07.24.09

Wow, it's been quite a while since this has been updated - alot has been going on with little Adam Larbi! Adam is now almost 7 months old!!

Will update soon and send more pictures.He is doing very well, thanks be to GOD! He had surgery to put a shunt in, will write later about his progress on this and other things going on with Adam.

He sure does keep Mommy & Daddy very busy, but he definitely lights up their life with each smile and coo! :)

04/01/09

With Adams first day’s home, he adjusted well. Mommy and Daddy have tried to keep him on the same schedule he was on in the NICU with his feedings etc., in hopes that Adam would transition from his life there to home with few problems. He seems comfortable and Mommy and Daddy feel that Adam has adjusted well.

Adam had his first Pediatrician visit last week. He was given his two month vaccinations. Even though he was still in his gestational age (not quite 40 weeks as a full term baby), the doctor said studies have shown that a full term two month baby and a two month preemie both responded the same overall.

Adam did have some difficultly with one of the vaccines that was given orally. The nurse who gave the vaccine to Adam did not know of his problems (dropping his heart rate while eating). He stopped breathing for close to one minute and then his color came back. This was very scary, but isn’t something Suzie was unaware of. He did this a couple times in the hospital while eating. Although it was scary, Adam recovered and did fine. His temperature went up a little that night but the children’s Tylenol seemed to help him.

When Adam left the NICU, he weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces. He weighed in this visit at 5 pounds, 8 ounces and 18 inches long. Routinely, Adam’s head was measured as well. His pediatrician wants him to come back this week to have his head measured again. There is a possibility he may need a shunt put in his head in the future. Soon he will visit the neo surgeons and they will make the final determination on that.
Adam has had some difficulty going to the bathroom. This is not all that uncommon for little babies; however, Adam developed a hernia (the walls of his stomach separate while straining). This causes his little intestines to poke thru causing his belly button to protrude out. His pediatrician said there is no need for concern now as long as his belly button will push back in while he is not straining. Most hernias will self resolve; however, if it doesn’t then surgery will need to be done, God forbid. However, he must be a lot older first anywhere between 1 and 2 years old.

Adam failed his left ear exam three times, but he is scheduled to go back this week. Also, he is scheduled to see an ophthalmologist. In addition, physical therapy will be starting soon for Adam. They will come to his home to work with him. We will post updates on these visits soon.

Adam has started to reach out a little to grab things. His doctor gave a list of things Adam should be doing this month. Typically preemies are slower with these. Just a few days ago Adam did something we think is wonderful. Suzie put red, white, and black material on his bouncy and his basinet. She got this idea from someone while Adam was still in the hospital. About two days ago, Adam started to reach out for the fabric. At first Suzie thought he was just moving his arms, but she continued to watch him and each time it was a controlled touch, he will rub it and try to grab it! The same day while she was feeding Adam, he reached up and touched her face, twice. :)

Mommy and Daddy are very happy for their little boy; this is another milestone that they were waiting for him to reach that early on was told he may not be able to.
Thanks God for everything.

03/18/2009

Hello everyone! I wanted to hop on here right quick and give everyone an update on our little Adam Larbi!

Adam is now home with his Mommy & Daddy! They released him on 03/18/09.

The road to him being released was not easy. A couple weeks ago Adam suffered from an infection (e-coli) which was treated by antibiotics for a little over a week. He responded well and very quickly. However, it was very scary. He stopped breathing and turned blue twice during that time. Thank God - he bounced back and recovered very quickly.

I do not know all the details because so much happened in such a short period of time, but now Adam is very healty and is at home. Thanks be to God first and foremost!

Thank you for all your prayers!

This blog will not end with this post! I'll be posting updates on how he is doing at home with pictures, etc. :)

03.06.09

-Thanks God Adam reached the mile stone of 4 pounds two days ago and now he is out of the incubator and in an open crib. He is wrapped "As snug as a bug in a rug". He has a hat and full clothes on and 2 or 3 blankets. Because of the weight Adam no longer needs the pulse probe on him. He has one to monitor his heart rate and his respiratory rate.

-His Doctor is pleased with Adam keeping his temp that he feels tomorrow Adam will be sent to another floor to have an MRI on his brain since Adam is more mobile. The MRI will help to get a better view of what is going on in his brain more so than with an Ultra Sound. Adam will be given a drug to sedate him. It is very important that Adam not move during this test.

