Please Continue to Pray for our Baby Girl, Laurie Anne Killingsworth!

March for Babies 2010

2010-01-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I know it's been a long time since I last posted, but I wanted to encourage everyone to join Laurie's Team for the March of Dimes "March for Babies". After the last year and a half this organization has become very close our hearts...without previous research by the MOD babies born at 23 weeks gestation like Laurie would not survive! This is the reason we have joined with the March of Dime as the 2010 Wiregrass Ambassador Family to bring awareness and attention to premature babies. We would love for as many of you who can to join us on April 17, 2010 at Landmark Park in Dothan for the Wiregrass March for Babies. You can join our team by going to marchforbabies.org/LaurieAnneK or contacting me directly.

Now let me update you all on Laurie's progress. She is now 21 months old and is reaching all the developmental milestones of a "normal" toddler! She is getting into EVERTHING! She is walking, running, and climbing. Her vision and hearing both seem to be great! We will go back to Birmingham for the Newborn Follow-Up clinic again in April and her hearing will be tested again at that time. She will see a pediatric opthamologist again in June. Although she loves to eat, she still weighs only 20 lbs.--probably because she is always moving!!! She doesn't care much for T.V., but will stop briefly if "Mickey Mouse Club House" is on! She loves clapping to music and playing "chase" with her big brother, Cole. She also "jabbers" all the time, although we don't always understand what she is saying. But, somehow she gets what she wants!!! We continue to be thankful each day for our tiny miracle!

Thanks to all of you who continue to remember Laurie in your prayers! Hope to see you all on April 17th as we march for premature babies and celebrate Laurie's survival!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

June 23, 2009

2009-06-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

June 23, 2009
July 3, 2008

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie Killingsworth

would like to show our appreciation for your prayers,

support and generosity in helping us

"Grow a Miracle"

Join us as we praise God and

celebrate Laurie's first year!

June 28, 2009

2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Hillcrest Baptist Church Fellowship Hall

Enterprise, Alabama

More Pictures 6/3/09

2009-06-03T21:04:00.001-07:00

Easter 2009

Laurie playing with Daddy!

March for Babies 2009!

June 3, 2009

2009-06-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Laurie's March of Dimes Team

Enjoying Disney!

Hello to anyone out there who is still checking in on Laurie! I apologize for not updating in so long—I’m still not sure where April and May went? Things are finally getting into a new normal for the four of us now that we are able to get out with Laurie! So, let me catch everyone up on our family happenings for the last two months.

April began with Laurie’s big “coming out” party for Easter weekend! On Good Friday the four of us traveled to Atlanta for my cousins wedding and then for a fun day with family at the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday. We were also blessed to take Laurie to church for the first time on Easter Sunday! I can not explain how much it meant for all four of us to be in church together! Later that afternoon, Todd’s family enjoyed seeing Laurie at “the big pond” for the annual Easter egg hunt. It was a wonderful weekend for us to finally be able to get out as a family and to share our little miracle with our extended family who has been anxiously waiting to see her in person!

On April 18, 2009 Todd and I celebrated our 11th aniversery by taking Laurie off the oxygen!!! She has been doing really well until this last week when she began having more frequent de-sat spells (I’ll explain more later). On April 25, 2009 approximately 30 family and friends joined Laurie’s team for the March for Babies. Thanks to all of you who walked with us and/or made donations to this great cause on Laurie’s behalf. Her team raised over $700 for the March of Dimes!!! We were not sure what to expect going in, as this was our first time walking, but we were so impressed by the large crowds and all teams who were there walking in honor or memory of a precious baby! This will definitely become a family tradition for us! I can’t forget to mention that Cole also played soccer at the Y this spring and we were even able to get Laurie out for a few games!

In May we made another trip to Birmingham for the Newborn Follow Up clinic and saw several different specialists there. We were blessed with good news in that Laurie appears to be right on track developmentally. The audiologist will continue to monitor Laurie’s high frequency hearing over the next few months. We also had another very special day on Mother’s Day when we were finally able to have Laurie’s baby dedication. Again, much of our extended family was there to help celebrate and it was apparent that Laurie has come so far largely due to the love and prayers of our church and extended family! Although Todd and I realized in the first few moments of Laurie’s life that we must turn her over to God’s plan, we were so thankful that we could publicly dedicate her to Him and praise Him for all that He has done already done in her life. What a special day it was!!!

Later in May, Laurie and I went with Todd to the Alabama Athletic Trainers state meeting in Destin. It was so nice to get away for a few days and Todd received a much deserved honor—Athletic Trainer of Year! I have been amazed by how he has continued to perform his job so well with all we have been going through this year—he truly has a calling! I am so proud of him!!

Last spring Todd and I had promised Cole a trip to Disney World, but with Mr. Rex’s health declining and my pregnancy complications we were not able to make the trip. So, since he has been such a trooper this year we were finally able to take him in May. He was so surprised and although it rained the whole time, we had a ball!!! Yes, can you believe I finally got brave enough to leave Laurie for a few days?

As May came to an end, it was time for me to begin thinking about next year’s plan. In August I will be going back to work and moving to the new Kindergarten school. Although, I will miss my friends at Harrand Creek terribly, I am looking forward to a new beginning in a new building. But along with changing schools, comes the inevitable chore of packing up my classroom. So, I spent last week packing up my classroom and also realizing how much I have missed teaching this year—yet I would not trade this time with Laurie for anything in the world! Well, Laurie must have known my plans and decided she wasn’t thrilled with the idea. So, she let us know that she could still get my attention!

On Tuesday night when I put her to bed and “plugged” her into the pulse oximeter, I noticed her sats were very low and sure enough she had 4 de-sat spells throughout the night. After several days with low sats, a trip to the pediatrician, blood work and chest x-rays, the pulmonologist decided that we should put Laurie back on the oxygen for a few days. So, she is currently on oxygen and we are trying to wean her off again. Laurie did not protest about the nasal canula as much as I thought she would, but it is much more difficult than previously because she is more active now. She is almost crawling and we have spent all week unwrapping the cords from around her little body! I’m so scared that she will choke herself on her own oxygen cord!!! Although we are still having a little trouble with the breathing, she continues to grow and weighed 15 lbs. 1oz. at the doctor’s office last Thursday.

I’ll never forget when Laurie was moved from an isolette to an open crib and I could just walk in to pick her up rather than touching her through the porthole, I thought this is just like a “real” baby. I had that same realization of a “real” baby many months later at home while walking around my kitchen with Laurie on my hip as I unloaded the dishwasher and not being limited in the number of steps I could take by an oxygen cord or pulse ox monitor cord. We were just beginning to enjoy the freedom of having a “real” baby, but we are now seeing that although Laurie is a “real” baby, she will always be a special baby who has special needs for a little while longer!

We have so much to be thankful for the last two months and have celebrated lots of “baby steps”!! Please continue to pray that Laurie will come off the oxygen for good! Thanks for continuing to remember Laurie and our family!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole and Laurie

April 1, 2009

2009-04-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Laurie enjoying her cereal!

Cole loved his present Brayden!

Hello everyone! Laurie celebrated her nine month birthday on March 28th and Cole turned six yesterday! Needless to say, we have been “birthdaying” for several days!! We have also been in somewhat of a holding pattern for the month of March with ear infections slowing Laurie down a bit:

A week after finishing the antibiotics for ear infections and starting to wean off the oxygen again, Laurie had yet another ear infection. Unfortunately, this meant that we had to start another round of antibiotics and had to stop the weaning process. Last week we finished the second antibiotic and began aggressively weaning her oxygen again. On Monday, Laurie had her 9 month check-up and her ears and lungs were clear!!! She continues to grow and weighed in at 13 lbs. 4oz. We have now worked up to being off the oxygen for 6-8 hours a day, which is a good thing because Laurie constantly pulls the nasal canula out! We also saw Dr. Thompson, the retinologist, earlier in March and got a great report! We were able to hold Laurie for him to get a good look at her left eye and the blood vessels are beginning to grow in normally!!! We do not have to see him again until November!!! However, Dr. Thompson does want Laurie to have a pediatric ophthalmologist to follow her vision. We will see Dr. Suggs in July.

Next Monday we will go back to Birmingham for a follow-up ABR (hopefully Laurie’s ears will stay clear, so that we can get an accurate reading) and pulmonologist appointment. We should know more about when Laurie will be completely off the oxygen after that appointment. Thanks again for your continued love, support, and prayers! We realize that God has blessed us with amazing friends and family who have helped us through this long process.

After such a life-changing event, we would now like to do our part in helping prevent other babies and families from being affected by risks associated with prematurity. Our family is forming a March for Babies Family Team to help the March of Dimes work towards the day when all babies are born healthy. We would love for you to join us!

We are forming a team in honor of Laurie, who was born 17 weeks too soon. Although it has been a long nine months for our family, God has answered so many prayers and blessed us through this experience! Yet, ours is not the only story of frightening, touch-and-go days in the neonatal intensive care. Premature birth touches half a million babies and their families each year. Babies born too soon are more likely to die or have disabilities. Birth defects pose another serious threat—taking the lives of many babies and cause lifelong disabilities for thousands more. So it’s important for us to help the March of Dimes help moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies.

Won’t you join our Family Team at this wonderful event? Our walk is April 25, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at the Troy University Campus in Dothan, AL. If you would like to walk with us, please call me at 334-347-0265 by April 9, 2009 for further details and so we can order t-shirts. If you can’t join us and would like to sponsor our team with your donation, just log on to our personal web page, www.marchforbabies.org/teams/678403 or send me a check payable to March of Dimes. Thanks in advance for your help!

Love to all!

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

March 3, 2009

2009-03-03T09:48:00.000-08:00

Laurie's 1st Valentine's Day!!

Laurie loves playing on her mat and is learning to reach for her toys!

March 1, 2009--Cole and Laurie enjoy watching their 1st snowfall!!!

Hello everyone! We celebrated Laurie's 8 month birthday this past Saturday!!! She continues to progress, but we have had to slow down the weaning of her oxygen. She did well coming off the diuretics, but when we went for the audiologist appointment on February 11, 2009 we learned that she had fluid in both ears. This caused some discrepancies with the ABR readings, so we will be retest later this month. A few days after the appointment Laurie began having trouble sleeping, eating, coughing, and having more frequent de-sat spells. We were afraid this was due to the weaning of her diuretics. The pulmonologist started Laurie on a steroid and said to hold off on weaning her oxygen for two weeks. After several fussy, irritable days, we saw her pediatrician and discovered the fluid in her ears had developed into ear infections. So we also started on an antibiotic. During this time Laurie also had her monthly synagis shot and blood work. She weighed 11 lbs. 15 oz. on February 23, 2009.

This week we have completed all medications and have begun the weaning process again. Laurie is doing well with 30 minute intervals off the oxygen. We will steadily increase the time periods later this week. We will also see Dr. Thompson, the retinologist, on Thursday this week. Please pray that we are able to hold Laurie for the examination (without sedation) and that normal blood vessels have completed developing in her left eye.

Thankfully, our doctor appointments are slowing down. Later this month, we have her regular synagis shot appointment, second ABR appointment in Birmingham, and her 9 month check-up. Thanks for continuing to check in and pray for Laurie! Hope you enjoy the new pictures!

Love,

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

February 5, 2009

2009-02-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

Laurie loves her spinning light that Miss Susie with AIDB brought!

She also likes sitting up in her "Bumbo" chair!

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I last posted--I hear many of you are anxious for an update. January was a month filled with doctor appointments and we received encouraging reports at most of them.

On January 12, 2009 we saw a pediatric cardiologist from Birmingham in the Dothan office. This was just to check Laurie's heart to make sure there was no damage from her extended time on oxygen. All reports returned normal.

On January 26, 2009 we returned to Birmingham to see the pulmonologist. We are currently working on a plan to wean Laurie off the oxygen. The first step (we are currently doing) is to slowly wean her from her medications. Then we will attempt taking her off the oxygen for short periods of time and steadily increasing the time, until she only has oxygen during naps and night time sleeping. We should be able to get to this point by the end of March or the first of April. We also saw a nutritionist while in Birmingham and have started feeding Laurie cereal. She currently weighs 10 lbs. 12 oz.!

We also saw an audiologist, retinologist, and had several routine visits to the pediatrician's office in January. We will be doing further testing on Laurie's high frequency hearing with an audiologist in Birmingham next week. This is the area of the preliminary screening that she did not pass. The retinologist reports that there is still an area of Laurie's left eye where no blood vessels have developed. We will see him again in a few weeks to continue monitoring this area. At this time the right eye continues to develop normally. Please pray for normal blood vessels to begin growing in Laurie's left eye. At her pediatrician visits Laurie received her monthly synagis shot and flu shots. Dr. Brown is pleased with her overall development. She is rolling over from her tummy to her back, reaching for toys, and smiling when her big brother makes funny faces for her!!! Cole is so good with Laurie and loves entertaining her!!!

Hope you enjoy the latest pictures! Thanks for your continued love, support, and prayers!

Love,

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

January 10, 2008

2009-01-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Cole enjoyed opening his and Laurie's presents!!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We had a very special Christmas at home with Laurie. It's hard to believe that she was discharged three months ago today --she has made so much progress since then! Todd and Cole returned to work and school this week, while Laurie and I spent the week at doctor appointments. Here is a quick update!

On Tuesday, we saw Laurie's pediatrician in Dothan for her 6 month check-up. She weighed

9 lbs. 8 oz. and was 22 inches long (she is now double her birth length)! Laurie also had her 6 month shots and a flu shot. Dr. Brown is happy with her growth and development.

