Post-Op report on Rocco

Rocco did good through the surgery and the doctors were able to close his PDA. During the surgery, they found some inflammation on the outside of his lungs. The inflammation is not due to the PDA - it is due to prematurity. This may cause Rocco to stay intabated a little longer and make his recovery time longer than initially expected.

We want to thank all our nurses (Danielle and Felicia), the respiratory team, anesthesiologist and doctors who helped Rocco in today's procedures. Also thank you to all who said special prayers to lift Rocco and the staff up. Most of all we want to thank and praise God for the gifts he's given Kami and me. Please continue to keep Rocco in your prayers as he recovers from the surgery.

- Nick

Rocco is having surgery today

Nick here - the doctors all met on Monday morning to discuss treatment of Rocco's PDA. Their decision was to recommend doing aligation surgery for his PDA. Kami just called me and the surgery will be today at 2pm AZ/4pm CST. Because he'll have to go under, Rocco will be intabated before and after surgery. The cardiologist will be putting a titanium clip on the PDA to close it off. Please keep Rocco and the operating medical staff in your prayers before, during, and after the procedure.

Kami and I have prayed about this for some time and asked God to show us His will for closing Rocco's PDA. We're assurred that this is what's right for him and what God wants us to do for him - we really have a peace about it. We'll continue to praise God for all He's done for us and all He'll do for us in the future! We'll try to provide updates as soon as we can.

Our kids are starting to really suck...

Literally! Okay, sorry for the bad joke! :) They are not taking the whole bottle every feed, but they are really getting the hang of it.

Miss Sloan taking her bottle
Momma and Madden

Jagger drinking like a champ!

Rocco was feeling a little puny yesterday so he had a break from the bottle, but he still loves his paci.

The babies are doing well. Madden is finishing up his round of antibiotics for his UTI...so far the follow up results have been negative. Jagger had his two week eye check up. He does NOT have ROP but the retinal blood vessels are still not fully mature. He will have another exam in 2 weeks. Please pray that Jagger's retinal blood vessels will mature over the next 2 weeks. Rocco had labwork drawn yesterday because he has been a little pale and lathargic. He also had an echo yesterday to check his PDA. His PDA is now considered a large one. The doctors will discuss again on Monday to determine if Rocco is becoming symptomatic and if the surgical ligation would be the best route. Please pray for the doctors wisdom in determining what is best for Rocco. Sloan is cruising right along. If she can get her feeds down (nipple full feeds), I think she will be able to come home.

Big Pop is here! He will be here until we all come home. He hasn't seen the babies since they were about 6 days old. They have changed so much in such a short time! There is no word yet when we will be coming home. Usually they say a good rule of thumb is your original due date which is April 26th...of course it could be a little before or even later.

Big Pop holding Jagger
Lil' Rocco with is lovie

P.S. Congratulations to our new neighbors in the NICU...the Puig family! Lorena and Enrique Puig welcomed their five miracles into the world on March 18th.

Love,
Kami

Sloan's 1st Visit...

Too bad Jagger slept through it! That's right...she got to visit her baby brother last night since she is off the oxygen. It is not quite as easy as picking her up and taking her in their rooms though...her vitals still have to be monitored so she is hooked to a portable machine. It was so fun to see them together.

1/2 of the Lambe family!

"Awww...I've missed you!"



Jagger is now infection free, but Madden decided he didn't like his brothers getting all the attention and now has a urinary tract infection. He will be on antiobiotics for at least a week (we are on day 3.) Rocco is hanging in there and Sloan is doing well too. Both Rocco and Jagger are in their open cribs and maintaining their temps. All the babies are learning to nipple (breast and bottle). It has been a slow process so far, but they are doing good. It has been nice to actually feed or nurse them while holding. We will be another step closer to coming home once they start taking all of their feeds by bottle or breast. They are all growing so fast! The weights from last night are:

Sloan - 4lbs 7 ozs
Rocco - 4lbs 11 ozs
Madden - 4lbs 9 ozs
Jagger - 4lbs 6 ozs

My handsome Rocco

In his big boy crib

Jagger in his crib

Yesterday was an exciting day for me...my baby shower! Much love to Jac Tubre who gave us the brilliant idea to have it via webcam. Thanks to all my incredible hostesses who did so much to make it so special for me! Thanks to everyone who came and the wonderful gifts you gave us! We are truly blessed with the most amazing friends and family. It was so great to see everyone....can't wait to see you in person!

