This is the blog for Gavin and Carrie Jones and family. We live in Papua New Guinea and are working to see lives transformed by the living Word of God through Bible translation. Gavin is a helicopter pilot. Carrie, who has her degree in Public Health, works in the lab at our busy rural clinic. Our son, Isaac, was born in 2004 and our quintuplets, Will, David, Marcie, Seth, and Grace, were born in 2012.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. The you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:3-6

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Oooops Again. And a baby's coming home?!

A correction for Carrie's first "Oops" post.  No, Will has not gained 2 pounds in a day.  He is definitely big compared to the others, but he's not packing it on quite that fast.  (I suppose it's possible he's sneaking off in the middle of the night to get a 32 oz steak at Texas Roadhouse, but unlikely.)  Early morning postings tend to lead to exaggerations (or maybe we should just call it a typo).  Will is 6 lb, 10 oz.

Today's big news is that David is on schedule to come home on Saturday!  He has to go 5 days straight without having any "sleep alarms."  That means he has to breathe on his own without any drops in heart rate that set of the monitor alarm for five days in a row.  Friday will mark the fifth day, so we'd bring him home on Saturday.  If he has a sleep alarm, then the clock resets, but he is on track for that now.  He's taking all of his feedings from a bottle and doing great.

Life is about to REALLY change for us!  Up until now, we really haven't felt like a family of 8.  We aren't in constant care of six kids, but just one.  I may offend someone or sound crass by saying this, but I have felt since they were born that going to the NICU is kind of like going to a petting zoo.  The babies are really cute.  We looked at them from the other side of the glass.  Later, we got to hold them and "pet" them and feed them.  We have had to use hand sanitizer all the time.  The "keepers" (nurses) show us how to feed them and hold them and take care of them while we're there.  At the end of the day, though, we say goodbye and head back to our "real" lives, not having any direct physical responsibility for caring for them aside for when we are there.

Well, the petting zoo is heading our way!  We are thankful that they are not all coming home in one swell foop.  Inching our way from one baby to five in a gradual manner will have its own challenges, but I think will be more helpful to our sanity than going from none to five all at once.

We are just so grateful that there are so many people on board to help us out in so many ways!  Bless you all!

Seth is holding his own.  He's about the same as before.  Comfortable and happy and healthy looking, but needing significant pressure to keep the lungs inflated.  They are continuing to wean the nitric and hope to have a good idea of whether the hypertension has been addressed fully in a few days.  He's still a very sick boy and needs serious and intense care and prayer.

Marcie had her first feed from a bottle today and took to it quicker than either David or Will.  She actually finished the whole feed from the bottle, which neither boy did.  Grace is pretty close to starting a bottle, but has a few levels to go down on her oxygen support and air flow from the vapotherm machine.

Will is doing great, but still not caught up to David as far as his bottle feedings.  He won't be much longer in the NICU, though.

Love to all,

Gavin


9 comments:

  1. Wow, quite a milestone just around the next bend! How thrilling for you all to have David go home...I'll be praying for him to reach that day 5 with no alarms! Prayers continue for them all and for you both and Issac, your lives are indeed getting ready to head down another path!

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  2. Will he wear a heart alarm at home, too?

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    1. No, he only has issues while eating and they won't let him go until he can finish 8 bottles per day without a problem. Saturday is no longer the Big Day. It's just too much for him to have to suck down all food yet

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    2. will they need oxygen at home my prayers are with your family



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    3. I know this sounds odd when you long to have them all home safely, but don't rush. Enjoy the rest you have now with others caring for them and peace to sleep in. They know and we all know you love them.... but care for yourself, too.

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  3. Our family has been following your blog since the babies birth and our faith community is holding Seth and his siblings in our prayers! Marni Rose, Grand Rapids, MI

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  4. Thank you, Lord, for your continued mercy and grace. Please continue to bless and heal these sweet babies. As they begin to come home, please provide the care and support the family will need, and help the babies to thrive. Amen. NKL

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  5. I think anyone who has had a baby in the NICU can definitely relate to your analogy of the petting zoo. We felt that way when our triplets were in NICU. We felt like we were just visitors. When we finally got all of our babies home, we felt like they were really ours. :-)

    Praying for you guys daily...

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  6. i can definitely relate to your petting zoo analogy. when my son was in the NICU i felt that way.
    im praying for you all. im glad that this blog helps you update thousands all at once.

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Gavin, Carrie, Isaac, Will, David, Marcie, Seth, & Grace Jones

Gavin, Carrie, Isaac, Will, David, Marcie, Seth, & Grace Jones

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