On Wednesday, we went to Birmingham for a follow-up appointment with Dr. Feist, the ophthalmologist. Laurie's right eye is developing normally, but there is still an area of her left eye where no blood vessels have grown. Dr. Feist does not believe that the left eye needs further treatment at this time, but wants to continue watching the area. He felt comfortable referring Laurie to a retinologist in Dothan to continue monitoring this area in her left eye in order to help limit trips to Birmingham. However, we will probably go back to Dr. Feist if treatment is needed later. We will see Dr. Thompson in Dothan in three weeks. After her eye appointment, we took Laurie back to the RNICU and CCN units at UAB to visit her nurses, therapists, and doctors. It was wonderful to see everyone who took such great care of Laurie during her first months of life! Todd and I will always be thankful for those who cared for and loved Laurie while she was hospitalized. That evening we also saw my friend, Amy Sims, who was also at UAB while we were there and another one of Laurie's night shift nurses. We enjoyed the time we able to catch-up with friends!

Then on Thursday, we took Laurie to the Newborn Follow-Up Clinic. This is a clinic for babies who had extremely low birth weights and other high-risk conditions. We saw a team, consisting of a developmental pediatrician, developmental therapist, nutritionist, and audiologist, who specialize in the care of premature babies. The pediatrician was very happy with Laurie's growth and was able to answer questions about developmental milestones and feeding. The therapist did lots of physical tests and gave us several activities/exercises to do with Laurie to help with rolling over, head and trunk control, and her ability to bear weight on her arms. The nutritionist discussed when to begin cereal and other options for helping Laurie continue to gain weight daily. Finally, the audiologist repeated the hearing screening and Laurie passed for the first time!!! The screening did show there is a loss at high frequency levels in both ears. We will do further testing to determine the degree and further options. Overall, we were very pleased with Laurie's development and it appears that she on target for her "adjusted age" of almost three months. We will go back to this clinic in May. Although the trip was long and very busy, we got good reports and enjoyed seeing all our Birmingham friends!!!

Next week, we see the cardiologist, go for her monthly synagis shot, and have an appointment with Early Intervention. Please continue to pray for Laurie's growth and for all four of us as we continue to make adjustments at home! Also, please continue to remember Josh and Amy Sims as they continue to cope with the loss of their baby, Gabe, who passed away December 26, 2008.

Hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

December 23, 2008

2008-12-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I can't believe that weeks have passed since I last posted--time passes much faster now that I am back home. December has been a slow month of doctor appointments for Laurie. However, we will make up for it in January with six appointments already scheduled and three of those being in Birmingham!

On December 5, 2008, Todd and I took Laurie back to Dr. Feist, the ophthalmologist. We got a good report that Laurie's vessels are continuing to grow and no further treatment was needed at the time. We will see him again on January 7, 2009 to see how her eye development is progressing. I also met with the ladies from Early Intervention this month to write Laurie's family plan. We established several goals for Laurie, such as focusing on and tracking objects, grasping and holding objects, etc... They will be coming once a month to work with Laurie. Today Laurie and I went to Dothan to the pediatrician's office for a weigh in. This was a another "first" for the two of us as we made the trip by ourselves! It was an uneventful trip--the kind we like! In the past, someone has always gone with us to "watch" the monitor, but Laurie has been having so few de-sat spells that I decided we could make the trip on our own! Laurie usually does well riding and has only had one "bad spell" in car since bringing her home from the hospital and over the last few months I have become much more comfortable getting her in and out with all her wires! Laurie weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. today! We were hoping that she would have gained more, but every ounce helps!

Laurie's unique personality has really been "coming out" over the last month. She is smiling, cooing, and loves "looking" at the Christmas tree lights--I believe that she can SEE them! Although Laurie has made lots of progress, we will still be keeping her home for Christmas. Like at Thanksgiving, Todd and I will take Cole to grandparents' houses and the other will stay home with Laurie. This small sacrifice for Laurie's health is worth making because we finally have TWO stockings hanging on the mantel this year! We are truly blessed! Thanks for your continued prayers and for continuing to check-in on Laurie!

Merry Christmas!

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

November 29, 2008

2008-11-29T17:02:00.000-08:00

Just some of the Crowe cousins!
Our little turkey--weighing 7lbs. 10 oz.!!!

Hi! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Although our Thanksgiving was very different from previous years with Todd taking Cole on Thursday to his grandmother's and me taking Cole on Friday to Aunt Laura's, we realize that we have so much to be thankful for this year! The last few months have been life changing! I have said many times that we had the closest to an "ideal" situation in a horrible circumstance that could be imagined. I witnessed many parents in similar situations who did not have same the love and support that we were so blessed with--I don't know how they made it day to day! We can never say thank you enough, but please know that this year, especially, we are counting our blessings!

We are thankful for our newest addition, Laurie, who is truly a miracle.

We are thankful for our son, Cole, who is curious, determined, and loving.

We are thankful for our parents who continue to give selflessly.

We are thankful for our siblings and their spouses, Kevin, Tammy, Emily, Gray, Laura, Ben, Katie and Jamie who continue to our rocks of support.

We are thankful for our nieces and nephews, Sarah, Addie, Emma, Lydia, Delcy, Jack, Taylor, Brooke, Dana, Jared, Haley, and Peyton who have shared their parents' time, their homes, and their toys with Cole over the last several months.

We are thankful for our grandmothers and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins who have given so generously their time, money, and love.

We are thankful for our friends, new and old, who have opened their hearts and homes to us.

We are thankful for our church family who has offered prayer, after prayer, after prayer.

We are thankful for the many other churches who adopted and ministered to us.

We are thankful for the dedicated doctors, specialists, and nurses who have and continue to care for Laurie.

We are thankful for the countless friends, acquaintances, and strangers who have posted with words of encouragement.

And finally, we are thankful to the Great Physician who still heals, answers prayers, and loves unconditionally!!!

We are truly blessed beyond measure!

Love,

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

November 22, 2008 6:45 p.m.

2008-11-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I apologize for not posting in such a long time!! I keep hearing from family members who see you "out and about" that I need to post! I can't believe that Laurie and I have been home for over a month now! A month at home sure goes by faster than a month sitting at a sick child's bedside in the hospital!!! After being home for awhile, I am finally beginning to get pieces of "normalcy" back! I have enjoyed being able to visit Cole's classroom and have lunch with him, meet his teacher for a conference, spend an afternoon shopping with my sisters, and attending church! Isn't strange how we take for granted such seemingly insignificant things
in our lives!?!

Anyway, for what you all have been waiting for...an update on Laurie! We continue to make weekly trips to her pediatrician, Dr. Brown. Last Monday, 11/17/08, we were only suppose to go for a weigh in, but ended up seeing Dr. Brown because Laurie had only gained 2 ounces in a week (she weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long). We decided to take her off the HMF, human milk fortifier, since it upsets her tummy and just try increasing the amount of milk at each feeding. This has definitely helped her tummy trouble and we will see on Monday (11/24/08) if she has gained her weekly weight goal (she should be gaining 1/2 to 1 ounce daily). We also saw Dr. Fiest on Friday, 11/14/08, for a follow up to her last Avastin injection. After a long day trip to Birmingham, we left his office not knowing much more about her vision than before. I explained my frustrations to Dr. Brown and he referred us to a retinologist in Dothan for a consult (We are thankful for a pediatrician who is so helpful and attentive to every aspect of Laurie's health!). Dr. Thompson has treated older patients with macular degeneration with Avastin and is familiar with this treatment option in preemies. He examined Laurie's eyes and was very pleased with how she has responded to the treatments. He also provided me with valuable information and further questions to ask Dr. Fiest when we see him again on December 5, 2008. On Wednesday, two ladies with Early Intervention did a home visit and testing. Due to Laurie's vision and hearing concerns, the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind is the agency that will be handling her case. They will be back later in December to go over her Individualized Family Service Plan with Laurie's specific resources, supports, services and goals. Hopefully, they will be able to provide us with practical, everyday activities that we can do with Laurie to help her overall development!

This week we only have a routine check-up with Dr. Brown! Please continue to pray for Laurie's weight gain, lung development, vision, and hearing. Also, please pray for Chris and Amanda Martin who had preemie twins at UAB last weekend. Sadly, they lost one of their boys last night. I can't imagine the heartache they have tonight! Also, remember my dear friend Amy Sims, who after five months is still at UAB with Gabe. They still have a very long road ahead!

I will post Thanksgiving pictures later this week!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

November 6, 2008

2008-11-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon! Laurie and I are enjoying a quiet day at home! I wanted to update everyone on her appointments from earlier this week. We saw Dr. Fiest, the ophthalmologist, Monday morning and the blood vessels in her right eye are growing normally. However, the left eye is not doing as well, so he did do another injection of Avastin in that eye. We will see him again on November 14, 2008. We left straight from that appointment and went to Children's Hospital for her BPD appointment. After having chest x-rays, lab work, and meeting with a nutritionist, respiratory therapists, and several nurses we finally saw Dr. Lorenzo, the pulmonologist (this is a different doctor than we were expecting, but we really liked him). He talked with us at length about Laurie's medications, oxygen support, feedings, and development and then made several changes. He increased her oxygen level to .25 liters (rather than .1) in hopes of keeping her oxygen saturation 93% or greater. If you remember we had been keeping her sats 85%-95%, but Dr. Lorenzo stated that at this point we could be doing damage to her heart with keeping her sats in the 80's. His office is also scheduling an appointment for us with cardiology just as a precaution. The Children's cardiologist group sends doctors to Dothan monthly, so hopefully we will be able to see the cardiologist there (we saw a cardiologist in Dothan several times with Cole when he was a baby with Kawasaki disease). He kept all Laurie's medicines the same, except for discontinuing the sodium. We will see Dr. Brown on Monday and do blood work to check her electrolytes again. Dr. Lorenzo also wants to increase to 2 packets of human milk fortifier (HMF) per feeding in order to increase her calorie intake and hopefully start putting on more weight. The faster she grows, the faster her lungs will begin healing (and get her off the oxygen)! They also are making a referral for Early Intervention, so we should be hearing from that soon. This will be another resource for helping us stay on top of Laurie's overall development.

On Tuesday, Laurie had her second Synagis shot and then we saw Dr. Gannon, the ENT, to check Laurie's hearing. Laurie did not pass the hearing screening in either ear again, but Dr. Gannon believes this could be due to her very small ear canals. He will see her again in four months and then refer us to Birmingham for an ABR if she does not pass at that time. We are continuing to learn the virtue of patience! Dr. Lorenzo reminded us that we must treat this process as a marathon, rather than a sprint! We continue to ask for your prayers for Laurie's overall development and health. We are also so grateful for how far God has brought her and for your continued support!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

November 1, 2008

2008-11-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

Todd's Alabama football player and my Auburn cheerleader!

Laurie was tired out after our Halloween photo shoot!

Well, as you can see from the pictures we have had another busy week! Laurie turned 4 months old on Tuesday and we celebrated with a trip to see Dr. Brown. He was happy with her progress this week. Her congestion is much better and she is back on a 3 hour feeding schedule. She continues to gain ounces, weighing 6 lbs. 11 oz. on Tuesday!!! She is also having very few de-sat spells and is going for short periods of time with no oxygen! Another hearing screening was done with Laurie still not passing in her right ear, so we will see an ENT this coming Tuesday (11/4/08) for further testing.

On Thursday night Todd stayed home with Laurie and I was able to take Cole to the Fall Festival at his school. He had so much fun and I enjoyed getting to see many of you! It was so nice to get out of the house again (without going to a doctor's office)! Friday night, Cole suited up again for trick-or-treating with cousin, Jack and again today for the Fall Festival at Mrs. Judy's church. Needless to say, we have enough candy to last until Christmas!

Mother, Mrs. Judy, Laurie and I will go back to Birmingham on Monday for follow-up appointments with Dr. Fiest, the ophthalmologist, and the pulmonologist, Dr. Lyrene. Dr. Fiest will be checking to see if Laurie needs further treatment for her ROP (either another injection of Avastin or laser surgery). This will be our first time seeing Dr. Lyrene at the BPD (bronchopulmonlary dysplasia) clinic. We will be seeing him once a month for now, so that he can monitor Laurie's oxygen settings, medications, and treatments for BPD. Laurie will also have another chest x-ray to see how her lungs are progressing. On Tuesday, we will have two other appointments in Dothan. Laurie will have her monthly Synagis shot and will also see the ENT for her hearing. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development, vision, and hearing! Also, please pray for our travel safety to appointments this coming week! We are so thankful for your continued support!

Love,

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 26, 2008

2008-10-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone! I'm sorry it has been so long since I last posted. Finding time to post is much harder now that I am at home (I sure am missing the second shift nurses about now!)

Last week was very busy, so I will try to catch you up. Laurie was discharged from Flowers Hospital in Dothan last Sunday afternoon. She was having fewer de-sats and heart rate drops after having the blood transfusion and IV antibiotics. The blood cultures after 48 hours were negative. However, she continued to have trouble taking a bottle due to upper respiratory congestion--either refusing to take the bottle or spitting up what she did take. We saw her pediatrician, Dr. Brown, on Tuesday and he started Laurie back on HMF (human milk fortifier) in order to increase her calorie intake without having to increase the amount of milk she takes--Laurie had only gained about 3 oz. in a week, up to 6 lbs. 5 oz. Dr. Brown also started Laurie on another antibiotic to hopefully help with congestion and encouraged us to continue using the humidifier.

