Owen is doing well. He's up to 1511 grams. That's a little over 3 lbs and 5 oz! He's down to 20 on the ventilator and they started him on the steroid course today. Hopefully, he'll be done with that ventilator soon!

Owen is doing well today. He gained 10 more grams. His white blood count is back to normal and he's generating his own blood at a good rate. He's still at 25 on the ventilator, but hopefully his gas levels will be good in the early morning, and then they'll start the steroid course of treatment soon. After three days of the steroid, they'll see how he does off the ventilator. We've been able to do kangaroo care three days in a row now; that's a first. They did his eye test today. It is a little worse than the one on Monday, but not bad enough at this point that they're referring him to the other Dr at Kosair. They will continue to look at it every seven days, if it continues to progress, then they will take him to kosair to be assessed for needs with surgery.

Owen is doing well. He's down to 25 on the ventilator. If his gas levels are good, they'll move it down to 20 in the morning. When he's back down to 20 and maintaining good levels, they'll start the steroids for a three day course, monitor his progress, and then take him off the ventilator if all is well. We've been having daily kangaroo care the last few days. He desats a lot less often and he recovers quickly when he does. It makes for a much more relaxed kangaroo care experience. Last night he didn't desat at all through the night. He weighs 3 lbs and 3 oz!! His next eye test should be tomorrow or Friday.

Owen had his eye test yesterday. Last night we got the news that he has ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). They let us know that this is a common condition in preemies, but they don't usually see it in the first eye test that they routinely do at ~6 wks. They're concerned about the condition and are going to monitor it closely. A different doctor is going to do another test on thursday or friday. If the condition has worsened, then he will most likely be transferred to kosair children's to see the "world recognized" eye doctor for preemies. This doctor will then assess the condition and determine the possible need for him to have eye surgery. They explained that on one extreme things could stay where they are and not lead to any problems, but at the other end, the current state could lead to blindness. Of course, in between those extremes, he could lose peripheral vision among various other possibilities. On a much better note, he is doing well with his breathing. He hasn't pulled his tube out today. They put it in a little farther, which appears to bother him some, but works well as a detterent for him extubating himself. The tube is also a little smaller to cause less irritation to his trachea. He seems to be working a little harder to breath, but he is successful with decreased desats. They're going to keep moving the ventilator down and testing his gases. If he keeps doing well, they're going to give him the steroid course and then they will take the ventilator out. He looks well and is resting well. They share that the blood transfusion was successful. He now weighs just over three pounds!!! Please keep him in your prayers!!

Our little Owen pulled his tube out yesterday and today. Yesterday before he pulled it out, he was all the way down to 15 on the ventilator. The doctors thought he would do well without, but he's still not there yet. They're saying its likely that his lungs have developed enough, but that he has swelling in his airways and that is keeping him from breathing well. Now he's back at 40 on the ventilator. He needs some time to re-stabilize. Then, they're going to give him steroids to get him ready for the next try. That'll probably happen in a week or so. He's gained weight the last two days despite the stress. He's at 1359 grams. Moving closer and closer to 3 lbs! His white blood cells are up. But they think that's due to the stress and not an early sign of infection. His hemoglobin levels are down. He now has an IV. They're giving him some blood.

Owen now weighs 1333 grams. That's a little more than 2 lbs and 15 oz. He's been growing so well that they're increasing his feeding to 22ml every 3 hrs. He's also doing very well with breathing more on his own. They lowered his ventilator twice in one day. He's down to 15 now which is a very low setting. If he continues to do well today and tonight, then they're going to see how he does without it tomorrow. Please keep him in yours prayers. I can't add pictures on the iPad for some reason...I'll add several when we get the computer up and going.

Owen weighs 1313 grams today. That's 2lbs and 14.5 oz. He's doing a good job gaining weight. We're almost to the big three pounds! He's still at 20 on the ventilator and doing well with his gas levels. He's looking really good. Resting really well. Not a lot of changes to share, but that's a good thing. He's doing a good job maintaining steady progress. We're currently in the process of moving. There's not a lot of time to get everything accomplished, but we'll be doing our best to keep the updates coming this weekend.