-Adam had another lab to check his red blood cells, the results came back and it is still looking good.

-Suzie was shown how to give Adam an infant massage on his little hands and feet and how each part on his hands and feet sends signals to different parts of the body when pressed. Adam seemed to relax and enjoyed the massage.

-Adam is still being feed gravity with some of his feedings. Right now he is getting about 2 bottles per shift and eating 34 cc's every feeding. Because of Adams weight gain his calories have been decreased to 24 from 30. There are 30 cc's in a ounce. Of course taking the bottles instead of the gravity feedings 2 times a shift can increase at the Nurses digression, if Adam is "routing around" for the bottle or is very alert it is best to give him the bottle. If Adam is too tired and a bottle is given to him, he will drop his heart rate for example from 160 something to 70 very quickly. The goal is to wean Adam off the gravity feeding completely. This is a must for him to go home but it can not be rushed. To coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing, it just takes time to learn.

There are a lot of criteria that must be meeting before Adam goes home:
Being 4 1/2 pounds and showing a pattern with increasing his weight, Eating and digesting his food, breathing on his own, maintaining his body temp, and no apnea spells. Right now, thanks be to God, Adam is handling the "Road Home" well. More to follow about this very soon…

02/23/2009

Hi everyone! Here’s the newest update on our little Adam Larbi! Adam was getting doses of caffeine because of his apnea spells. Those doses have been cancelled because the apnea spells are now decreasing. Adam is keeping his food down well and is getting 25 cc’s every few hours. Adam is being fed through a tube still; however, just the other day he started being fed from a bottle twice a day. He’s doing so good taking from the bottle. He has now trained himself to be coordinated in sucking, swallowing, and breathing at the same time!! WAY TO GO ADAM!!!!

Adam’s eye medication has been discontinued, so that’s good as well!

Another ultrasound was done on Adam’s brain. There is no change and another ultrasound will be completed in two weeks. Adam’s second eye exam was given with no change – so everything is progressing as it should. His hearing exam will be in a few weeks.

Our little munchkin is now known as a “step down baby” (not real sick) thanks God, so he was moved to another location in NICU. :)

Little man weighs in at 3.3 pounds (pretty close to 1500 grams, but not quite there yet). Once he gets to 1500 grams, he is allowed to wear clothes from home as long as they open or zip in the front. His primary nurse said "almost time to play dress up"! :) I know momma is very happy about that!

Once Adam is 4 pounds he will be moved to an open crib; however, he must be able to maintain is body temperature with clothes, blanket, and hat on. He will be monitored every hour to make sure this is happening, but if he cannot maintain his temperature – then he will have to move back to the incubator again.

A lab on Adam’s blood was performed to check his red blood cells since his last transfusion. The numbers are looking great! Another lab will be checked again next week.

02/13/2009

Suzie received a call from Adam's doctor recommending another blood transfusion. Adam's PCU and retic was better; however, Adam has not been gaining the weight that he should. His vitals were too high and his little heart had to work very hard to pump what little blood he had thru his body. Even though his calories have been increased with each feeding, this is a lot of the reason he was not gaining weight. Adam was just burning them off too fast.

The blood transfusion is given over the course of two days. It takes about four hours to put 11 milliliters into Adam for a total of 22 milliliters. The first day the transfusion went into a blood vessel in his scalp the second one was given thru his left foot. Little man looked exhausted. It has been two days since the blood transfusion and he is still so tired.

Adam now weighs 2.8 and 3/4th pound. His color looks a lot better now.
The antibiotic given in his eyes have been discontinued. Adam received the second round of his TB shoot today.

02.10.09

Adam weighs 2.4 and a quarter pounds and is eating 19 cc's every three hours and is getting 30 calories per feeding. He is still underweight for his age, so hopefully those calories will help him gain weight. It takes little Adam about 30 minutes to eat his 19 cc's. He gets two vitamins a day through his feeding tube as well. Included in those vitamins is iron, which helps him grown stronger and also ensures he will not become anemic.

Along with vitamins twice a day, Adam is also getting antibiotics in his eyes because an eye infection keeps occurring. He is also getting caffeine twice daily to help increase Adam's energy level in order to keep the amount of apnea to a minimum.