Then on Wednesday, Mother, Mrs. Judy, Laurie, and I left at 7:00 a.m. for Birmingham for a follow-up ophthalmologist appointment. After Laurie's hospitalization, I called Dr. Carlo to see if he could see us while we were in Birmingham and he graciously agreed. We saw him at 11:00 a.m. and he recommended that we try feeding Laurie smaller amounts every 2 hours and agreed that her cold was still upper respiratory (her lungs sounded good). He also suggested that we get another humidifier with a control setting for the amount of humidity being released. He again reminded us of the importance of washing hands and everyone changing clothes before holding Laurie (Mother and Mrs. Judy have already brought an extra set of clothes to our house and Cole has never had so many baths!!!!). I felt much better just having Dr. Carlo look at Laurie!!! After that appointment we went back to the UAB townhouse, ate lunch, and met with the "oxygen man" to swap out oxygen tanks and get needed supplies. At 1:30 we left for Laurie's ophthalmologist appointment. If you have been keeping up with my blog, you know that ophthalmologist in Birmingham work on a totally different time clock than the rest of us and Wednesday was no exception. We finally saw Dr. Fiest and his report was O.K. The blood vessels that are growing back are still premature and the time frame for the Avastin injections is running out. So, Dr. Fiest wants to see Laurie back in two weeks and possibly do another round of Avastin injections or laser surgery. Needless to say, we are not out of the woods with her vision yet. After the eye appointment, we went back to the UAB townhouse to finish cleaning up and turn in all the keys. We also made a stop at Babies-R-Us for a new humidifier and made several stops to feed Laurie. We finally returned home at 10:00 p.m. Laurie did great for such a long day of traveling and appointments, but the rest of us were exhausted!!

This week we will go back to see Dr. Brown on Tuesday. Laurie's congestion does seem to be doing better, so maybe we can go back to 3 hour feedings. As you can imagine, two hour feedings leave very little time for sleep or anything else!!! We will go back to Birmingham on November 3rd to see Dr. Fiest and for a pulmonary appointment.

Thanks to all of you for continuing to keep up with Laurie's progress. God continues to bless our family with your support. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development and for her vision. Also, please pray for all four of us as we adjust to our new norm at home (working everyone's schedule around Laurie's feedings, monitor alarms going off at all hours, little sleep, confinement to the house, Cole having to share our attention, etc...)

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 18, 2008

2008-10-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone from Flowers Hospital :( Most of you probably didn't know, but Todd and I had to bring Laurie to the ER at about 2:30 a.m. Friday morning. After 24 hours of having numerous de-sats and heart rate drops, especially during her feeds, I had called UAB and spoken with several of Laurie's nurses and doctors. We tried all their suggestions, including having to increase her oxygen levels, but Laurie seemed to be getting worse. After a very scary 12:30 a.m. feed, where Laurie dropped her sat level, heart rate, and began turning blue, we decided to come on to Dothan. A CBC showed that Laurie's crit level was low and she was in need of a blood transfusion. She also had terrible cough, congestion, and was very lethargic. Laurie's pediatrician was on call and talked with her doctors in Birmingham. They decided that the blood transfusion and IV antibiotics could be done here, but that she would be transferred back to Birmingham, if there were any changes for the worse. Thankfully, the transfusion and antibiotics seem to be working and Laurie is already doing much better. So far the blood cultures have not grown back anything and she will have to complete 48 hours of antibiotics before being discharged. This is all a painful reminder that Laurie is still very susceptible to infections. We know that as a micro-preemie, Laurie still has a way to go before she is out to the woods completely! Please continue to pray for Laurie's health and for her to grow stronger each day! We will keep you updated! Thanks for all you have done to support our family!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 14, 2008

2008-10-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone! It is so great to be posting from home!! I just wanted to add some pictures from Saturday's homecoming celebration. Todd, Mother, and I took Laurie to her first pediatrician appointment this mornig. It took all three of us to get a preemie baby and all her oxygen "stuff" into the doctor's office. We are still very slow moving with everything and learning the best way to travel with Laurie's equipment. We decided to change Laurie's feeding schedule back to every three hours to help with her breathing (not to tire her out so quickly). Dr. Carlo had also recommended this yesterday when he called to check on Laurie. He is such a special doctor--telling me that he would be out of the country until Sunday, but to e-mail with questions after our appointment today, if we needed him! He will be excited to learn that Laurie has continued to gain weight since leaving the hospital, weighing 6 lbs. 2 oz. today. Next week, we will have another pediatricain appointment in Dothan and an ophthalmologist appointment in Birmingham. So much for staying at home!!! Thanks for your continued prayers as we adjust to all being home together!

Love,

Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 12, 2008

2008-10-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Laurie getting a nap before discharge!
Leaving the hospital!!!!!
As I arrive home, I'm sating 97!!!

My family just looking at me through the window!

Hello everyone! Sorry, I have not posted in a few days, but we have not had a moment to stop since last Thursday! Todd and I went over to the hospital Thursday morning to feed Laurie her 8:00 a.m. bottle and were overwhelmed by the numerous meetings/trainings we had to complete before rooming in with Laurie that night. After a crazy day, we spent our last night in the hospital with Laurie in a very, very small room with a very, very, loud pulse ox monitor!!! Laurie did great---Todd and I were awake all night jumping up to check her with every "ding" of her pulse oximeter!!! We could not believe it when we were ready for discharge on Friday by 10:30 a.m.--they were ready to get rid of us and we were ready to go!!! As we left the hospital through the same doors I entered by ambulance three and half long months ago, I thanked God for allowing me to leave with my beautiful, healthy baby girl---I wasn't so sure that would be the outcome when I entered!!!

After spending Friday afternoon packing, we left Birmingham at about 1:30 p.m. (between Laurie's feedings--she continues to make our schedule!). We are also learning the best way of traveling with Laurie and all of her wires, oxygen, and monitor, but you can see from the picture Laurie didn't mind the ride home!

We were welcomed home by a crowd of family wearing pink in Laurie's honor!!!! We are truly blessed with a wonderful family who has been with us every step of the way on this long journey and who continue to amaze us with their support. They all came Saturday to celebrate Laurie's arrival even though they knew that they could only look at her through the front window!!!

We decided to wait and surprise Cole with Laurie's homecoming. As I held Laurie up through the car window, he screamed "Laurie's here"!!! When we got inside the house he asked us, "Is Laurie going to get to spend the night?" He was soooo excited to learn that she was going to get to spend every night at home with us now!! But, I don't think he really believes it--he has not wanted to leave her side! What a special homecoming it was!!!!

I will try to post more pictures of Saturday as I get them from family members! Thanks again to all of you who have continued to follow Laurie's progess! We realize that we would not have made it through this ordeal without your prayers! I will continue to keep you updated and post pictures as Laurie grows!

Love to all!

Todd, Leah, Cole and Laurie

October 8, 2008 5:15 p.m.

2008-10-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We have had a quiet, rainy day here in Birmingham. Late yesterday afternoon the doctors changed Laurie's feeding schedule to 65 cc every 4 hours! This will help so much once we are at home. Laurie also continues to gain weight and weighed 5 lbs. 12 oz. last night. She is now 19 inches long. I spent the afternoon packing and making phone calls. Although the plan is to be discharged on Friday, it seems we will continue to make trips back and forth for follow up appointments. Laurie and I can't wait for Daddy and Nana to get here tonight! We are all getting very excited about coming home! Thanks for your continued love, support, and prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 7, 2008 5:15 p.m.

2008-10-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Laurie has had a quiet day and seems to be doing very well with her new oxygen settings--very few de-sats. Her regular nurse practitioner was not here today, so we are still working out all the details of coming home. Todd and Mom will coming up tomorrow night, while Mrs. Judy does "Cole duty" back home. On Thursday, the three of us will meet with pharmacy and be learning how to work Laurie's oxygen at home. Then Todd, Laurie, and I will room in together at the hospital to try it on our own! If everything goes well, we should be discharged on Friday! We are still not sure about the weekend plans and when we will be coming home!?! As usual Laurie will be calling the shots!!! While Laurie rested today, I spent the afternoon shopping for the essentials needed to bring a baby home-diapers, wipes, bottles etc... It is hard to believe that we are finally to that point! Please continue to pray for us during this new transition period and for travel safety as Todd and Mom come to Birmingham tomorrow!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 6, 2008 5:15 pm (101 days in the hospital)

2008-10-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

We've graduated to a "big tub"!

Good afternoon! Laurie and I are spending another day waiting on the ophthalmologist! He put in an order for her eyes to be dilated at 10:30 am and stated that he would be here within the hour, but it is now 3:30 pm! Lots of you ask what I do all day and this is it…sit and wait!!! Laurie did gain some more ounces over the weekend and now weighs 5 lbs. 10 oz. Her nurse practitioner has changed her oxygen setting today to .1 liter @ 100%. These are the settings that we will have to be on when we go home. This will give us a few days to see how Laurie adjusts to the new settings.

Many of you have been asking about when we will be bringing Laurie home and I have mentioned this possibility in a few posts. This is a complex question for the doctors and for us! Other than still requiring oxygen to help her breathe, Laurie has met all the other criteria for discharge (she is in an open crib, continuing to gain weight, taking all her feeds with a bottle). In most cases like Laurie’s the doctors, would just discharge the baby with oxygen, follow up with a pulmonary doctor, and eventually discontinue the oxygen support when no longer needed. However, when a baby is discharged on oxygen, the oxygen percentage must be set at 100%. There is no way of controlling the percentage of oxygen being given. Yet, with Laurie’s ROP eye condition we are trying to minimize the amount of oxygen she receives in hopes that the oxygen will not further harm her eyes. We have been trying for the last week to wean Laurie’s oxygen percentage, but she seems to be “stuck” at 30% on 1 liter. Although Todd and I are eager to bring Laurie home we must do what is best for Laurie’s health. Also, coming home with oxygen will require much more attention, which could be extremely difficult for a five year old who has not had his mother at home for three months. Having said all of this, there is no way to predict how long it could take Laurie to come off the oxygen and we cannot stay in Birmingham indefinitely!

I realize it would seem that bringing Laurie home would be an easy decision; however it is also very complicated. After three months of becoming dependent on watching monitors and having nurses and doctors who can be at Laurie’s bedside at a moments notice, it is very difficult to let go of that security. The thought of traveling three hours home with Laurie sitting in a car seat is worrisome enough. Todd and I have already decided that once discharged we will stay at the UAB townhouse with Laurie a few days in order to be close to the hospital. We are looking at coming home this weekend or at the first of the next week!!!!

Once at home, Laurie and I will continue to be on “lock down” until at least spring. After being in a sterile, hospital environment all of her life, Laurie will be very susceptible to germs and infections. This is especially troublesome since Laurie will be coming home at the beginning of the cold/flu season. Laurie has already had her first synagis shot to help prevent RSV. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a virus that causes a severe chest cold and wheezing. It can be detrimental to preemies! Therefore, we will have to be extremely cautious with Laurie once at home. She will continue to have a RSV shot once monthly from now until April. Although we are ready to be able to “show off” our little miracle, it will be several months before we can get her out. We will also have to limit guests coming into the house in order to decrease the likelihood of infections. As you can imagine this is also very scary with Cole bringing in germs from school. But, he has already learned the importance of scrubbing when entering the NICU. Todd did not even come into the nursery on Sunday due to having a sinus infection! The doctors have also advised that Todd and Cole change clothes and scrub immediately when getting home before touching Laurie. So, although we will be home, our lives will not be back to “normal” (we’re not even sure what that means at this point).

You all have been so supportive during this long and challenging ordeal. Your prayers have sustained us and helped Laurie get to the point of coming home! We are so thankful! Since we will not be able to get out once at home, I will continue to update the blog with Laurie’s progress and pictures. I’m sure that I will not be able to do this everyday, but will try to post 2-3 times a week. Thanks for continuing to check in on Laurie and please continue to pray as we take the next step of this long journey!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 3, 2008 2:20 p.m.

2008-10-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! We are having another good day with not a lot of changes. Laurie continues her bottle feedings and weighed 5 lbs. 5 oz. last night. We still have not been able to wean her oxygen level any further. We are also still waiting on the ophthalmologist to come to re-examine her eyes. Hopefully, Todd and I will be able to get some answers and make plans for coming home over the weekend. Please pray for travel safety as Todd comes to Birmingham tonight.
I will post again on Monday! Have a great weekend!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 2, 2008 3:05 pm

2008-10-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hi! Still not a lot of changes from here in the CCN! We have had another quiet day of waiting on doctors... the ophthalmologist did not come yesterday, but hopefully we will see him today! We are not only anxious to see how Laurie's eyes are improving, but would like to get his opinion on her going home with 100% oxygen. In the meantime, we have spent today trying to wean Laurie down from 30% oxygen, but she is not having it!!! However, she has been tolerating the increase to 50 cc with her bottle feedings and remained 5 lbs. 3 oz. last night. Mom also attended the discharge class last night, so we have all now been trained on caring for Laurie at home, RSV, and CPR! She left today after lunch heading back to Dothan to see our newest baby! Please continue to pray for our family as we make decisions and plans for coming home!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

October 1, 2008 7:45 pm

2008-10-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

Gray, Emily, Lydia, and Delcy Harrison!

Laurie is "tickled pink" over Delcy's arrival!

What an exciting day! Laurie is proud to announce the arrival of her cousin, Delcy Anne Harrison, born this morning at 7:48 a.m. Delcy weighs 6 lbs. 7 oz and is 19 inches long. Proud parents are Gray and Emily (Crowe) Harrison and big sister, Lydia. Although Delcy is a little bigger, Laurie is no longer the "baby" in the family!! Can't hold on to that title for very long in the Crowe family!! Yet, we seem to have two very impatient little girls on our hands (Emily was to be induced on November 4, 2008). Nana (Mom) decided to go ahead and come to Birmingham for the discharge class tonight, but will be heading back home tomorrow! Please pray for Gray, Emily, Lydia and Delcy and for travel safety as Mom goes home tomorrow! Praise God for another beautiful, healthy baby!