Specific prayer requests:
- Rocco's PDA to close
- Madden's UTI
- Jagger's ROP
- Boys to wean from the oxygen
- All babies as they are learning to nipple

Some praises:
- Jagger's infection is gone
- Sloan is off oxygen
- All babies are maintaining their body temperatures
- All babies' growth
- Great shower with awesome family and friends

Love,

Kami

The Jag Man

We did get the results back and Jagger does have a urinary tract infection. We are so thankful that the infection wasn't quite as serious as they had originally thought. The antibiotics he is taking are already working and he is feeling much better now. He will be on the meds for about a week. They were even able to take him off CPAP and put him back on the nasal canulas. I bathed him today and he was loving it! Thank you for all of your prayers!

Jagger sleeping peacefully!

In other news, Sloan and Madden are in their new big girl and boy cribs! We are so excited with their progress. Here are some pictures over the last few days.

Madden's new bed

Sloan's new bed

Sloan snuggling with her St. Patty's Day Bear

Madden with his bear

P.S. Rocco missed out on this photo shoot...he is still doing well! I will make sure and get him next time!
Love,
Kami

Latest News from the NICU

I can't believe it has been over a month since the babies were born. It has been so fun at times, scary at times, overwhelming at times, but through it all, we have been amazed by our everlasting God.

Sloan - 3 lbs 15 ozs. She is off her oxygen completely! Big girl. She looks so adorable without the nasal canulas...we can see her face so much better. She is doing so well she has been moved to special care. She is in the same room but she is part of a 3 baby assignment (per nurse - instead of 2 babies) because she is more stable. One step closer to coming home!

Rocco - 4 lbs 2 ozs. He is our big guy! He is even starting to get fat rolls...well, that's what I'm calling them anyway! They are starting to wean his oxygen levels. He still has the PDA but is still not symptomatic...praise the Lord!

Madden - 3 lbs 14 ozs. He has also been moved to special care and they are slowly weaning his oxygen levels. Hopefully, he will be off soon!

Jagger - 3 lbs 14 ozs. They weaned his oxygen levels down a couple of days ago and took him off the humidifier, and yesterday he did not do so well...just had lots of desats (drops in oxygen levels.) So last night the doctors did a chest xray and noticed that his lungs needed a little more help. They put our little guy back on CPAP which gives him more support with breathing...this is what they were all on in the very beginning. The doc thinks that he may be getting sick because he is lethargic and isn't acting like his little fiesty self. The ran tests to find out for sure, but in the meantime, they put him on antibiotics to be safe. The doc thinks that it is most likely a urinary tract infection. We do not have the results yet. Please pray for Jagger that if it is an infection that the Lord would place His healing hand on him. And if it is not, that he will start feeling better and his lungs will get stronger.

Also, last week the babies had their eye exams. They test for ROP(retinopathy). Sloan, Rocco and Madden all passed and are not due for another exam until they are 2 years old! Jagger was diagnosed with Stage 1 ROP. This is the mildest form of ROP. It can correct itself. He will be checked again in 2 weeks. Please pray for Jagger's eyes.

It is a little discouraging to learn news that one of the kids has taken steps backwards, but we were prepared for "speed bumps" (as the dr. called it) along the way. We are so thankful that we haven't had many speed bumps and our babies have done so well. To God be the glory!

Love,
Kami

A Special Message

We can't wait to see you again! Hope you have a great day!

Love,

Sloan, Rocco, Madden and Jagger

Quick Update

We would like to thank you for all your prayers. The doctors decided (and we agreed) to keep watching Rocco since he is not symptomatic. As long as he stays healthy and does not begin to show symptoms that his PDA is adversely affecting him, he should not have to have surgery. He seems to be doing fine when we are with him. He has been on the lowest amount of oxygen out of the four except for Sloan that just passed him up this week. If she keeps doing as well as she has been, she should be off the oxygen pretty soon! Madden and Jagger are doing fine too. GG is here now and she held and loved on both of them today.