Suzie says, "Adams PCU went to 37 and his white blood cells rose. A few factors can cause this. One his bilaribbon was coming back. Another lab was taken to double check the PCU. Blood needs to be drawn for this and Adam did cry a little bit, it broke my heart. The doctor was preparing to order another blood transfusion, but wanted to double check the previous lab. Adam cannot produce his blood right now on his own, if the previous lab was correct Adams apnea spells would increase more and they had increased and also his getting sick after eating would have increased more and they also had increased but not to the amount that was so worrisome to the Dr or for his PCU to go to 37. The results came back and tested negative for the bilibribbon, they look for the retic and his was 6.6 , this is good and his PCU dropped back to 27. It was determined he was dehydrated, which caused the PCU test to go to 37. There are always increased risks involved with a blood transfusion, so thank God this did not have to happen. Adam will be tested again next week and if God bless the results will be okay where the blood transfusion will not be needed."

The results for the Ultra Sound on Adams brain scan are in. There is a 2 cm cyst on the left side where the grade 4 bleed occurred. Considering the size of Adam's little brain, this cyst is quite large. This cyst cannot be removed - at least this is what his doctor is saying now. This cyst is not normal or abnormal, being a brain bleed like Adam had, a cyst does usually form. So this is not abnormal to have happened. However, the doctor explained, "this is a wait and see" so the abnormal is we do not know what damage God forbid might occur. Adam has significant scarring on both the right and left side of his brain at the location where his brain controls his muscles. A brain bleed such as Adam had the percentage of having significant disabilities such as cerebral palsy is common. As with any disability there are varying degrees from minor to severe. The doctor told us that Adam has his age on his side. Being he is still developing, his brain has not "trained" itself. So, if a brain signal tries to go to a part of the brain that has the scarring and it can not send the signal it will "reroute" and send the signal some where else in his little brain. Suzie corrected the doctor, "No, Adam has God first and then his age on his side. Whatever his Creator wills for him, his Mommy and Daddy are here for him every step of the way, if God wills for it to be."

Thank you for all the continuous prayers.

02/02/2009

Hi everyone! Sorry that I've hardly been updating the blog. I haven't been going to see Adam because I've been sick. I'm finally starting to get over my cold but now my son is sick, so I'm not sure when this week I'll be able to go see little Adam. I miss him! :)

Suzie has been updating me with how he's doing and I've got some new updates.

Adam is now 2.2 pounds. He's eating well and is gaining some weight, which is great!

Adam had an eye exame and everything is developing like it should. His next exam will be in three weeks. Suzie wasn't able to hold Adam because the eye exam wore Adam out. What the doctor has to do is hold Adam's head straight and force his eyes to stay open. Then, eye drops go into his eye for the exam. Of course, Adam did not like it and was crying the whole time. But, this is just one of the exams he has to have done to make sure everything is progressing as it should.

Adam is still having some apnea spells where he stops breathing, but the nurses just rub his back and he's reminded to start breathing.

He is eating 18 cc's per feeding. Liquid vitamin is added once a day to one of his feedings.

Adams respiratory therapist had to switch out the tape on his face that helps hold his oxygen in place. So now, all he has is tape around his mouth so we can see those cute cheeks! :)

01/29/09

I hope everyone is having a great week! :) I've been sick, so I haven't been able to go see little Adam. I miss him so much! Hopefully this cold will go away soon so I can go see the little man!

Adam gained 50 grams overnight! This brings our little fighter up to 2.2 pounds! Thanks God! :)

The results from the ultra sound on his brain has come in. The blood is still on the right side of his brain; however, there is no new bleeding on either side! Some very good news is that the blood on his left side is now retracting back into his body!

The doctors are very pleased with Adam's progress!

Adams head is measured to ensure that no swelling is present. Right now, there's no cause for concern - but they still want to keep a close eye to make sure.

Your prayers are very much appreciated! Thank you so much!

01/27/09

I've got great news on our little munchkin! He's met great milestones this week! Thanks be to GOD! :)

Adam is now 2 pounds!!! He's been eating very well and is managing to keep everything down. The extra calories that the nurses are putting in the milk have really helped in pack on the ounces!

In the last update, I told you about vapor therm and how this is used to help expand Adam's chest to help him breathe a little easier. He is now down to one liter of vapor therm.

A new ultra sound of Adam's brain is going to be tomorrow and the test results should be back by the end of the week.

Right now, Adam's incubator controls his body temperature because he cannot maintain that on his own just yet. However, Adam is just about ready to maintain his own body temperature! When that happens, the nurses will move to a new incubator that is not heat controlled.