Laurie has not had many changes with her care plan today. They did increase her feeds to 50 cc every 3 hours. She gained weight last night, weighing 5 lbs. 3 oz. We are also still waiting for the ophthalmologist to re-exam Laurie's eyes. After talking with the ophthalmologist, we will make further decisions about the posibility of Laurie coming home with oxygen. This is not the ideal situation, as she would have to come home on 100% oxygen (not good for her ROP). However, she is not tolerating us trying to wean her oxygen level past 30% very well. Hopefully, by this weekend the doctors, Todd, and I can make a plan for when and how is the best option for coming home! Please pray for wisdom as we make these decisions, not only for what is best for Laurie, but also for Cole. Thanks again for your love and support!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 30, 2008

2008-09-30T14:02:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! I am posting today while sitting at Laurie's bedside. She is now sleeping after enjoying her 3:30 bottle. There have not been any changes with Laurie's care plan today. Although she did gain a few grams last night, her weight stayed at 5 lbs. 1 oz. Laurie's oxygen has remained at about 30% on 1 liter with the nasal canula. She continues to have a few de-sats, but has not had any bradys since coming off the aminophylline last week. We are continuing to try weaning her off the nasal canual, otherwise Laurie is ready to come home! Mrs. Judy and I have attended the discharge class and Mom will be here tomorrow to attend the class. Although we are getting very excited about bringing Laurie home, we would love to be able to leave without any oxygen support (so we are probably still looking at another week or two)! Please continue to pray for Laurie's vision, hearing, and breathing!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 29, 2008 7:40 pm

2008-09-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

Cole and Daddy playing football!

Daddy holds Laurie on her 3 month birthday!
6-28-08

Good evening! Laurie and I have had another good day in Birmingham! We enjoyed having Todd, Cole, and MeMa here with us over the weekend (although Cole was not able to go in and see Laurie because he continues to have sinus and allergy problems)! As you can see from the pictures we were able to take Cole to a playground, so the boys could play a little football! Laurie has not had any changes in her care plan. She continues to take her bottle feedings of 45 cc every 3 hours. She lost an ounce last night, weighing 5 lbs. 1 oz. Now our goal is to get Laurie breathing without the nasal canula. She is so close, but often just needs the stimulation of the oxygen flow provided by the canula. We are trying to keep her on as little oxygen as possible, so not to cause any more damage to her eyes. The ophthalmologist will also be back this week to continue monitoring her. Thanks for your continued prayers and support! Hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 26, 2008 3:20 p.m.

2008-09-26T13:04:00.001-07:00

I'm a big girl now! 5 pounds 2 ounces

Happy Friday! Laurie continues to sleep and grow as we wait for Todd, Cole, and Mema to arrive! Last night she weighed 5 lbs. 2 oz. The doctors have not made any changes in Laurie's care plan today. The audiologist came to do a hearing exam on Laurie today and she did not pass in either ear. This means that she will have to have further testing done within the next month. Laurie does respond to voices and noises around her, but further testing will determine the degree of hearing loss. Again, being on the oxygen for such a long period of time and being born so prematurely are going to be contributing factors to Laurie's growth and development over the next few years. However, we know that God continues to answer our prayers and is watching over Laurie! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lungs, eyes and hearing! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll post again on Monday!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 25, 2008 5:30 p.m.

2008-09-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We received wonderful news last night--the Avastin injections have stopped the progression of ROP in Laurie's eyes! The eye doctor will be back next week to continue monitoring her condition and hopefully there will be the beginning of new, normal blood vessel growth! God has blessed us again!!! Laurie also gained weight last night, weighing in at 4 lbs. 15 oz.! We may reach 5 pounds by the weekend. Laurie continues taking all her feeds with a bottle (40 cc every 3 hours). Since we are now on the second day without Aminophylline (medication used to prevent apnea spells), she has been de-sating a little more frequently, so the nurse practitioner and doctor are trying to find the right balance with her oxygen level and flow on the nasal canula. We pray that Laurie will make this new adjustment with her breathing and soon be able to do it all on her own! Thanks for continuing to remember us in your prayers. Please pray for travel safety as Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy travel to Birmingham tomorrow.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 24, 2008 3:00 p.m.

2008-09-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hi! Laurie and I are having a great day...just waiting on the ophthalmologist to come and check her eyes! I am not sure if he will even come back today, but stated when he left last Thursday night that he would check her on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday!?! We are definitely learning patience!!! The doctors did increase Laurie's feeds to 40 cc every 3 hours, but she still weighed
4 lbs. 11 oz. last night. They will also be giving Laurie her 2 month shots today and tomorrow (just a little behind). Yesterday, they discontinued her medication that assists her with maintaining her oxygen levels. Hopefully, she is big enough now and breathing well enough to do this on her own! All of this is being done to get Laurie ready for going home! We don't want to have to go home with any more support than necessary (oxygen, medication, etc...). We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!!! Please continue to pray for Laurie's breathing and vision!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 23, 2008 5:00 p.m.

2008-09-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

My new BIG girl crib!

Look Cole, I'm finally dressed in real clothes!

Good afternoon! Laurie has had another great day! She was able to maintain her body temperature last night and was in her new crib this morning when I arrived for her 6:30 a.m. bottle feeding! It was great to be able to just pick her up...like a "real" baby as Cole would say! Now that she is in a crib we are able to dress Laurie to help keep her body temperature up. She is wearing the smallest preemie gown we have and it is still a little big on her! She is also taking all eight of her daily feeds by bottle and tolerating it well! Laurie gained some more ounces last night and now weighs 4 lbs. 11 oz.-- we won't be in those preemie gowns long at this rate! She is on very low oxygen settings on the nasal canula. We will continue to try weaning her off this week, so that she will just be breathing room air (21%). We are also hopeful that the eye doctor will be doing another eye exam tomorrow afternoon and find the ROP is getting better. Please continue to pray for improvement with her breathing and eyes!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 22, 2008 3:00 p.m.

2008-09-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! Laurie, Todd, and I had a very restful weekend together! Laurie is trying to grow up today! The doctors have decided to try weaning her to an open crib! She will have to go 12 hours holding her own temperature inside the isolette and then they move her to the crib. She will have to go into the crib with a nasal canula because she is still requiring a little oxygen (22%). Hopefully, she will be able to come off the canula soon (again)! This weekend she has been taking every other feed with a bottle, so today we are trying to give her all bottles! So far she has tolerated it well without having to put any through her feeding tube. Last night Laurie weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz.! She is definitely moving right along! Thanks to all of you who continue to track Laurie's daily progress! We are blessed with great friends and family! Please continue to pray for Laurie's breathing and eye development.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 19, 2008

2008-09-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

Laurie resting after the injection last night!

Hi! Laurie is having a very good day! The doctors did not get started on the Avastin injection until about 10:00 p.m. last night, but it went well. She does have some swelling today, which is to be expected after having her eyes dilated and examined each day Monday-Thursday this week and the injections last night! She has rested well today and the procedure does not seem to have affected her breathing or feeding. Her doctors did not make any changes in her care plan. She is still taking 35 cc every 3 hours and 3-4 bottle feedings a day, which we continued today. Laurie weighed 4 lbs. 5oz. last night! Thanks to all of you who said a special prayer last night for Laurie. We have faith that the procedure will work! The eye doctor will back next week to check her!

Laurie and I are looking forward to Todd arriving any minute now! I hope you all have a great weekend!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole and Laurie

September 18, 2008 1:30 pm

2008-09-17T14:04:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! Laurie is doing well today, yet Mom and Dad are a little anxious! The retinal specialist came last night to check Laurie's eyes again and to treat her eyes. Prior to the specialist coming Todd and I had decided to go with the laser surgery option (because it has been performed for 20 years and therefore there is result data available--50% reduction of a severe outcome-hemorrhage or detachment/blindness--still not great odds). However, the doctor strongly believes that the Avastin injection will be be Laurie's best chance for "normal" vision. We did not realize that Laurie's condition had progressed this far, so we decided to wait until today so that Todd and I could discuss the options further. After much discussion with Laurie's other doctors and prayer, we have decided that we have no other choice, but to do the injections. Although Avastin is not FDA approved for ROP, it does seem to be the best chance for Laurie's sight(It has been FDA approved for other diseases such as cancer). This drug has been successful in stopping abnormal growth and neither hemorrhage or detachment should occur with the injection. However, it has only been used for about 3-4 years, so there is not much data to see the long term effects on preemies. The doctors will do the injection tonight between 5-7 p.m. It should take 1-2 minutes per eye, so this short amount of time should not affect her breathing. We may have to wait a few days to resume bottle feeding. The doctors will check Laurie's eyes again in a week and should be able to see improvement by then. She will be closely monitored over the next few weeks, months, and years.

We are trusting God to use this procedure to heal Laurie's eyes! We have already seen Him work miracles in her life and answer our prayers! Please pray specifically for the doctors performing the injection, for there to be no further complications from the procedure, and for visible healing to begin!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 17, 2008 4:20 p.m.

2008-09-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! Although Laurie is having a good day, today has also brought about many important decisions about her care that Todd and I are having to make via phone calls! The retinal specialist did do another eye exam on Laurie late last night and called me to discuss treatment options for ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). After faxing over more information for me to read and discuss with Todd, he will be coming over to do another eye exam and possibly do treatment tonight. This will make her third eye exam in three days. Our treatment options are laser surgery or an injection of avastin into her eyes. Not only do we have further questions about the treatment options, but also concerns about the possibility of the treatment causing her to regress with breathing and feeding. As we have learned from the past few weeks, one procedure or change can affect many other areas of Laurie's care. We are trying to weigh all the options and make the best decisions for Laurie now and for her future health! Please pray specifically for wisdom as we make these decisions about treatment, Laurie's doctors as they perform the procedure tonight or tomorrow, and that treatment will stop the progression of abnormal blood vessels while limiting vision loss.

Laurie is still taking 35 cc every 3 hours and taking three feeds by bottle each day. She gained an ounce last night and weighs 4 lbs. 3 oz. She is still on 26%-30% oxygen in the OE.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 16, 2008 3:00 pm

2008-09-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

(Good afternoon! Laurie is having another good day. The doctors increased her feeds to 35 cc every 3 hours and we will try 3 bottle feeds today. Laurie gained 10 grams last night, but still weighs 4 lbs. 2 oz. and is 16 1/2 inches long. She has also come down to 26% on her OE settings. Late yesterday afternoon the ophthalmologist examined Laurie's eyes again and the ROPretinopathy of prematurity) does seem to be progressing. Another ophthalmologist will come by sometime today to go over treatment options for Laurie, which could be medication or laser surgery. Thank you so much for your continued love, support, and prayers. God has blessed and provided for us through your kind gestures! Please continue to pray for Laurie's eyes!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 15, 2008 2:15 pm

2008-09-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! We are having a quiet day here in dreary Birmingham. Over the weekend the doctors increased Laurie's feeds to 33 cc every 3 hours, but have not made any other changes today. I am still feeding her with a bottle for two feedings a day--6:30 a.m. and p.m. Laurie also continues to grow and weighed 4 lbs. 2 oz. last night. She is on 28% oxygen in her isolette, so hopefully we will be at room air (21%) very soon and can move to an open crib. Although Cole was not able to go in to see Laurie this weekend due to having a "runny nose", we enjoyed having Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy here with us! The time just passes too fast on the weekends when they are here! Thanks for continuing to check in on Laurie and for your prayers. Please continue to pray for her lung development, eyes, and resistance to infections!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 12, 2008 6:00 pm

2008-09-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Laurie gets comfortable after taking her 6:30 a.m. bottle.

Laurie in her "little glass house"!

Hello everyone! Laurie has had another great day! She did much better yesterday with spacing her bottle feedings further apart. We will continue to try bottle feeds at 6:30 a.m. and again at 6:30 p.m. through the weekend. Hopefully, next week we will begin trying three bottle feeds a day. She must be taking all eight of her daily feeds by bottle before going home, so we are slowly working toward that goal! Laurie did reach the 4lb. mark last night!! She is such a big girl! The doctors also ordered an eye culture today because Laurie continues to have drainage from her left eye. They have already begun treatment for the infection.

While Laurie had a restful day, I spent the afternoon getting ready for Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy to arrive. As some of you know, Cole is not allowed to stay overnight at the UAB townhouse due to many other guests being here for transplants etc... We of course understand that little ones often bring in harmful germs, but we do have to make alternate plans when Cole comes for the weekend. The Alabama Power Company offers a great service to families of hospitalized members who need short term lodging while in Birmingham. We are so thankful that we have been able to stay at one of their townhouses the weekends that Cole comes, rather than having to get a hotel for the weekend. However, this does require that we "pack-up" and take clothes, linens, and food to the Alabama Power townhouse several blocks away. After moving all our "stuff", Laurie and I are now all ready for the boys and MeMa to get here!!!

Thanks for your continued prayers, love, and support! We are truly blessed! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung and eye development! Hope you all have a restful and safe weekend! I will post again on Monday!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 11, 2008 4:15 p.m.

2008-09-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! Still not a lot to report from the CCN! Laurie is having a great day! Today we are trying to spread out her two bottle feedings so she doesn't tire out so easy. I gave Laurie her
6:30 a.m. feed in a bottle and will try again tonight at her 6:30 p.m. feeding. Last night she only took about half of her 2nd bottle feed before she began de-sating. We decided to stop and give the rest through her feeding tube. We will slowly continue to try increasing her bottle feeds. Hopefully, by next week we can try 3 bottle feeds a day. She is finally putting on the ounces and weighed 3 lbs. 15 oz. last night. She could reach the 4 lb. mark by tonight!! We are also trying to wean her off the oxygen in her OE. Thanks for your continued prayers. We can see them being answered each day! Please pray for Laurie's continued growth and for safe travel as Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy come to Birmingham tomorrow.