Other exciting news...my Aunt Donna and cousin Jana are flying in tomorrow. It should be a fun visit!

Love,
Kami

Rocco Update

Before we left the hospital tonight, we spoke to one of the doctors about Rocco. His condition has NOT worsened...Praise the Lord! But she explained to us that we are at a point in his care where we should make a decision on the treatment of his PDA. We could either choose to have the surgical ligation, 3rd course of indomethicin, or wait to see if it will close on its own. It is important to note that none of the three options are without risks, and there is no clear cut solution. Depending on the doctor you speak with, you would probably get a different answer for the best solution. The docs in the practice will meet on Monday morning to discuss Rocco's condition and treatment of his PDA. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and for us that we will choose the best option for our little man. We are still praying that his PDA will close on its own.

This picture was taken of Rocco during one of his baths this week. I could just kiss his little face off!!!!

All the others are doing well. Their weights now range from 3lbs 5 ozs (Jagger) to 3lbs 10 ozs (Rocco)!
Love,

Kami

Spreading the Love

With all the excitement of the babies' birth, I didn't get to post about the visitors we had. Nick's parents (Grandaddy and Grandmama) flew in the day the babies were born which was Thursday and stayed through that Monday...it was so great to see them since it had been 2 1/2 months for me! Then on Friday, my dad surprised my mom and me. We knew he was coming but he also flew in the whole family(my brothers and their families). We were sitting in the hospital room and our nurse, Deb, came in wheeling a cot. I asked her why she was bringing that in and she said someone ordered it. Then I saw the lumps in the bed and a kid's head halfway uncovered. My four nephews and niece all jumped up and as you can imagine it was a very tear-filled reunion! Such a great surprise! Although they didn't get to meet their new little cousins (because of the NICU restrictions), the kids had a great weekend in Arizona with their Big Pop and GG. Here are pics from their trip.

Hiding under the sheet - waiting to surprise GG and Aunt Kami

SURPRISE!!!!!!

I missed my man...Nate!

The boys (L to R: Nate, Griffin, Evan and Jude)

Griff and Rylee
Climbing Camelback Mountain

Well, GG decided to go home this past week for a short visit, and Grandmama and Grandaddy are back for their second visit. Now they are able to hold the babies and are loving every minute of it! Our babies have the best two sets of grandparents that any kid could have....I can't wait to watch their relationships grow!

GG with Sloan before she left
Grandmama and Madden

Grandaddy and Sloan

The babies are all doing so well....just doing normal preemie things and trying to grow out of that! Rocco is on full feeds now and so far is tolerating them very well. We can't thank you enough for all of your prayers. It has been so fun to hold each of them and try to learn their personalities. Sloan already loves to be pampered. She seems to be laid back and loves spa day (bath time)! Rocco is a sweetheart. He is the chunky one...at 3lbs 9 oz! Madden loves his daddy...at least that is what Nick says! But I'm thinking he's really going to be a momma's boy! And Jagger, well he is staying true to the fashion that he came into this world...everything on his own time!

I can't believe they are already 3 weeks old tomorrow. We loved them so much before they were here (even before they were conceived), but it is so incredible how that love grows even more when you hold their tiny bodies in your arms. Our hearts are SO full of love! I've often thought these last few weeks that if I love my children this much....how MUCH does my heavenly Father love me (us)...even MORE!?! Pretty incredible!

Love,

Kami

The latest news and prayer requests

We're sorry for the lack of updates but as you can imagine, we are really busy with all the trips to/from the hospital and me working remotely each day. Here's a quick update on Rocco:

He had two rounds of medicine for his PDA and it still remains open. While he was on the meds, the doctors took him off feeds. Friday night they started him back on feeds and they are slowly increasing them - he's doing good with them so far. The doctors will be watching to see if he continues tolerating his feeds, listening to his lungs for fluids and listening for his murmur. If those things are not going well, we may have to talk about surgery to close the PDA.

Sloan, Madden and Jagger are all doing good. They are tolerating their feeds but they all have some reflux. The nurses are trying to slowly ween them off oxygen

Prayer requests:
- Rocco's PDA to close and no fluid build-up in lungs
- Each baby to gain weight, tolerate feeds and stay free of infections

As always, thanks to all for your continued prayers! My God can move mountains!!

- Nick