Remember the picture of Adam's diaper that was smaller than a dollar bill? Well, Adam is about to move up in his diaper size because he is going to the bathroom a lot! hehe I think the nurses are going to have to use umbrellas when they want to change his diaper because he likes to go to the bathroom everywhere. :) hehe

Thank you all for your prayers! Please keep them coming!

01/25/2009

Adam is doing very well! Here's a few pictures of our little fighter! :)

01.22.09

Adam has his good days and bad days, which is typical and expected with preemies like Adam. Adam has Apnea spells (where he stops breathing and when this happens, the nurse on duty just has to tap on his back to help remind him to breathe. After the nurse taps him, if he still does not start breathing - the nurse has to see how long it takes him to bring his heart rate and pulse back up. So far, Adam has only had a few spells where the timing was worrisome, but they are so few at this time there is no concern that he may need to be taken off of oxygen and be put back on the ventilator.

Adam has handled the transition from ventilator to oxygen very well. Adam was on 3 liters of vapor-therm, this is used to expand his chest to make it easier on his little body to breath. This specialist lowered Adam down to 2 liters. Thursday Adam had about 12 spells in 2 1/2 hours. The Doctor then increased Adam to 4 liters. He stayed on 3 liters for about two days, and put him back down to 3 liters of vapor-therm. Right now Adams little body is comfortable on 3 liters. Eventually, they will try to take Adam back down because the goal is to wean him off.

Adams quantity of food has been lowered but the calories have been increased. Also, his feedings are being put into a machine which pulls the milk through his feeding tube down to his stomach over an hour period rather then letting gravity take the food down to his stomach in about 10 minutes. The doctor made the decision to do this with his feeding because Adam had a few days when he was getting so sick after every feeding and was not gaining the weight he should. This does seem to help because Adam is getting less sick after feedings; however, just last night he got sick right after his night nurse gave him his feeding.

The morning nurse took Adam off of the machine and fed him as usual, where the food goes into a sarance holder and the gravity takes the food down to his stomach through his feeding tube. The nurses are alternating his feedings between the machine letting gravity take it down to see how Adam could handle it (and he did do well today). By the time Mourad and Suzanne arrived at the hospital last night, Adam had already gotten sick so the night nurse said that his next feeding will be put into the machine. As long as Adam's stats are stable, he can be held for about 20 to 30 minutes a day. Mourad has never been able to see Adam outside the incubator, but last night - they were going to try and let Mourad hold him. But, since Adam was having some feeding problems the nurses thought it would be a good idea to not let anyone hold him, Mourad agreed. They are going to try again tonight. :)

Adam had an echo done on his heart and according to the doctor, Adam still has a little opening - but this is not a huge concern and the opening should close on its own in the future. No brain scan was ordered this week because the doctors do not suspect any changes. According to the scan results from last week, Adam shows a grade 4 bleed on his left brain and a grade 3 bleed on his right (which was what he has had). He is not bleeding now, the last scan showed no swelling or hemorrhage, thanks God.

There is a chance that as Adam grows, some of the blood in his head from the previous bleeds can be absorbed into his body. However, if not - there are specialists at Vanderbilt who can perform surgery and remove the blood from his brain when Adam gets older. Adam grabbed onto his ear today. He does not have any cartilage in his ear yet, so he stretched it out as far as he could with out it hurting. He pulled so hard; he started crying because he hurt himself. Suzie said it was so sad, but cute at the same time. :)

Little Adam is very particular and he has no problems letting you know if he's mad at you or not (haha) He got mad at a nurse last week because she was bothering him to much. He kicked his feet on his bed and used it as leverage and almost caused himself to roll on his right side (which is really amazing considering most newborns cannot do this - let alone a preemie).

01/21/09

I've been out of town and was not able to update the website. I gave Suzanne all the information to update the site, but I don't think she had time to get on and update.

When I got home last night, I called to get the most up to date information on Little Adam. He's doing great and is now back up to his birth weight of 1 pound, 15 ounces. He is eating about 15 cc's (3 tablespoons) every couple hours.

Once I get more information to post, I'll be sure to update you all. :)

01/14/09

Superman is doing really good today! hehe My friend Jamie came up with that and I think it's the cutest thing!

