Reach for the Sky

Last night the doctors attempted to insert a PICC line for Roscoe's antibiotics, but were unsuccessful. The PICC line would have been used for only 7-10 days, so they decided to just halt his antibiotics because his blood has continued to be free of bacteria. Normally they continue antibiotics for 7-10 days past the point when the blood is bacteria-free, to make sure the infection is cured. It's kind of like twisting and pushing your foot into the ground that extra amount of time after stepping on a bug, just to make sure it's dead. The doctors felt confident enough that Roscoe's infection was cured that they didn't think it was necessary to put him through the trouble of more IVs. He'll get a blood transfusion through his current IV today, but that IV will also be removed by tomorrow when he's back up to a full feeding amount.

This video isn't really relevant, but it shows how Roscoe lays sleeping in his bed sometimes. It's mostly him just laying there and twitching his hands, but after all he's a baby and that's what babies do. Did you expect to come here and see videos of him doing backflips into a swimming pool?

Roscoe's BIG smile

For the past several week or so, we've noticed that Roscoe has started smiling. His smile is more of a muscle response than an actual indication of happiness, but it sure is fun to see. Every once in a while he'd shoot a smile out and we'd scramble to get it captured on camera. Luckily last night we caught one of the smiles on video. Click the link below and you can see it happen right at the end of the clip. It's hard not to smile just as big in return.

For those who are impatient, you can click this link to go straight to the part where he smiles. Then again if you're too impatient to wait through a 1-minute video, you are also probably too impatient to read to the end of this sentence. In fact, you are probably already busy groaning in boredom that your microwave takes longer than 12 seconds to cook a burrito.

You've come a long way, baby

Two nights ago as Roscoe lie sleeping, we took this picture. Since he is always laying on one side of his head or another, this is as close as we can get to a clear shot of his entire face:

He has come a long way since he was born. Alisha snapped this picture last night of his measurements when he was born:

For those in the US who aren't familiar with the metric system, those measurements are as follows:

• Weight: 18.7 oz
• Length: 11.4 in
• Head: 9.25 in
• Chest: 6.3 in
• Abdomen: 5.9 in

To get a practical idea of how small that is, take a standard sheet of paper (8.5 x 11). Take the short side (8.5") and overlap the two ends by 1". This will make a circle that has a circumference of 6.5". Think that when Roscoe was born both his chest and abdomen could fit through that circle with room to spare.

Here is what Roscoe looks like today. You can see that around his arms, belly and under his chin he's starting to put on baby fat. This is great because it gives him more energy reserves. The hot air balloon bed he's on was made by Alisha's cousin Rachel.

Today or tomorrow the doctors will remove Roscoe's breathing tube to try and get him back on the non-invasive breathing support. Also after a few days of clean blood tests, they will put in another PICC line that they'll use for administering his antibiotics for the remainder of the 2 weeks.

Resting Comfortably

Roscoe has been looking much more stable lately. Last night he hit 3lb 3oz. I snapped this picture of his vital measurements a few days ago because he was so rested that his heart rate was in the 140's and 150's. Last night he was hovering in the 160's and 170's, which is still really good considering his past behavior:

The doctors found out which bacteria strain was in Roscoe's blood stream and told us that it was a common bacteria that's found on our skin. As for how the bacteria got from his skin to his bloodstream, I have no idea. What the doctors did say is that unless he gets another infection, they have no reason to believe that he has any problems with his immune system.

Here's how the little guy looks when he's sleeping:

... and here's how we look when we're watching him sleep!

We had fun a few nights ago (the same night he played with his mobile) watching his eyes dart around and his forehead and eyebrows form expressions. To me it looks like he's plotting his escape, which we hope will be before Christmas:

Mobile Entertainment

On Sunday night, I picked up a birthday present for myself: a new baby mobile. I had seen this mobile on craigslist and emailed about it several times, but never got a response. Thankfully on Sunday morning they responded and I picked it up brand new for $15! Here is Alisha holding it in front of Roscoe's incubator to entertain him:

Roscoe seemed to respond pretty well to the mobile. As his eyes looked around at the different patterns he seemed to be engaged with the motion and contrasts. Once they get him stabilized and infection-free, we are hoping they'll lift up the incubator lid like it was before so that we can leave the mobile there for him to play with. Here's a video of Roscoe looking around at the mobile:

Bigger Diapers

Previously we posted a picture of the diapers that Roscoe wears. They are roughly 3" wide by 4" tall (think to yourself that they'd fit on a 3x5 card). I believe they are the smallest diapers that Pampers makes (P-XS). When he was first born, we needed to fold the top of the diaper down because it swallowed his belly:

Here is a comparison in diaper sizes that you may be familiar with. Going left-to-right the diapers show his first diaper size (P-XS), then the standard preemie size (P-S), then a standard newborn diaper (N), then a size #1 diaper. The great news is that over the past few days Roscoe has graduated from P-XS diapers to the P-S diapers now! He will now be wearing big-boy preemie diapers along with all of the other preemies in the NICU:

He was very excited about this development, so we both gave a thumbs-up in appreciation and celebration (as seen below). Yesterday the nurses informed us that Roscoe now weighs 3lb 2oz! Alisha and I have noticed a big physical difference in the amount of baby fat he's starting to put on, along with his size in general. He is still small in comparison to other babies (notice his forearm is the size of my thumb), but he is huge in comparison with where he once was. God has given him growth and we are thankful. 

Please pray that God will rid Roscoe's body of the infection that was discovered in his bloodstream. Once the doctors identify the specific strain, they will administer a more specific antibiotic that targets that specific bacteria. The treatments will take anywhere from 1-2 weeks.

This is the second infection they've found in Roscoe's bloodstream. Nationwide the averages are that 40% of babies in the NICU will contract an infection, so infections are somewhat common. What Alisha and I (and the doctors) are concerned about is that if Roscoe continues to get infections, it may indicate a problem with his immune system. Please pray that's not the case, as the little guy already has enough on his proverbial plate. Physically he doesn't look sick and he still has lots of energy, so that's a good sign. God is good and he will take care of our little boy in ways that we simply cannot.

Infection has Returned

Alisha and I got word yesterday that Roscoe has another blood infection. At this point they haven't figured out exactly which strain it is, but once they do the nurses and doctors will treat it with antibiotics. The good news is that I overheard them say it was "Gram-positive", and when I looked that up it means that the infection will be easier to overcome with antibiotics. Please pray that God will rid Roscoe's body of the infection quickly and without lasting effect, so that he can continue making positive progress toward breathing on his own.

Here's a little video of Alisha and Roscoe's hands together:

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are ever before me." (Isaiah 49:16)