the machines, and he is able to hold his own! It’s really amazing to see how much he has developed and grown in the past couple months. He does have the occasional time where his heart rate does lower, but they are all self-resolving.  Full-term babies also have this, but they go unnoticed since they are not hooked up to the machines like Travis.

It has been a relief for us that Travis has come off the oxygen.  It’s comforting to know that his breathing will be very good by the time he is home so we just need to focus on the feedings now. They cannot give us a specific date when we can take Travis home with us because each baby takes a different amount of time to perfect feeding. Along with that, we would never know if he will still come down with anything.

Yesterday I went back to Pod C to visit with a mom who was beside us before we left. She had a little girl who was born just over 700grams and now is about 850grams. This little girl has been doing amazing, and she is truly a miracle baby. She is already off the ventilator, and doing exceptionally well considering her weight.

There is a definite sense of community within the NICU ward. The atmosphere is one of hope and resilience. Even though the circumstances that the babies and parents are in are not ideal, the mentality of the staff is very positive and refreshing. Miracles happen daily in wards like this, and I’m grateful that Travis has been able to grow in a place where God is clearly seen through the staff, parents, and babies. When we first arrived, a nurse came in and said to me that someone higher must have known that we could handle this. It has been a rough road, but in a sense it has also been a remarkable experience that our little family has been a part of. Throughout this time our family has become more close-knit and our faith has grown steadily. God is truly our Heavenly Father and He has blessed us immensely with Natalie and Travis.