Complications and hurdles galore

December 26, 2007
Hello everyone. Today we went to Aiden's eye appointment and the doctor has discovered he has developed a disease called Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Which means that the retinas are not fully developed. Some of his blood vessels in the immature part of his retina have developed abnormally. Right now the doctor said he is in stage 3 moderate. It could need laser treatment so we have to go back on the 4th to see if it has progressed. His type of ROP can lead to retinal detachment and permanent loss of vision that is not treatable by glasses laser or surgery. If it has progressed then they will do laser surgery and stop the growth the blood vessels and then he will have nearsightedness. So if everyone can please lift Aiden up in your prayers. This little man has been through so much and he has beat so many odds. It goes to show how well prayer pays off.

December 29,2007
Good evening everyone. We have yet another hurdle to jump. Last night I was at the ER at Children's with Aiden. He has some fungal issues around the site of his ostomy as well as a stoma hernia. These can happen since a potential site of weakness is formed with the stoma site. The surgeon is not too concerned with the hernia, but he did say that Aiden will be ready for surgery soon. We go on the 25th of January to see the surgeon and he will then let us know what the plan is. The hernia is not painful, but it can be uncomfortable when he lays on his belly or on his right side (the side where his stoma is). But to help him developmentally we have to allow him time on his sides and belly. As always, I will keep everyone updated.

December 30, 2007
This evening has been pretty laid back. The boys got their baths and are now settling down for the night. When we changed Aiden's ostomy, we noticed that his hernia has grown in size since Friday evening. But the discomfort has not changed any so we are not too worried. Nate has a cough :( If it doesn't clear up by tomorrow I am going to call his doctor and see what he thinks. What true blessings my boys are.

Strong Tiger and Brave Lion

My two beautiful God sent gifts are now home. Aiden was discharged late this afternoon after spending 78 days in the RCNIC. This day has been filled with laughter, joy, and tears. I don't think I can even describe it in words. So I will leave you with these two pictures of Aiden Christopher and Nathaniel Jacob Wilkinson. Let the fun begin....

Tonight I come bearing wonderful news

December 13, 2007
Aiden will be home no later than Wednesday of next week!!!! He has been doing so well with his feeds, he is now on cue based feeding and it is all by mouth. Tomorrow around 2pm they plan on taking out his feeding tube for good! Hallelujah! Our little men will be together once again, soon.. very soon!

Nate had his high risk appointment today to see how he is doing developmentally, and they said he looks great, you can barley tell he is a preemie. He has also gained some significant weight. He weighs 5 lbs 3 ounces! Aiden is now at the 4 lb mark! YAY for growing healthy beautiful God sent boys!

I want to thank each and everyone of you for all of your prayers, thoughts, and love. It means so much to our family to have so much support. I will have pictures for everyone as soon as they get home! Then the fun begins!

Good news!!!!

December 11, 2007
I just received an email from Aidens nurse, and he has taken 2 whole bottles by mouth today! She said here in the next few days she thinks they will put him on cue based feeds... which means his coming home party is not too far away! It sounds like him being home for Christmas is more realistic than we thought! YAY!!

The joy continues

December 3, 2007

So we are over 48 hours into Nate being home, and we couldn't be happier. Well I take that back, we could be happier if Aiden was home as well.... but it is going to be a while for him. Kyle went down today to see him after school and Aiden had not peed for the day yet. So again another time we will pray for a body function. He is still not showing interest in taking his bottle. He is our lazy boy and would rather everyone else do it for him. Nate is adjusting well to be home, but he is a very loud sleeper. Constantly cooing and grunting, which is very reassuring to us since he has had problems with not breathing in the past. Being so tiny I run to him every time he cries not wanting him to be "alone". Which I know I need to get over that quick because I am not going to be able to be there for both of them all the time, and I can not shield them from everything. I am learning to sleep when he sleeps some of the time during the day. Kyle and I are taking shifts with feeds. One of us will do the 12am and 3am feeds and the other will do the 6am and 9am feeds. This way we can at least get a few hours of sleep as a block of sleep instead of our sleep being broken up into 3 hour intervals. It seems to be working well, so hopefully it works when Aiden comes home as well.

NATE IS HOME!!!!

December 1, 2007

YAY! We were able to bring Nate home today! Sadly his brother had to be left behind at the hospital. Other than it being a very emotional day, things are going well! Nate blew out a whole diaper, it went up his back and almost ruining his come home outfit (thank you Tonni). But the good thing is he is pooping! That has been a problem. His first feeding went well here at home, just some minor reflux spit ups. I attached a picture of our dog Emma Jean trying to be mommy with Nate, she loves him already!