Atticus Update

To those of you asking for the latest on Heidi & James' newborn baby Atticus, in their words...
James: "Atticus has been moved to a less severe room of the newborn ICU, as he continues to become more stable. His latest heart scan showed that he's getting stronger and that his heart is not over-worked. He also had his head x-rayed this week, to check for cranial bleeding. The results showed that everything was normal. He's on a little bit of oxygen now, but they keep it to a minimum. He still has an IV, but is no longer getting any kind of medication through it. They feed him milk with a tube in his nose, and suppliment this with IV vitamins and fat. Once he gets to a point where he can digest his milk fast enough and more completely, he will get off of his IV. Today's nurse thinks this could be as soon as the end of next week. Once he starts feeding better, he should start putting on weight quickly. To help him feed, they are letting us hold him more. They say that skin to skin contact with his mama will help him feel more comfortable when he feeds. Today he layed on Heidi's chest while I helped give him some milk. As he learns to associate getting held with getting food, and as he learns to feed, swallow and breathe at the same time, he will start acting more like a full-term baby. This is already happening. When he lays with Heidi, his heart rate gets better, and his breathing becomes less strained. He knows exactly who she is. And she is, of course, happy to hold him as often as they will let us."

As for Heidi: "I am healing nicely, though I'm still on blood pressure medication as a result of the preeclampsia (I'm part of the 10% of women who don't get better immediately). I have more energy, I'm getting around really well, and my ankles are back (yea!). This really is a roller coaster we're on, with so many emotions bombarding us from all sides. We're thrilled that Atty is doing so well, and we love our sweet little boy so much, but at the same time it's painful to not have him here with us, to carry on life as "normal" even though it's not. To have a child but not be able to hold him and snuggle him whenever we want, to watch him sleep and bathe him and dress him and keep him next to us at all times. We do get to hold him for about an hour to an hour and a half once or twice a day. And we're so grateful to be able to do that. But it's so hard to leave him there. So when someone asks "How are you doing?", it's hard to know how to answer..."

Thank you for caring and please continue to keep them in your prayers!