Owen continues to do well. He is up to 1274 grams. His ventilator is turned down to 20 which is the rate they originally said would lead to him being taken off. After the other night however, the plan is to move more slowly in hopes of better success; unless of course he pulls it out again. Hopefully that's not the case.

Owen had a good day today. His gas levels were improved this afternoon, and they lowered his ventilator down to 22. He weighs 1254 grams. That's a little over 2 lbs and 12 oz. He did really well while we were there this evening. He had few desats and recovered quickly each time. He was wide awake after his assessment --- We love looking at those pretty eyes.
We've got a video and a cute picture that we'll add soon!

Owen wasn't ready. He's back on the ventilator. The bubble c-pap wasn't quite enough for him at this time, and his gases weren't where they needed to be. He's been back on the ventilator since late last night. His gases are looking better again.

Owen pulled his vent out again and he was low enough on it to where they were going to give him a try without it (this was happening while we were walking in tonight!) We are very nervous and we hope he takes to it well. If he struggles much at all they will put his ventilator right back in. They have him on a bubble c-pap machine now. If he does well he will move down to a nose canula in a couple of days. We'll keep you posted.

Owen is doing better today. His hemoglobin is good. No solid explanation as to what was going on yesterday, but today he recovered well. He now weighs 1249 grams or 2lbs and 12 oz. He's a growing boy! His ventilator is now set at 24, and they're talking about taking him off when he gets to 20 to see how he does without. He would still have oxygen, but not the ventilator.
--We got to do kangaroo care tonight. It is such a beautiful experience!!

Owen has had a challenging day today. His ventilator is still down at 26 this evening, but they had to raise his oxygen some to help him breathe easier. They're going to test his blood in the morning. They believe his hemoglobin may be low and he may need some more blood. They do draw his blood at least one time per day to test his gases. Its likely that it is low. Its been awhile since they've given him blood.
He's hasn't been resting as well today, and of course when he's had a rough day, that means no kangaroo care :(
--Maybe tomorrow!

On a better note, he has gained more weight. He's up to 1230 grams, which is 2lbs and 11.75oz. He has also grown a half of an inch.
They raised his feed to 20ml from 19ml every 3 hrs today. He had his first reported spit up today. He also pooped so much that it came out of his diaper and soiled his cute little outfit. His digestive system is developing well.
We had two visits today. We sang songs together, and we talked about hopefully moving into our new home soon. We discussed the plans for the nursery and as always we focused on how exciting it will be when he gets to come home. Oh, the things we'll get to do!
It sure is hard for this mama to leave her baby. I guess I thought it would get easier. But the opposite is true. I suppose as your love for your baby doubles each day; so does the difficulty in parting ways.

Here are the St. Paddy's Day Pictures!

It's St. Patrick's Day! Owen is wearing his first outfit so far, and it has little green frogs on it.

He's regulating his temperature well enough now to have no heat in his incubator. His weight is up to 1180 grams, which is 2 lbs and 9.5 oz. He's gained a pound since birth! He keeps moving down on his ventilator. He's at a rate of 28 right now, and they're trying to move it down a little every other day as long as his gases are good.
He is tolerating his feeds well. They have started fortifying the breastmilk with special care formula to add the extra calories that he needs.
He is looking healthy and well. He is resting better and looking more peaceful when he's sleeping. When he's awake, he looks much more alert. His little eyes look to focus and follow. They will be doing an eye test this week.
He's been doing much better this past week. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

We're going to add more pictures and videos as soon as possible. And we may work a little at a time to add the 'in between' info from his birth day until the present. But time is hard to come by these days, so no promises on how soon that will happen.

Owen Bruce Lodge

Born: 2-5-2012 (Super Bowl Sunday) at 11:26 AM

He was 1 pound 9 ounces at birth 

This is the first picture taken of Owen as he was wheeled out of surgery and into the NICU. There will be many more pictures to come and a little explanation of our journey to this point. Thank you to everyone for all the prayers and support. We feel so rich and blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

This is the actual size of his feet. So cute!