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 10, 2008 5:15 pm

2008-09-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hi! Laurie is enjoying the rainy day in Birmingham by sleeping and growing! The doctors have not made many changes with her care plan today. They increased her feeds to 30 cc every 3 hours and we will now be trying 2 bottle feeds a day. She took all 30 cc this morning and I will try her second bottle at her 6:30 pm feed. Hopefully, she will be able to handle the two bottle feedings without becoming too tired. It just takes lots of energy to suck, swallow, and breathe! Laurie contiues to gain weight and weighed 3 lbs. 11 oz. last night! Thanks for your continued prayers.

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 9, 2008 5:30 pm

2008-09-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

After my bath last night with nothing on my face!

Hello everyone! Laurie is having another very good day! Late yesterday afternoon the doctors tried her off the nasal canula again and she is back on OE (oxygen environment). She seems to be handling this very well! They did increase her feeds again today to 29 cc every 3 hours and I gave her the entire 12:30 feed with a bottle! She also continues to gain weight and weighed 3 lbs. 10 oz. last night. Laurie had another eye exam today and there are signs of mild ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). However, the ophthalmologist stated that there is no more scarring than he would have expected in a preemie born at 23 weeks gestation. When babies are born prematurely, the growth of the retinal capillaries is interrupted and when they begin growing again they can grow too fast, which can lead to scarring and damage to the retina. This is what seems to be happening with Laurie, so we are praying the capillaries' growth slows before more scarring and vision problems occur. The ophthalmologist will check her again next week and continue to monitor the capillaries in her eyes to determine if later treatment will be needed. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development, eyes, and eating tolerance!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 8, 2008 2:40 pm

2008-09-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

Please, no more pictures Mommy!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Laurie had a few "bumps" late Saturday. After we gave her the 12:30 bottle, she began having more frequent and lower de-sat spells. She also had a couple of bradys and had to be "bagged" back up twice. Laurie was just trying to let us know that we were moving a little too fast for her with taking away the nasal canula and trying bottle feeds once a day! Therefore, the doctors decided to put her back on the nasal canula. They also ordered a blood gas which showed her hematocrit was low. So on Sunday morning she had a blood transfusion (30 cc). We decided to let Laurie rest on Sunday and did not try to bottle feed (as this burns lots of calories and energy). Laurie seems to be doing much better today (fewer de-sats and not as low) with the nasal canula back and fresh blood. We did resume bottle feeds today and she was able to take most of her 12:30 feed. The doctors did not make any other changes in her care plan today.

Many of you have been asking about when we might be able to come home. Although Laurie has made lots of progress, we still have a ways to go before we will be ready. The doctors say that a good estimate is until her original due date, which was October 19th. There are also several milestones we have to reach before going home--taking all feeds by bottle; continuously gaining weight (not a specific weight); in an open crib, preferably on room air only; and at least five consecutive days without any apnea or brady spells. Hopefully, Laurie continue to make progress towards these goals so that we can come home by mid-October!

Thanks for continuing to keep up with Laurie's progress and for your continued prayers. We know that we would not have made it this far without the support of our family and friends!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 5, 2008

2008-09-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! We are having another uneventful day in the CCN. Laurie continues to gain weight and weighed 3 lbs. 7 oz. last night. I was able to give her a bottle at her 12:30 feeding and she took all 26 cc.! As you can see from the picture she has had her eyes wide open today. I believe she is anxiously waiting for her Daddy to get here! Cole will be spending the weekend with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Tammy. The girls are already teaching him how to "fight" with a sister!!! Since Todd will be here, I will not post again until Monday. I hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for your continued love, support, and prayers! We are so blessed with wonderful family and friends!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 4, 2008 3:00 pm

2008-09-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

We do put the nasal canula back in to help with breathing while she is bottle feeding!

Hello everyone! Laurie is having another quiet day to rest and grow. Her doctor and nurse practitioners made rounds this morning and are very pleased with Laurie's progress. She is getting 27%-30% oxygen in her isolette on OE. We are trying to slowly wean her down to room air or 21% oxygen and of course we would prefer she had fewer de-sat spells. Hopefully, this will all come as Laurie's lungs continue to grow and develop. As you can see from the pictures, Laurie tried taking a bottle again today and was able to take the whole, increased amount of 26 cc! This still requires lots of energy and burns many precious calories, so we will only be giving her a bottle for one of her feedings each day for the time being. She continued to gain weight last night and now weighs 3 lbs. 5 oz.! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development, tolerance of feedings, and resistance to infections! Also, pray for safe travel as Todd comes to Birmingham tomorrow night.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 3, 2008 6:00 pm

2008-09-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hi from Birmingham! Laurie and I are having a great week with many "firsts". She has continued to do well without the nasal canula on OE. Today Laurie also took her first bottle! Although she was not able to take all 25 cc by bottle, she did latch on several times. Laurie also gained a few grams last night, but not enough to change her weight from 3 lbs. 4 oz. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. I am amazed by all God has done in Laurie's short life! She is truly a miracle!!!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 2, 2008

2008-09-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! Laurie is having another great day. The nurse practitioner decided to try her off of the nasal canula and on oxygen environment (OE) only. This is just oxygen pumped into her isolette with Laurie doing all the breathing on her own. She is still having her normal de-sats, but seems to be tolerating the OE very well. They have also increased her feeds again to 25 cc every 3 hours. She gained another ounce last night and now weighs 3 lbs. 4 oz.! I hope you all have had a great Tuesday back to work! Enjoy the four day week! Thanks for continuing to check on Laurie and for your prayers!

NOTHING in my nose!
Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

September 1, 2008 7:00 pm

2008-09-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Cole feeding Laurie!

All four of us!

Hello everyone! Laurie and I have had a wonderful, long weekend with Todd and Cole. We also enjoyed seeing all our other visitors! Todd and I were able to have some quiet time holding and playing with Laurie, while Cole entertained Nana and other visitors! Cole also loved rubbing Laurie's back and tried his best to persuade every nurse he saw to let him hold her! Sunday, Laurie's nurse finally took her out of the isolette and let him give her a kiss on the top of her head. He was so proud, but turned immediately around and said, "Now can I hold her!" We seem to have two very persistent and strong-willed children! Since Laurie was doing so well, we also had a chance to take Cole away from the hospital to eat and even find a playground. I was so thankful that Laurie was doing well enough that we could enjoy having some play time with big brother!

Over the weekend, the doctors have not made many changes in Laurie's care plan. They did increase her feeds to 24 cc every 3 hours. Friday night Laurie made the 3 lb. mark and now weighs 3lbs. 3oz!

We have really enjoyed our move to the CCN. We are now in a small room with only five other babies. The room is much more quiet and we have lots more room to move around. I am even posting tonight while sitting at Laurie's bedside! This allows me to periodically reach in to remind her to breathe when she de-sats and change a diaper when needed! Laurie and I finally persuaded Nana, MeMa, and Daddy that we are "big girls" and will be here by ourselves this week! Hopefully, she will have a quiet week of growing!

Thank you for your continued prayers! We can see God at work each day!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 29, 2008 12:30 pm

2008-08-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

My first bath in a real "tub"!

I loved my bath!

Saying my bedtime prayers!

Asleep at last!

Hello everyone! The RNICU gave Laurie a big 2 month birthday surprise by moving her down to the Continuing Care Nursery (CCN) at shift change last night! We were expecting this move by the end of the month, but yesterday afternoon the unit got very busy and they needed space for more critical babies. We were blessed to be the most stable of the critical babies! Laurie has had several good weeks and we felt much more comfortable with the move this time.

Since Laurie changed to the nasal canula on Wednesday, she has been having more frequent de-sat and bradycardia (slowing of the heart rate) spells. However, the doctors are watching her closely and giving her a chance to adjust to the nasal canula. She has not quite reached the three pound mark yet, and weighed 2 lbs. 14 oz. last night. We have also been changed over to the nurse practitioner service where Laurie will have the same nurse practitioner and attending for the rest of our time here, rather than changing interns, residents, and attendings each month. Hopefully, this will provide more consistent care for Laurie!

I had the opportunity to hold Laurie again last night and rock her in an actual rocking chair! After rocking, I was able to give Laurie her first "real" bath! She loved being able to sit in the "tub". I realize that these two events are nothing new for most two month olds, but were BIG baby steps for us! I am definitely learning a new appreciation for the "little things".

Thanks for your continued prayers and support! We are seeing prayers being answered each day! Please pray for travel safety for Todd and Cole as they come to Birmingham tonight for the long weekend. As long as there are no changes with Laurie, I will probably not blog again until late Monday afternoon when they go home. I hope you all have a great Friday and a safe holiday!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 28, 2008 2:45 pm

2008-08-28T12:22:00.001-07:00

Laurie is two months old today! She did not quite make the 3 lb. mark last night, but is very close at 2 lbs. 15 oz. Maybe at tonight's weigh-in she will get that extra ounce! The doctors have increased her feeds again to 20 cc every 3 hours. Laurie continues to do well on the nasal canula, but does still have her usual de-sats. We pray that she will be able to continue to hold her own with the nasal canula! Today is yet another quiet day for her to grow! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development and wisdom for Todd and me has we make decisions about her care.

Gabe Sims's surgery has been canceled for now. There is still uncertainty about how to best proceed with his treatment. As you can imagine, this is very difficult and frustrating for his parents. Please continue to remember their family in your prayers.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 27, 2008

2008-08-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

"They're out! Did anyone see me do that?!"

"FINALLY! Nothing on my face!"

"Now, if they would just leave me alone! I can do this by myself!"
(As my brother Cole has already taught me to say!)

"They just won't leave my nose alone, but at least these tubes are shorter!"

"Now I can breathe!"

Good morning everyone! Laurie has had enough of the C-pap and let us all know it this morning! During rounds the doctors decided to try taking her off the C-pap and putting her on a nasal canula. This is simply a small tube in her nose giving oxygen, but with her breathing on her own. Before the orders could be put in the computer, Laurie had pulled out the long C-pap tubes three times. On the third time her nurse decided to leave them out and see how she would handle this. Fifteen minutes later the respiratory therapist came to change her over to nasal canula and realized that Laurie had done most of the work for her! After her first feat of getting the tubes out, she was in the process of attempting to take off the C-pap face bar too. However, the therapist did have to assist her with the bar. As you can see from the pictures, there is nothing on Laurie's face but the canula and feeding tube!!! I know she must feel so much better! She has been fighting with those C-pap tubes for weeks now! In addition to her breathing improvements, Laurie also continues to gain weight. She weighed 2 lbs. 15 oz. last night. She has almost added another pound! We are so thankful for Laurie's continued improvements! God is good!!!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 26, 2008 1:15 pm

2008-08-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hello from wet Birmingham! Laurie is having another great day with no changes. Her doctors do not seem to be in any hurry to rush her off the C-pap. They are just giving her time to become more consistent with her breathing and to have fewer de-sats, although Laurie sure would like to have the C-pap out of her nose. She has learned how to wiggle and push her head back to get them out and has shown us several times already this morning! She weighed 2 lbs. 12 oz. last night. Her eye exam yesterday continues to show only immature vessels, which is good at this point.

Gabe Sims's surgery was moved to Thursday, August 28, 2008 due to scheduling issues for the doctors. Please continue to pray for his parents as they wait! He too still has a long road ahead. I will keep you posted on his progress.

Thanks for keeping up with Laurie's blog and for your continued prayers.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 25, 2008 2:15 pm

2008-08-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Todd gets to hold Laurie for the 1st time! 8.24.08

Hello everyone! Laurie is taking advantage of the rainy day by sleeping and growing! Todd, Laurie and I had a very quiet and restful weekend! While Cole spent the weekend between Nana's and MeMa's--I'm sure it was not so quiet for them with Cole around!!! Laurie continues to do well and the doctors have made very few changes the past few days. They did increase her feeds yesterday to 19 cc every 3 hours and she continues to gain weight--2 lbs. 12 oz. last night. Laurie will have another routine eye exam later this afternoon.

I was able to hold Laurie twice this weekend and Todd held her for the first time on Sunday! We tried holding Laurie with her receiving oxygen using a nasal canula, rather than blow-by and she tolerated it very well. This was such a special time for us and made holding her much easier (less tubing)! I believe that we are getting very close to coming off the C-pap! Thank you for your continued prayers! We see the results of prayer each day!

Also, please say a special prayer for the Sims family. Amy, the mother of another baby here in the RNICU, and I have become good friends over the past month . She and her husband have also had to make many difficult decisions for their new baby and triplet sons at home. After days of deliberation with many different doctors, Gabe will be having heart surgery tomorrow for a rare heart condition.

I hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 22, 2008 1:30 pm

2008-08-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! Laurie continues to do well today! The doctors decreased her pressures on the C-pap this morning--slowly weaning her off! Last night while the nurse completed her assessment, I was able to hold Laurie through the portholes of her isolette with only blow-by oxygen (prongs out of her nose). We are trying short periods of time without the C-pap, attempting to get her ready for the next big step-- OE (oxygen environment, where oxygen is blown into the isolette and Laurie does the breathing on her own). She did drop an ounce last night to 2 lbs. 8 oz. Laurie and I look forward to her Daddy arriving tonight so she can "show off" this week's weight gain and breathing abilities. Please continue to pray for Laurie's growth and development. God has blessed us with another great week! Have a restful and safe weekend! Hope all we get back home is lots of rain!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 21, 2008 1:00 pm

2008-08-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

It is always a great day when we can snuggle!