Here are some updates on our little man: Adam is eating 15 cc's of milk per feeding. He also had an IV that was in his foot, but the nurses decided to move it to his hand. He was getting lipids thru this IV but since he is getting a good amount of milk, the doctor decided that little man did not need the IV anymore! :)

Suzie got to do the "kangaroo hug" with Adam today. This is where he lies on her bare skin to his skin, which is soothing for him instead of him being wrapped in the blanket. A white knit hat is placed on his head and a pre-warmed blanket is placed on his back to help keep him warm. Suzie was scared to do this to him, but his nurse said "as long as his STATS are good it is good to hold him", even though he is so little she said "Its not only good for him, but good for you". :)

Adam can hear his Mommy's heartbeat, smell her scent and even listen to her voice closely. Suzie was able to hold him for about 25 minutes.

Adams results are in from this weeks brain scan; however, Suz was not able to get the results. Hopefully the doctor will update her tomorrow.

His tummy gets upset sometimes and spits up a little, which is normal for all babies , but thanks God he usually digests all that is feed to him. Also, Suzie got to take his temperature today, he was a little fidgety but he handled it okay, the thermometer goes under his underarm. He has a very light cry and Suzie says it is so cute but it breaks her heart to hear it. He cried today because he was in a deep sleep and someone woke him up. hehe

Suzie says, "he likes to hold my finger and squeeze, thanks God he has a tight grip". :)

He is on about 3 liters of vapor-therm, this is put in his oxygen. The vapor-therm helps his chest expand and makes it easier for him to breath on his own. He seems to sleep better on his stomach, this is because when he lies on his back he has to work harder at taking a breath and when he sleeps on his chest it seems to relieve the pressure.

Here are some pictures Grandma took of the little munchkin!

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01/12/09

Adam is doing so well, thanks God! He's eating 10cc's every couple hours again! :) The nurses are adding some extra calories in the milk to help him put on some weight now.

I snapped these photos of our little fighter today! :)

[Click Image to View Full Size]

01/12/09

Hello everyone! Just letting you know that there are no new updates on Adam right now. He's doing wonderfully breathing on his own. I'm going to the hospital today and will be getting new pictures of little Adam without his breathing tube in. :) Hopefully I'll have updates on his improvements to post when I put the pictures up later on tonight.

01/10/09

Suzie and Grandpa went to the hospital today to visit Adam and was able to hold him for about 4 minutes as they changed out his incubator. They clean the incubator and change everything out once a week. She was very nervous, but very happy to be able to hold her little boy. Usually, parents aren't able to hold their baby until they reach at least four pounds. But, Suzie happened to be there when they were changing everything out and was lucky enough to hold her baby boy!

Suzie was able to help feed him today and he's fed through a feeding tube from his mouth down to his stomach, but he is on Suzie's milk and takes it very well. The tube that he has in his stomach may be removed tomorrow. :) They hope to get little Adam to take in more milk tomorrow.

The nurses are going to test his blood sugar tonight and are going to take out his IV from his foot because the IV repositioned itself. They will re-insert it later tonight.

Adam was looking at Suzie a lot as she was holding him but he was so tired he kept closing his eyes. :) He was very comfortable with Mommy holding him. :)

Thank you for all for your continuous prayers for little Adam, Mommy, and Daddy!

01/09/09

Adam is doing so well! Thanks God!

They took little man off the respirator last night and he's breathing good on his own! They have him on 41% pure oxygen to help him get better air flow with each breathe. They had to put him on some medicine for his heart murmur and have started back on his regular feedings since stopping the medication today.

When Adam was born, he was 1 pound 15 ounces. Within the first two days he dropped to 1 pound 7 ounces, which is typical in many babies. He is now back up to 1 pound 13 ounces! WAY TO GO ADAM! :) You keep on growing little guy!

Your posts to the guestbook are wonderful! Suzanne & Mourad appreciate all the well wishes and prayers!

01/08/09

The doctor is taking Adam off the respirator tonight! He's breathing very well on his own, so they think he's ready to be taken off the machine. Mommy went to visit Adam tonight and Aunt Barbie snapped these pictures of the little man:

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The jaundice lamp is no longer over Adam! This is why they were able to uncover his eyes. He even let me take a few pictures of him wide-eyed. :) The color of his skin looks great and all the bruises from the birth are almost all gone. :)

Thank you for continuing to pray for our little Adam!

01/08/09

Suzie was able to talk to Adam's nurses and he is up to eating 9 cc's every two hours! He continues to get stronger and is eating very well. All his organs are working like they should - strong heartbeat, great kidney function. His lungs are getting stronger and stronger and today, the machine is only breathing 10 % for him - so he's almost breathing on his own without the help of the machine. Thanks God!