Hello everyone! Laurie has been doing so well this week that I was able to hold her this morning for about an hour! These days are still so few, but all the more special!!! The doctors did not make any changes to her care plan today. She gained an ounce last night and weighed 2 lbs. 9 oz. Late yesterday afternoon, Laurie's nurse did do an eye culture to check for infection because it periodically "runs". We have not heard anything back on it today and "no news is good news" with all cultures! Hopefully, this is just an immature tear duct that has not opened. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development and that there is no infection found. Please also pray for safe travel as Todd and Mrs. Judy travel to and from Birmingham tomorrow!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 20, 2008 1:45 pm

2008-08-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! Laurie is having another quiet day to rest and grow! Last night the doctors decreased her C-pap settings by taking away the rate, so hopefully we will be completely off C-pap very soon! They increase her feeds to 18 cc every 3 hours and she weighed 2 lbs. 8 oz. last night. Mrs. Judy and I are also enjoying these peaceful days with few changes! We love sitting at Laurie's bedside just watching as she wiggles and kicks about, but we have also been able to complete some of the other daily chores that must be done--laundry, cleaning, paying bills, and the dreaded Wal-Mart trip! I hope you all are having a great day! Thanks so much for your continued love, support, and prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 19, 2008 11:45 pm

2008-08-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hello! Laurie is having another good day! Last night she weighed 2 lbs. 10 oz. and measured 15 inches long! What a BIG girl?! The doctors are continuing to wean her rate, pressure, and oxygen levels on the C-pap and she will have another routine eye exam later today. Although Laurie loves her "tummy time", we are trying to persuade her to try her back for awhile. In this position breathing is a little bit more of a chore for her, so her oxygen settings have been up this morning. However, she has enjoyed stretching, kicking, and moving about! Her nurse, Tatyana, said that she would let her finish her morning exercises and then turn her back to her tummy with her lunch feeding--such an exciting life here in the RNICU! Hope you all have a wonderful day! Thanks for continuing to check in on Laurie and for all your prayers! We can see them being answered each day!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 18, 2008 3:30 pm

2008-08-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Laurie sleeping and growing!

Cole is so excited that Laurie has on clothes!

Laurie already has Daddy wrapped around her tiny, little finger!

Good afternoon! Laurie has had another great day! The doctors have decreased her rate on the C-pap again and she is tolerating it well. Hopefully, we can wean off the C-pap soon. They also increased her feeds to 17 cc every 3 hours and she weighed 2 lbs. 7 oz. last night. All cultures from last Thursday's work-up have been negative and they have discontinued her antibiotics. As of now Laurie will stay in the RNICU until the end of the month. We will meet with the nurse managers from both floors and have a better transition plan in place before trying to move Laurie again!!

We enjoyed the weekend with Todd and Cole here with us! As our time apart grows longer, saying goodbye on Sundays in becoming more difficult for all of us, especially Cole. Please continue to pray for Laurie's growth and for Cole's adjustment to the situation. We sincerely thank you for your continued prayers--it has sustained us through the last two months!!!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 15, 2008 1:30 pm

2008-08-15T11:16:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! Laurie is having a good day. All of her tests results from early Thursday morning have been negative! Her C-Pap settings and feeds remain the same. She weighed 2 lbs. 6 oz. last night. She continues to be on antibiotics probably for another day or so until 72 hours has passed for the cultures.

Todd, Cole, and Daddy Dale will be coming this weekend, so I probably will not post again until Monday. If we have any changes for the good or bad this weekend, I will post sooner. Please pray for their safe travel tonight and Mrs. Judy's on Sunday. I hope you all have a great Friday and restful weekend!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 14, 2008 6:00 pm

2008-08-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hello from RNICU!!! Yes we are back! Evidently we didn't explain to Laurie the benefits of moving floors and she did not agree with the change! She missed all her nurses in RNICU too much!

When Mother and I returned to the CCN last night at 8:30 pm, Laurie was having a lot of de-sat spells, her heart rate was elevated, and her temperature was up. All of these could have been explained by some of the circumstances of the day (change in beds to move down, albuterol treatment earlier in the day, blood transfusion, and late afternoon rate change on C-pap), but together these things could have also indicated infection. Therefore, at 1;15 am we we received a call that the doctors were going to do a complete work-up on Laurie again. Mother and I returned to the CCN to find Laurie 's situation to be "normal" for her in our opinion, but I agreed for the doctors to do their testing. She had to have a blood and urine culture, CBC, and spinal tap done again. As of late this afternoon there have been no abnormalities found. She has resumed full feeds and is resting comfortably with her rate, pressure, and oxygen levels where they were yesterday before moving down. I am learning to trust my "mother instincts" and will be more proactive in Laurie's care plan when so many changes are done at one time. This is definitely a learning process!!!! Hopefully the next few days will be a time to rest from the trauma of last night and a more complete care plan will be made before we attempt to move again. The best news is that Laurie is still doing very well to be such a young and small baby! Thank you for your continued love, support, and prayers! Please continue to pray for the nurses, doctors, and us as we make important decisions in Laurie's care plan!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 13, 2008 7:30pm

2008-08-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

Miss Diane took great care of me on my last day in the RNICU!
Thanks to my care plan team nurses--Diane, Tatyana, Amanda E., Amanda H., Tracy T., Kristen, Lisa, Caroline, Frank, Emily, and Jennifer W.
You are the BEST!

I'm graduating to CCN! Such a big girl!
8-13-08

Hi everyone! We have very exciting news today---Laurie is moving down to the CCN-Continuing Care Nursery (as I am writing)! This is a nursery for less critical babies!!! While this is a big step for Laurie, it is little sad for us because we have grown to love and respect the nurses on her care team. They have taken such wonderful care of Laurie, as well as all of us--helping us navigate our way through the questions and challenges of having a preemie! We now have the task of choosing another care team of nurses who will best take care of Laurie.

Other than moving Laurie to the 4th floor, the doctors did not make any changes in her care plan today. She continues to be on the C-pap, but with very low rate, pressure, and oxygen settings. Her feeding schedule remains the same, as does her weight of 2 lbs. 5 oz.

Please continue to pray for Laurie's development, Cole's adjustment to a new routine, and wisdom for Todd and I as we try to make the best decisions for both of them!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 12, 2008 7:30 pm

2008-08-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for Kangaroo Care with Mommy!

It takes a team effort of time and patience to get Laurie ready to be held!

Finally she is comfy!

This time together was worth all the trouble!!!!

Hello! Today was an exciting day with Laurie weighing 2 lbs. 5 oz.! She has now gained one whole pound since her birth on June 28, 2008! The doctors also weaned her rate on the C-pap today and she has tolerated it well. Laurie had her first eye exam today which showed immature blood vessels in her retina and no sign of abnormal growth, both of which are good signs at this point. She will continue to have frequent eye exams to watch for ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) which is a weakening of the retina that can cause long-term vision problems. I was also able to hold Laurie for over an hour this afternoon. This is always a special treat for both of us! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development, weight gain, and vision!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 11, 2008 12:45 pm

2008-08-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

August 7, 2008 Cole's 1st day of Kindergarten!

Cole teaches Nana and MeMa how to play "Go Fish"! He's the Champion!

Laurie enjoys sleeping and growing! She is a big girl now at 2 lbs. 3 oz! No ribs showing now!!

Hi from the RNICU! We are having another quiet day for Laurie to grow. It has been a busy morning with a visit from Grandmother Artelma, Aunt Diane, Aunt Jan, Uncle Ronnie, Denise and Collin. Laurie enjoys having company!!!

The doctors increased Laurie's feeds yesterday to 16 cc and she weighed 2 lbs. 3 oz. last night. They have not made any more changes today. Now that she is finally back on the C-pap the doctors seem happy to allow her time for her lungs to grow and develop.

During the hours spent in the waiting room we have also made friends with families whose babies have many more problems than Laurie. Together we try to celebrate the good days and cry with each other on the bad days. We were sad to learn last night that Eli, a five month old preemie, who had "graduated" to the next NICU passed away on Thursday. Due to patient confidentiality laws we do not know the circumstances of his death. Please keep the Fowler family in your thoughts and prayers, as well as the other babies and families who are here.

This whole experience is definitely an emotional "roller coaster" for our entire family. Although it was great to be at home with Cole for a his first day of school, the extended time apart seems to be taking a toll on all of us. Please continue to pray for Laurie's growth and for Cole as he adjust to school and being away from Moma for so long. Please also pray that God will give Todd and me wisdom as we try to make the best decisions for our family!

To all my teacher friends, please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers this week! Hang in there!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 9, 2008 9:45 pm (6 weeks old)

2008-08-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Todd, Cole, and I arrived back to Birmingham last night after I made a whirlwind trip back home. Laurie did great with her grandmothers while I was away and has had another great day today. The doctors are not making many changes with her C-Pap rate, pressure, or oxygen settings at this time--just giving her some time to adjust. They did increase her feeds to 16 cc every 3 hours and she gained up to 2 lbs. 3 oz.!!! She also measured 13 1/4 inches long. We can see her growing right before our eyes! Thanks for your continued prayers and support. Please continue to pray for Laurie's growth. Also, pray for safety as Todd, Cole, and Mrs. Judy travel home tomorrow!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 7, 2008 10:00 P.M.

2008-08-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

Greetings from UAB Regional Newborn Intensive Care!
Laurie's Nanna and MeMa are writing this blog because Leah is busy at home with Todd and Cole. Today was Cole's first day at kindergarten. He allowed both Mommy and Daddy to accompany him. Of course, they were thrilled, so were we grandmothers! Laurie has been sooo good for us while her mommy is at home. For this, we give thanks! She remains on the C-Pap with a rate of 30, her O2 varies from time to time. Tonight she reached two pounds AGAIN. Our prayer is that Laurie can keep gaining weight. We grandmothers have absolutely no trouble with this. Her wonderfully attentive nurses assure us that Laurie is doing well which makes both Nanna and MeMa happy. What a great and mighty God we serve! Throughout the past almost six weeks, we have witnessed His power and His grace as we have watched the miracle of our precious granddaughter Laurie Anne! We cannot praise Him enough for all He has done and continues to do. Thank you for your faithful prayers which give us encouragement and comfort.

Love,
Nanna and MeMa

August 6, 2008 7:15pm

2008-08-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I am posting tonight from HOME!! Don't worry Laurie has had a great day with both her grandmothers watching over her nurses' shoulders carefully! After seven weeks in Birmingham, I left Laurie, only to come home for Cole's first day of Kindergarten. If it had not been for Laurie's early arrival, I would not have had this luxury as I would have been with my new Kindergarten class. Laurie's doctors assurred me that she has the best and most expensive "babysitters" around and I agreed that she has a wonderful care team of nurses watching her while I am away (although I'm sure they will get tired of me calling every few hours)!

Laurie continues to do well on the C-pap. She did loose a little weight last night and weighed 1 lb. 15 oz. However, this was expected after starting the diuretics yesterday. Although I was very nervous leaving Laurie today, it has been great being at home with Todd and Cole tonight! I am thankful that Laurie is doing so well and I have been able to come home for a short visit. Thanks for all your continued prayers! God has blessed us with a wonderful family and terrific friends!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 5, 2008 3:20 pm

2008-08-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

Quick snapshot between taking out vent tube and starting C-Pap! Sorry so blurred!

I'm finally on the C-pap again and can enjoy my "pappy"!

Good afternoon everyone! God continues to answer our prayers! This morning during rounds the doctors decided to try Laurie off the vent. She has been on the C-pap since about 11:30 a.m. and seems to be doing well! The C-pap is a technique where a tube is placed in her nose and oxygen under pressure is blown down into the lungs. As many of you know this is Laurie's second time on the C-pap. The last time she was on it for about 13 days before going back to the vent. We are praying that Laurie's lungs are now more developed and she will not have to go back to the vent! Laurie also weighed in last night at 2 pounds!!! Thanks to all of you who continue to keep up with Laurie's progress and pray for her growth. We would not have made it this far on our journey without your love, support, and prayers! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lungs to grow and develop.

Love to all,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 4, 2008 2:30 pm

2008-08-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Hi! Laurie is having another good day! The the only changes the doctors made today was to add two diuretics and a multi-vitamin to her plan. The diuretics are common for preemies who have been on the vent for extended time periods and should help keep her lungs "dry". Laurie continues 15 cc feedings every 3 hours and still weighed 1 1b. 15 oz. last night. We are trying to help Laurie gain ounces by providing "hindmilk"and human milk fortifier (x2) both of which contain high fat content and extra protein, minerals, and vitamins. I did have the opportunity to meet with Laurie's care team this afternoon, including the attending for August, two of her nurses, one of the respiratory therapists, and the nurse manager. This meeting was very informative and hopefully will help maintain consistency in Laurie's treatment. We were also able to discuss Laurie's plans and goals for this month. Please continue to pray for Laurie's doctors and nurses as they make frequent decisions about her care! Also, please continue to pray for her to be able to come off the vent soon with minimal lung damage!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 3, 2008 5:00 pm

2008-08-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Laurie has had a quiet day to rest and grow! The only change the doctors made today was to increase her feeds to 15 cc every 3 hrs. She weighed 1 lb. 15 oz. last night! We are about to reach the two pound mark! Hopefully, Laurie will be able to wean off the vent this week. Mrs. Judy arrived this afternoon and Todd is on his way home. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development and that she will be able to come off the vent soon!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 2, 2008 9:30 pm (35 days old)

2008-08-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Todd, Laurie, and I are having a restful weekend. The doctors have not changed anything with Laurie's care plan today. She is continuing to be weaned off the vent and is tolerating her increased feedings of 14 cc every three hours well. She weighed 1 lb. and 14 oz. last night. Today Laurie got a new, clean isolette , which has to be done every few weeks, so I was able to hold her while they changed out beds. Laurie was doing so well that I was able to hold her for about two hours!! Being able to hold her today was a big treat for all of us! Hope you all are having a great weekend. Thanks for your continued love, support, and prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

August 1, 2008 1:15 pm

2008-08-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hi! Since today is the beginning of a new month, Laurie has new attending doctors, residents, and interns. I met them all this morning and they are planning to try a few new things that might help get Laurie off the vent sooner--just some "new eyes" looking at her treatment! An x-ray done yesterday showed signs of some lung tissue damage from the vent so it is important that they get her off ASAP. They are also going to do another culture tomorrow on vent tube secretions to check for any further infections. Her rate and pressure numbers are being decreased slowly and she seems to be tolerating this well. Our prayer is that she will be put back on the C-pap soon. Laurie weighed 1 pound 14 ounces last night. We are looking forward to a big celebration when we reach the 2 pound mark!!