A blood test showed that little Adam's blood sugar was high, so they had to give him an insulin treatment. Blood sugar is back down to normal now.

Mourad & Suzie, and other family members go to the hospital several times a day to visit with Adam. Suzie and Mourad are the only ones (other than the medical staff) that are allowed to touch Adam. With Adam being so little, this helps keep infection down. When Suzie & Mourad are with him, they gently both put their hands on him and pray. :)

Please continue to pray for Adam, Mom & Dad!

01/07/09 - 3:30PM

Adam is one week old today! Thanks be to God! :)

As of 01/07/09 at 3:30PM this is the newest update.

Mourad talked to the doctors today and the results of the CT scan showed that there is no new bleeding in little Adam's head! :) This is wonderful news! The scan also showed that the old blood is still there, but as Adam gets older, there are specialists at Vanderbilt that can operate and remove the old blood.

Adam is breathing much better on his own and is not relying on the machine to breath for him as much. I believe the nurse said that Adam is breathing 80% on his own! :)

I'm very happy to be able to keep you all up to date on what's going on. Although many of you are many miles, states, and even countries away - Mourad, Suzie & Adam are very close to our hearts. Little Adam and his parents are very much loved and is surrounded by such wonderful family, near and far!

I know Mourad & Suzanne appreciate all your love, support, and prayers!

01/07/09

As of 01/07/09, this is the newest update. The newest updates are on the top of the page while the oldest are on the very bottom (and probably on the last page). If you'd like to start from the beginning, scroll all the way down the page and work your way up from the bottom.

Grandpa: "While Grandma and Grandpa were in visiting Adam today, he grabbed his feeding tube and tried to pull it out of his mouth. He was trying to put his little fingers in his mouth and suck on them. Although he did not realize what he was doing, it was very cute to watch."

Adam is now eating 8 cc's (teaspoon and a half) every couple hours! They are thinking of possibly taking him off the breathing machine. Everytime I see him, his skin coloring gets better and better. Yesterday, Adam had his head scanned again - so hopefully the results will come back today and show good results!

Thank you for all your prayers! Please keep them coming! :)

01.06.09

As of 01/06/09 @ 12:35pm CST, this is the newest update. The newest updates are on the top of the page while the oldest are on the very bottom. If you'd like to start from the beginning, scroll all the way down the page and work your way up from the bottom.

Mourad gets to take Suzie home from the hospital today! The only new news on Adam is that the doctors are going to do another scan on Adam's head to check the bleeding, etc. Keep on fighting little guy!

01.06.09

As of 01/06/09, this is the newest update. The newest updates are on the top of the page while the oldest are on the very bottom. If you'd like to start from the beginning, scroll all the way down the page and work your way up from the bottom.

The doctors would not release Suzie yesterday and they ended up having to put an IV in her. She is dehydrated, so the IV should fix her right up. While they have her hooked up to that, they are also going to give her more antibiotics through the IV for her infection.

I (Barbie) went down and saw the little man as well. He's looking really good and he's eating 5 cc's (1 tablespoon) every couple hours! When he first started eating, he was only taking in about 2 - so his appetite is getting bigger. He got a little upset at the nurse for changing his diaper after his feeding - it was so cute!

His breathing is also getting stronger and the doctors are thinking that he is almost ready to have the breathing tube removed! :) He's doing a lot of the breathing on his own and doesn't have to rely on the machine as much. Thanks be to GOD!

Keep those prayers coming! :)

01/05/09

As of 01/05/09, this is the newest update. The newest updates are on the top of the page while the oldest are on the very bottom. If you'd like to start from the beginning, scroll all the way down the page and work your way up from the bottom.

Suzie thought she was going to be released from the hospital today, but they are going to keep her there. The incision is still infected and some blood clots are forming. Suzie is okay, but they just want to keep monitoring her. She is on antibiotics, so hopefully the infection will go away soon.

Our little fighter, Adam, is having a good day today! :) He is breathing anywhere from 4% to 10% on his own! That's a good boy, just keep on fighting!

Your thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated!

01/04/09

As of 01/04/09, this is the newest update. The newest updates are on the top of the page while the oldest are on the very bottom. If you'd like to start from the beginning, scroll all the way down the page and work your way up from the bottom.