Please continue to pray that Laurie will be able to come off the vent soon with minimal lung damage! Hope you all have a great weekend! All of my teacher friends, please try to get some rest--I know you will need it by the end of next week! I am praying for all of you as you begin a new school year!!!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 31, 2008 12:45 pm

2008-07-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Today starting off to be much better than last Thursday! The doctors did not make any changes this morning during rounds. Laurie is completing her last day of antibiotics. Her rate and pressures have been weaned quite a bit, however she is still requiring too much oxygen to take her off of the vent at this point. Laurie still weighed 1lb. 13 oz. last night. Natasha, Laurie has a very "fancy" bed--it weighs without having to move her! Don't ask me how this works!?! It will even convert her weight from grams to pounds and ounces, which means no calculating for me!!! Thirty grams equals one ounce, so she may gain a few grams at night without the ounces actually changing.

Please continue to remember Laurie and her doctors and nurses in your prayers. Also, remember Todd and Mother has they travel to and from Birmingham tomorrow.

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 30, 2008 10:30 am

2008-07-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hi! The doctors made their rounds early today and decreased Laurie's rate and pressures on the vent a little more. Hopefully, she will tolerate these changes and be able to come off the vent soon! Her weight today is 1 lb. 13 oz. As you can tell from the picture most of that seems to be in her cheeks! Cole would have been so happy last night to see her dressed in a cap, shirt, and booties! Of course this was the one time I didn't have my camera with me, but the nurses made some pictures for us. By this morning Laurie had shed the cap and booties--I'm sure she just wiggled and kicked out of them! She still pulls and wiggles anything that is attached to her--like her vent tube, IV, beanie pillows, etc... She would probably get rid of the shirt if she could! It is good to see that she is back to her feisty self!

Please continue to pray for Laurie to come off the vent soon with as little damage as possible done to her lungs. Thanks for your continued love and prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 29, 2008 12:30 pm

2008-07-29T10:17:00.001-07:00

Hello! We are having another quiet day, which means Laurie is doing just what she is suppose to do--rest and grow. We once again witnessed answered prayers this morning when we received news that Laurie's 30 day head ultrasound results were normal!!! The doctors did not make any further changes to her care plan today. They will continue to wean the rate, pressures, and oxygen settings on her vent. Laurie also weighed 1lb. 12 oz. last night. Please continue to pray for her lung development and praise for the normal ultrasound results! God continues to bless us daily!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 28, 2008 2:00

2008-07-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

I am one month old today!!!

Hi from the RNICU! Today the doctors are continuing to slowly wean Laurie's rate, pressure, and oxygen levels on the vent! The blood and spinal tap cultures are still negative for infection. Her 30 day brain ultrasound was done last night, but the results are not back yet. Laurie has gained another oz. and now weighs 1 lb. 12 oz. We are celebrating Laurie's 1 month birthday with a quiet day for her lungs to grow and develop. A new friend of another baby in the RNICU made her the cutest birthday hat. I just couldn't resist showing everyone her 1 month birthday pictures!!! Thank you all so much for your prayers over the last month! Please continue to remember Laurie, her nurses and doctors, and the other babies in the RNICU in your prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 27, 2008 6:30pm

2008-07-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

Cole and Laurie--July 27, 2008

Hey everyone! I know some of you have been worried since I have not posted this weekend, but we have had computer problems (this time it was not the me, believe it or not!) and Cole was here, which left little time to deal with computer issues! He was more interested in going shopping to get supplies for "big school"!

Laurie seems to be slowly recovering from the pneumonia and the stress of Thursday's testing! She is back to full feeds of 12 cc every 3 hours and weighed 1lb. and 11 oz. last night! She will have a few more days on the antibiotics, but has completed the IVIG and fluids. She had another blood transfusion (16 cc) today. Hopefully, this will help increase the red blood cells that carry oxygen, making it easier for her to breathe. Overall, she has had a good day today.

Thanks for caring and keeping up with Laurie's progress each day! It helps make us stronger to know that we have so much support, love, and prayers at home! Please continue to pray for Laurie to grow stronger and that her lungs will continue to develop!

Hope you have a great week!
Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

2008-07-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
Well, I am posting this blog from Elba because the internet at the hospital where Leah uses the computer each day is down. Laurie had a better day yesterday with the doctors leaving her alone and letting the antibiotics do their job. They put her back on feedings of 6cc and have increased that today to 12 cc. Leah said the doctors are trying to slowily wean her ventilator readings and hope to get her back on the C-pap as soon as possible. I will be returning to Birmingham tomorrow and Judy will come home. We are so blessed that we are both retired now and can take turns being with Leah so Todd can be at home to work and see about Cole.
If we don't have a blog again tomorrow, please know that we are still having internet problems. Hopefully, the next few days will be a time for Laurie to get stronger and return to the C-pap.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lungs and also for the doctors and nurses taking care of her.

Love,
Nancy

July 24, 2008 6:30pm

2008-07-24T17:21:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! Well, for the last 24+ hours we have been on the "roller-coaster" ride everyone has been warning us about. Late yesterday afternoon Laurie began having trouble keeping her sats stable. The doctors were not able to wean her oxygen rate or pressures without having her de-sat (drop in oxygen levels in the bloodstream). It was an afternoon and evening of watching her monitors and numbers fluctuate from one extreme to another! Mrs. Judy and I finally left the hospital at about midnight when she stabilized. However, during rounds this morning the doctors decided to do another complete work-up because she was still not able to tolerate the decrease in her vent settings and there were inconsistencies in last few blood gases (used to measure levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood). All signs of infection! Laurie has really had a long, hard day of testing! She has had a blood culture, CBC, spinal tap, blood transfusion (7cc), two IVs started, a blood gas, tube adjustment and an x-ray all done today! The x-ray and CBC confirmed that Laurie has pneumonia and a collapsed right lung. They have started her on 3 different antibiotics and IVIG (used to help her immune system). Currently her feedings have been stopped and she is getting IV fluids. Laurie did gain an oz. last night and weighs 1lb. 8oz. The preliminary results from the spinal tap look good--thank God! Please pray for Laurie to respond quickly to the antibiotics, her lung development, and wisdom for her doctors and nurses! Please also pray for safe travel as Todd and Cole come to Birmingham tomorrow! This will be the 1st time Cole will be staying the whole weekend and we had planned to be able to have some time with him. Hopefully, Laurie will stabilize enough that we will have the opportunity to do so!!! Thanks so much for your continued love, support, and prayers! We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful support system!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 23, 2008 11:45 am

2008-07-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hello! Laurie is having a good morning! Dr. Carlo began weaning her vent settings more aggressively this morning and she seems to be tolerating it well. Hopefully, she has had plenty of "rest" time the last few days and will be ready to go back on the C-pap soon! There were no other changes in her care plan this morning, so her feeds are continuing at 12 cc every 3 hrs. Laurie's weight stayed the same last night at 1 lb. 7 oz. We hope this will be a quiet day and that her lungs will do well as they wean her throughout the day! We continue to see prayers being answered daily! Thanks for your continued support, love, and prayers!
Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 22, 2008 5:00 pm

2008-07-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hi from Birmingham! Well, so much for being able to blog by lunch everyday! Our daily schedule is now being set by Laurie and the RNICU!!!

After a 1:00 am wake up call from Laurie's doctor stating that they had to re-intubate her with a larger tube due to her right lung still not getting enough oxygen, I was anxious to see her this morning when the doors opened at 8:15 am! When the doctor called me this morning she reassured me that Laurie was doing much better with the new tube, but I had to see her for myself! When I got here she was resting peacefully and her vent settings were lowered with her tolerating them well. The nurses have discovered that Laurie does better when all routine procedures are done at one time, so not to aggravate her. They are now referring to her as a "touch me not", since she seems to de-sat more often when she is being moved to take vitals, diaper changes, feedings, etc... She did gain 1 oz. last night and now weighs 1 lb. and 7 oz. I was able to stay with Laurie until about 9:45 am when they closed for another baby that was sick. Unfortunately, this was before the doctors had rounded on Laurie and they remained closed until 4:20 pm. I have been able to talk with her nurse throughout the day by phone, but have not been able to see Laurie very much today. This is just one of the frustrations of the RNICU! Yet, it also helps us realize that we are truly blessed to have another day with Laurie! We have witnessed so many families that are experiencing terrible sorrow and loss the past few days. Please continue to pray for Laurie, the other babies in the RNICU, and the doctors and nurses who are caring for them all! We are so thankful for all of you who are checking in daily on Laurie and for all of your prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 21, 2008 6:00 pm

2008-07-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

"Pretty in Pink" July 21, 2008

Hi everyone! Well, we could not get in to see Laurie today until about 11:15 am due to the RNICU being closed for other sick babies. When we were able to go in, we ended up staying with her for several hours because she still has not stabilized her rate, pressure, and oxygen settings. Therefore, they have not been able to wean her vent very much. They have discontinued her antibiotics today and she is still tolerating her feedings of 12 cc every 3 hrs. She still weighed 1 lb. 5 oz. last night. Laurie has been able to rest today and hopefully regain some strength after having her right lung collapse yesterday. Thanks for all your support and prayers! Please continue to pray for her lungs to develop and for her to be able to come off the vent again very soon!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 20, 2008 2:00 pm

2008-07-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Laurie has given us another little scare this morning! Early this morning she continued to have trouble breathing and a chest x-ray was done. Laurie's right lung had collapsed, so the doctors had to increase her rate, pressures, and oxygen levels on the vent to re-open the lung. She also had to have another blood transfusion (12 cc). This has seemed to help some and the doctors are continuing to adjust her settings as she will tolerate. They have just started her feedings back at 12 cc every 3 hrs. Laurie still weighed 1lb. 6oz. Another chest x-ray was just completed and it does look better, but she is still requiring a good bit of help with the vent. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development and that she will be able to come off the vent as soon as possible!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 19, 2008 (21 days old) 6:30 pm

2008-07-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! God has been so good to us! It doesn't take long around the RNICU to realize this--even when we think we are having a "set-back"! We still have a beautiful little girl today! Laurie is still on the vent and the doctors are working to decrease her rate settings. They tried increasing her feedings this morning to 9cc and again this afternoon to 12cc every 3 hours, which she has been able to handle. If she is still able to tolerate her 8:30 pm feeding of 12 cc, they will stop the IV fluids. She continues to be on a general antibiotic in case of infection. It will be at least 48 hrs. before we hear back from the blood work. Laurie did gain 20 grams last night and now weighs 1lb. 6oz. She is definitely more like herself today--kicking and wiggling around. She was just too still yesterday!! Hopefully she just needs a few more days to rest before trying the C-pap again! Thank you for your continued prayers. Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development and for there to be no infection found. Also, pray for safe travel as Todd goes home tomorrow and Mrs. Judy comes to Birmingham.

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 18, 2008 3:15 pm

2008-07-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we have officially had our first major set-back of this long process. Laurie's carbon dioxide numbers increased throughout the night and at about 1:00 am she was put back on the vent. She continues to be on the vent today with pretty high settings. The doctors started an IV and antibiotics in case infection was the cause of the high carbon numbers. However, she is not showing any physical signs of infection and we are still waiting on further testing results. When she was put back on the vent, all feedings were stopped, but this morning Dr. Carlo ordered feedings to resume at 6cc every 3 hrs. Laurie still weighed 1lb. 5oz. last night.

This has been a difficult day, but the doctors and nurses have reminded us that this is very common for preemies her size and age. We were told when she came off the vent that 2/3 of all preemies have to go back on at some point. So we knew this was a possibility. We are proud that she was able to stay on the C-pap for so long. We already know that Laurie is very strong-willed and will overcome the vent again!...she just needed to rest a little!

Please pray specifically for Laurie's lungs to not collapse any further and for her to come off the vent again as soon as possible. Also, that there is no infection found. Please pray for Todd as he travels to Birmingham this afternoon.

Have a great weekend!
Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 17, 2008 5:00 pm

2008-07-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We have had another uneventful day--thank goodness! The doctors did not get to us during morning rounds before the unit was closed for another sick baby. They did sit-down rounds since it was so late and therefore we did not have a chance to hear Laurie's care plan for today. However, there have been no changes to her orders. She is still on the C-pap, but with no rate today. They will continue to wean her oxygen pressures on the C-pap. Her feeds are still at 12cc every 3 hours and she is managing this well. She weighed 600 grams last night, which is still 1lb 5oz. We are so thankful for several days with no major changes or problems. This has given Laurie some time to rest and grow! Please continue to pray for Laurie's lung development!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole and Laurie

July 16, 2008 3:00pm

2008-07-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Still not a lot of changes today-which is good! The doctors may discontinue her rate and pressure support with the C-pap today, but Dr. Carlo is not rushing to get her completely off. They increased her feeds to 12 cc every 3 hours yesterday and will not increase anymore today. Her weight dropped again last night to 1 lb. 5 oz (590 grams). Again, Dr. Carlo was not worried about the weight decrease due to several factors-- different weighing times, feeding times, and the fact that she used lots of calories yesterday off the C-pap while I was holding her. Overall, we are pleased with her progress. The nurses keep telling us that she is doing great for a baby of her size and age! Please continue to pray for her to gain weight, for her lungs to grow stronger, and that she continues to have no problems with infection (these are three areas of concern with preemies).

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 15, 2008 5:15 pm

2008-07-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hello! Today has been an uneventful day--the kind we like!!! After I posted this morning's blog, I got to hold Laurie! I have added today's pictures! Hope you enjoy!

Love,
Leah

July 15, 2008 10:15 am

2008-07-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hello! We are having another great day! During rounds the doctor decided to leave Laurie on the C-pap, but will try to discontinue her rate and pressure today. They will also increase her feeds again. Last night she weighed 680 grams (1lb. 8oz.)!!! For the last several days, Laurie has enjoyed laying on her tummy and really will not lay on her back anymore (Not sure what we'll do about this when we get home, since she is suppose to sleep on her back)! She decided last night that the nurse had her facing the wrong direction, so she picked up her head (C-pap and all) and turned her head to the other side! She did this twice while mother and I were with her. She is strong for such a little girl!!! Just a little of that "Killingsworth strong-will"! We are so thankful for the growth and improvements she is making. God continues to bless us each day!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 14, 2008 11:00 am

2008-07-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! Hope you are having a great Monday. Mother and I just left rounds with Laurie's doctors and they will continue to try to wean her off the C-pap today. She is still tolerating her feeds with the new schedule, so no changes there. She still weighed 1lb. 6oz. last night. Hopefully, this will be another quiet day to work on breathing and growing! Please continue praying for Laurie! We are definitely seeing God's work everyday!

Love to all,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 13, 2008 5:30 pm

2008-07-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone! We have had another good day, with the doctors continuing to wean Laurie's oxygen levels. They have even discussed taking her off the C-pap in the next few days, but we are not telling Laurie (she may have other plans)! Her feedings seem to be doing better with 7cc every 2 hours, rather than 11cc every 3 hours. This is also helping with her breathing. She weighed 1lb. 6 oz. again last night. Laurie and I enjoyed seeing her big brother today! She seemed to especially enjoy his singing. We made a recording of this to put in Laurie's isolette for when he is not here.

Hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend. Todd and Cole have left Birmingham for another "guy" week at home. I miss them already! Thanks again for all your support and prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 12, 2008 11:00 am (14 days old!)

2008-07-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Laurie had a few more "bumps" with her oxygen levels yesterday afternoon, but they seemed to find a good balance of oxygen pressure and rate last night. She is doing much better with her breathing this morning! The doctors also changed her feeding schedule to 7cc every 2 hrs. This change was made to also help with her breathing. With the smaller amounts she is less likely to "forget" to breath. We are learning that this is a constant balancing act and one area, such as feeding, can affect many other areas! Laurie did gain an ounce last night and now weighs 1lb. 6oz!!! The nurse and I have decided that she is "showing off" this morning because her daddy is now here!!! Daddy even had to work on Dr. Carlo's shoulder last night. The nurses and I decided that his shoulder was hurting due to constantly having to push buttons to adjust Laurie's oxygen settings!!!

Thank you for your continued prayers! We wish that each of you could be here to witness how God is answering them hourly!

Have a great weekend!
We love you all!
Todd, Leah, Cole and Laurie

July 11, 2008 12:15 pm

2008-07-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hi, from Birmingham! I hope everyone is enjoying their FRIDAY! Laurie started the morning off needing a little extra help on the C-pap. After eight days off the vent, the doctors believe that she is just getting a little tired, which is normal for a preemie. They have reassured me that increasing her oxygen rates and pressure will help keep her from going back on the vent. She also seems to need extra help after feeds, so the nurse is going to slow her feeding rate and hopefully it will assist her with breathing (after her tummy gets full, she seems to relax and "forget" to breath!). Thankfully, they have been able to lower her oxygen rates and pressure throughout the day. Last night Laurie weighed 1lb. 5 oz. (back to her birth weight)!

Laurie and I are anxiously waiting for her daddy to get here later today! On Sunday, Uncle Kevin will be bringing Cole, who has lost another tooth this week! I hope he still has some teeth left when he gets here!!! It will be great to have all four of us here together!!! Please remember all the Crowe/Killingsworth family members as they travel back and forth this weekend!

I added a few more pictures late yesterday. Have a great weekend!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole and Laurie

July 10, 2008 11:15

2008-07-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't get to blog yesterday! I was experiencing technical difficulties with the computer! For those of you who know me well or work with me this should not be a big surprise (Weedie, where are you?--I can't even blame my Kindergarteners' now!). Laurie continues to do well! She is still on the C-pap, with a few ups and downs on the oxygen levels. They did have to start an IV to give her fluids. She also had another blood transfusion yesterday (15cc). The doctors did not make any changes with her today at rounds. Her feeds were changed to 11 cc yesterday and will stay the same today. She weighed 1 lb. 4 oz. last night, but this is likely due to all the fluids added yesterday. She was resting comfortably on her tummy when Emily and I left this morning! Hopefully, we will just have another quiet day for Laurie to grow and develop.

Thanks to all of you who are keeping up with Laurie's progress and sending us blogs. It is great to have contact with the "outside" world!! We have enjoyed hearing from old and new friends--it reminds us how truly blessed we are! Please continue to pray for all four of us--we see them being answered daily!!!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 8, 2008 5:00 pm

2008-07-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We are having a good day--with just a few bumps! She is still on the C-pap, but her stats (heart rate especially) dropped several times this morning. The nurses reassured me this is normal with preemies, but it made my heart rate go up!!! She still weighs 1 lb. 3 oz., but they have continued to increase her feeds to 10cc today. As they increase her feeds, the nurses will measure her belly and watch her diapers to make sure she is able to tolerate the increases. Todd and I continue to be humbled by your kind gestures and prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 7, 2008 10:30 am

2008-07-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone! Laurie had a very good night and they will be taking out her other umbilical cord line sometime today. She is still on the C-pap using 40-50% oxygen. They are going to increase her feeds again today, probably 1cc at a time, and discontinue all other supplements, so she will only be getting breast milk. She weighs 1 lb. 3 oz. today. So, not a lot of changes today, but she continues to do well. Now we just need time for her grow and wean off of the C-pap. Thanks again for your continued prayers and support!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah, Cole and Laurie

July 6, 2008 9:00 pm

2008-07-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Prayers are being answered daily! We have had another great day! Laurie's second head ultrasound was normal! She is on 40-50% oxygen with the C-pap and one of her lines has been taken out of her umbilical cord. They have increased her feeds again to 8 cc. I was able to hold Laurie again for about an hour and she did great being out of the isolette. Although he wasn't ready to leave, Todd went home today. He and Cole are going to try to get back to a somewhat normal routine this week. Please pray for all four of us as we begin this new transition period of seeing each other mainly on the weekends. My mother, Mrs. Judy, sisters, and friends are going to take turns staying here in Birmingham with Laurie and me during the week. Thanks again for all of your love, support, and prayers!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 5, 2008 4:30pm

2008-07-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

Praise God for another great day in the RNICU! Laurie will be be one week old in 2 hrs. and is doing great on the C-Pap. The doctors have increased her feeds to 6cc today and are watching her belly closely to make sure she is able to handle the increase. She weighs 1 lb. 3oz. today. She also continues to have wet and "poopy" diapers!! The most exciting news is that I got to hold her for the 1st time today! It takes a little time to get Laurie and all her wires out of the isolette (made her Daddy very nervous) but it was worth it!!! Laurie seemed to handle it very well too! They will do another ultrasound of her head this weekend since she is now 7 days old and another on day 30. Please pray that the 2nd ultrasound will be normal, just as it was earlier. Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

We love you all!
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 4, 2006 11:30 am

2008-07-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We got a little nervous late yesterday afternoon and last night, as the doctors adjusted her vent settings several times and her sats began dropping. We were not able to see her from 7:15-11:00pm while doctors performed a procedure on another baby. This was a very long wait for us!!! When we left about 11:30 we were told that they would not make any further changes and let her rest. However, this morning we were surprised to learn that they removed the vent and started the C-pap. She seems to be doing very well with it! They have also removed the light for jaundice. She also had to have a blood transfusion (10 cc) last night. We were told several days ago that this would probably be necessary. They are increasing her feeds to 5 cc today, so we hope she will begin "putting on the ounces" soon!!!! Overall, we are very pleased with her progress! Thank you for your continued prayers! We hope you have a great 4th of July!!!

Love,
Todd, Leah, Cole, and Laurie

July 3, 2008 11:25 am

2008-07-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hi! We have just finished visiting Laurie and sitting in on the Doctor's rounds. They have decreased her vent and are hoping to have her off in the next couple of days. She will then go on a C-pap. They have told us that 2/3 of premature babies have to go back on the vent, so it will be back and forth trying to find the right balance for Laurie (between the vent and C-pap). They are also going to increase her feeds, possibly later today. Hopefully, by tomorrow they will take the light off of her, if her jaundice numbers continue to decrease.

We are trying to sit in on rounds every morning sometime between 9:00am -12:00 noon and will try to update the blog after lunch each day. Dr. Carlo and Dr. Sims have been wonderful to not only include us in morning rounds, but are great to come over and talk with us about updates when they see us at her bedside.

Thanks for all of your continued prayers and support! God continues to bless us daily!!!

Love to all!
Todd, Leah,Cole and Laurie

Pray for Ben Wilks

2008-07-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

We wanted to share a prayer request with all our faithful prayer warriors.
While waiting on our supper we ran into a former student of Leah's mother(Mrs. Nancy)
We believe her maiden name was Renea' Wambles, formally of Elba. She married Ben Wills from Enterprise. On Friday Ben went to Enterprise Hospital then to Flowers on Saturday and on Sunday the doctor sent him to UAB. He is currently in MICU with what is believed to be a severe Staph infection. He is 27 years old and is newly married. Please lift Ben and his family in your daily prayers. We talked at length with the family and they are broken and desperately need your prayers for Ben as well as for the family to have strength and comfort to carry them through the days ahead.
We Love All Of You!
Thank you so much,
Leah and Todd

2008-07-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! We have had another good day! As of 6:00 pm Laurie's feeding was increased to 2cc every 3 hours and she is tolerating it well. Her jaundice numbers are improving. She continues to receive antibiotics due to her elevated white count. The doctors continue to adjust her ventilator as needed to keep her breathing comfortably. We continue to thank God for her progress today! Please continue to pray for another good day tomorrow! We also are amazed by your continued outpouring of support, love, and prayers! We are so blessed with family, friends, co-workers, and our wonderful church family!

Mother and Mrs. Judy met a family from Clanton yesterday who lost their 4 month old baby boy while waiting for a heart transplant. Please remember the Cleckler family in your prayers!

Our new address at the Birmingham Baptist Townhouse is:
UAB Townhouse
2008 University Blvd.
Box 712-Todd and Leah Killingsworth
Birmingham, AL 35233

July 2, 2008 8:47am

2008-07-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

Laurie had a good day yesterday! She is able to eat all her milk and keep it down. Laurie's white cell count was still high and she is still on an antibiotic. However, the doctors say she is not showing any signs of infection. The doctors continue to lower her ventilater for a little while and then raise it back up. Doctors say that it will help to wing her off the ventilater in the future. We got her first bag of dirty clothes to wash. Well, it was a blanket! :)Laurie had a good night last night! Leah and Todd stayed up all night at the hospital with Laurie and are at the townhouse sleeping! Pray, they will rest well this morning. Leah is still pumping every three hours and Laurie is able to hold all her milk down! Thanks again for your Prayers! Please continue to pray for Laurie, Leah, Todd, and Cole!
We Love all of you!
Crowe and Killingsworth Family

2008-07-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Today I finally have a chance to sit and write my own blog to update you on Laurie. I would like to say “thank you” to all the friends and family who worked on getting this set up and adding the pictures, so that you can be informed and see our little angel! I have really depended on friends to get this page going—as you can imagine that last few days have been a whirlwind for us!. Todd and I will never be able to say “thank you” enough for the all the gestures of love, both big and small, that you all have shown over the past few weeks!

First I would like to update you on Laurie’s current health:

Laurie had a great day yesterday (6/30/08) and last night the doctors told us that the results of her ultrasound were normal—no bleeding on the brain! Praise God!!! We also witnessed several other blessing yesterday as she began her sucking reflex and even “practiced” on the tiniest pacifier that I have ever seen! She is also able to handle all (1/5^th tsp.) of breastmilk given to her every 3 hours and has now had several feedings. Consequently, she has had several full diapers! We realize that everyday will not be as rewarding, but we are so very thankful that she is doing well!

I can’t forget to mention, her big brother, Cole, lost his first tooth on Sunday also!!! Possibly more exciting to him than Laurie’s arrival!

Next I would like to give you a little background information on what her anticipated arrival has been like for the past few years:

Today is my birthday and as always family members began several days ago asking, “What do you want for your birthday?” The last three years the answer in my heart, but not spoken out loud, has been the same—a baby.

I was reminded of this again last week as I sat in the hospital trying to prevent Laurie from coming too soon. I was reading scripture for a daily devotional and saw a note in my Bible dated July 1, 2007. This quickly brought back memories of where I was in my life one year ago today. On that day Rev. Matt Smith, the Minister to Students, at our church gave his personal testimony on the power of prayer (1 Peter 2:1-3) and at the end of the service there was a special baby dedication held. As many of you who know me well can assume, I cried through the whole service! Yet, on that day I was reassured that through prayer and God’s grace, I too would one day have my birthday wish. You see only two weeks before, we had experienced our third miscarriage and my heart was broken.

In July we began working with an infertility specialist and over the following months I thought of that Sunday message often and continued to trust that our prayers would be answered in God’s time! On February 1, 2008 we found out that I was expecting and were thrilled! We tried to keep our secret through the first trimester, but I’m not very good at keeping surprises a secret!

So, today as I turn 33 years old today and my daughter, Laurie, celebrates her third day of life, my birthday wish for the last three years has finally come true! Todd and I have also seen proof of the power of prayer and we look forward to Laurie’s special baby dedication, giving God all the praise for this tiny miracle!

"For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath granted my request.”

1 Samuel 1:27

Leah