Suzie is feeling much better as time goes by. Her incisions from the c-section are infected, so she was unable to go home from the hospital today. She is fine with it, because it gives her more time to spend with Adam. She's able to give the nurses in the NICU enough milk for Adam as well and he's continuing to eat very well! :)

Mourad has been so good & patient with Suzie. There's no doubt he's a great husband to Suzie and a great father to Adam!

Suzie & Mourad go down to the NICU several times a day to see their little man. Suzie just cannot believe how much Adam looks like Mourad. All she can say is "Thank God he's so beautiful!"

The other day Mourad & Suzie got to spend time with Adam without the top of the incubator over him. They uncovered his eyes and Suzie said Adam's eyes are very dark brown, just like Mourad's. Although Adam is jondace right now, he will have a very beautiful olive tone to his skin once it's all cleared up.

Yesterday, the bleeding in little Adam's head had stopped - but today the doctors came back and said that the bleeding started up again. Please continue to pray for little Adam to get stronger! Through prayer, anything is possible! :)

01/03/09

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As of 01/03/09, this is the newest update. The newest updates are on the top of the page while the oldest are on the very bottom. If you'd like to start from the beginning, scroll all the way down the page and work your way up from the bottom.

The picture above is of Adam's diaper so you can get a better idea of just how little and fragile he is. But, we do have some great news today! The bleeding in Adam's head has stopped! Thank goodness today is a great day for the little guy! Please continue to pray for Adam, Mom, & Dad!

01/01/09

[Click Image for Full View]

As of 01/01/09, this is the newest update. The newest updates are on the top of the page while the oldest is on the very bottom. If you'd like to start from the beginning, scroll all the way down the page and work your way up from the bottom.

They have little man on his tummy today. He seems to really be comfortable on his tummy and he gets very mad with the nurses when they try to move him. :) Adam is eating very well and has a very strong heartbeat. This little man is a fighter. His breathing is much better today; although he still relies on the machine to do most the breathing for him.

A scan of Adam's head came back that he had 80% bleeding on his left side and 20% bleeding on his right side. They had to give him two blood transfusions today and he took very well to them.

Please keep Adam in your thoughts and prayers!

12/31/08

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As of 12/31/08, this is the newest update. The newest updates are on the top of the page while the oldest is on the very bottom. If you'd like to start from the beginning, scroll all the way down the page and work your way up from the bottom.

Prior to Adam's birth, Suzie was having contractions here and there. She had just thought she was cramping. They went to the hospital to find that Suzie's water had broke. Since Suzie was only at 26 weeks gestation, they tried everything to stop the labor. The doctors were injecting Suzie with steroids and other medicines; some was to stop the labor, while others were to allow Adam to get stronger. Because Adam had a while to go before everything was developed, the doctors wanted to keep Suzie on steroids and other medicines for a week and then planned to deliver Adam sometime during the first week of January. But, little man had another plan.

Suzie's contractions just kept coming on stronger and stronger. The doctor checked her and she was dilated to a 3 out of 10 and little Adam's foot was sticking out. The doctor had no choice but to deliver Adam via cesarean section immediately.

After the birth, Adam had to be taken to the NICU. Adam is in stable condition and Mom (Suzie) is pretty sore.

In the NICU, the doctors had to hook Adam up to a respirator to help him breath since he could not breath on his own.

More Updates Soon!

Hello World! :)

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Born on 12/31/08 at 01:43, Adam is our little "New Years Eve" baby! Weighing in at 1 pound, 15 ounces and measuring 13 inches long. He was born at only 26 weeks! Little guy did not want to wait 14 more weeks to be born!

Little Adam looks JUST LIKE his Daddy, Mourad.

Suzanne (Suzie) and Mourad decided to name him Adam Larbie. Larbie is Mourad's Dad's name.

When Adam was born, the medical staff had to take him directly to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and are planning on keeping him there until the end of March 2009.

The NICU (pronounced "Nickyou") provides a high level of intensive care to premature infants. NICUs were developed in the 1950s and 1960s by pediatricians to provide better temperature support, isolation from infection risk, specialized feeding, and access to specialized equipment and resources. Infants are cared for in incubators or "open warmers." Some low birth weight infants need respiratory support ranging from extra oxygen (by head hood or nasal cannula) to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or mechanical ventilation. Public access is limited, and staff and visitors are required to take precautions to reduce transmission of infection.

More updates to come!