Maybe this weekend

Things are looking great! Andrew is only on an IV now. The doctor said
he would be on it for 7-10 days and day 7 is tomorrow. It is hard to
believe we have been in the hospital for a week.

We have great friends who are helping us with meals & childcare. THANK
YOU!

Yellow

Andrew is doing GREAT. He has no more tubes and is nursing. He has to
be on antibiotics for a couple of more days and will have to sit under
the light and a blanket that glows. His billiruben (sp?) has increased.

Maybe he can come home this weekend.

Things are better

Andrew is off the ventilator and his breathing is great. We are able
to hold him and hear him cry. When he was intubated he didn't make any
noise.

He will be on antibiotics for the next 1-3 days. He may be able to
start nursing today. His blood work continues to come back good.

Our nurse this morning is Leena. She is from Delhi, India and we have
discussed her culture, her kids, her husbands Seik religion, and where
in Vegas to get the best Indian food.

If things continue to go well he may come home this weekend. Auntie
Lisa arrives tonight.

Again I want to thank everyone who has helped out with our kids,
brought us food, and all of you across the world who have been
praying. It is really cool to have friends in countries all over the
Earth.

We love all of you.

Apparently Andrew "coughed" out the ventilator. I am on my way to get the details. Stay tuned!

Sent from Garrett's iPhone

Quick update

It is about 9:20 pm and I just arrived in the NICU to visit Andrew.
These numbers you see in the picture are great. The one that says 47
was in the high 70's. The number that is 20 started out at 45. Those
are big improvements. He still has fluid in his lungs, but the nurse
said it is pretty thin. They have also started him on a new IV of
electrolytes and protein. He looks comfy and hopefully they will
extubate tomorrow.

Jessica was discharged last night from the hospital and we were able to spend the night at home.

Andrew has had slight improvement. He is wearing very stylish shades because he is under a bright light for jaundice. His billiruben (sp?) level is better.

He is still on the ventilator, but the assistance from the vent has reduced over half. It was assisting him at 45 bpm and now it is down to 20 bpm. He is still breathing a little fast. All of his blood work has shown improvement.

The fluid in his lungs is thinning and he seems to be happy despite all the tubes and poking.

There is no estimated time of discharge for Andrew. Logan, William, and Sara really want to see him.

Thanks for all your prayers. Thanks to Rachel, Michelle, and Brad for all you have done.

Sara is ready for her new brother to come home.

Latest update

The latest exray showed that Andrew has a touch of pneumonia. He is
receiving antibiotics. His breathing seems to have improved slighty.

Jessica & her friend are down in the NICU now. Only two people are
allowed at a time and so I am wandering around the hospital looking
for "secret" doors to open.

Sent from Garrett's iPhone

It's Sunday

Andrew is still about the same. He is still on the ventilator and probably will be for another 24 hours. He will be having an echo-cardiogram this morning. All of his blood work continues to come back good.

The hard part will be leaving him because Jessica will be discharged today.

It is hard to see him like this. Because of the tube in his trachea and throat when he cries there is no sound. He started crying this morning and I held his hand and put my hand on his head and he stopped within seconds. We just want to hold him. However, we are thankful that he is as healthy as he is. He definitely is the "big dog" in the NICU.

Thanks for all the continued prayers, visits, calls, texts, emails, facebook messages, and tweets. It is nice to know we have so many friends.

The other kids are doing great. Our friend Rachel has been taking care of them. She has taken them to Pizza Hut, the park, the movies, and all kinds of other things.

Logan is going with me tonight to The Rock and Road Worship Show. I know our kids really want to see their new baby brother.

God is perfect and His timing is perfect and so we are just along for the ride.

Pray

They are having to intubate Andrew to give him assistance for breathing.

It's kind of scary to watch.

Sent from Garrett's iPhone

Things are about the same. He is now on SiPap. It is a mask (similar
to sleep apnea headgear) to control breathing and pressure.

Next option is to sedate him and put him on a ventilation machine to
help him rest.

They just ran antibiotics through the IV in case of infection. His
last blood gas and check exrays were good.

We will be here for a while.

Andrew Paul Holmes

He was born at 6:33pm on April 9. He weighed exactly 7 lbs and 0.7 oz.
He was 19 1/2 inches long. Labor and delivery were very easy.

Since Andrew was a little early (37 weeks) his lungs weren't quite
ready. He is having a little trouble breathing.

He will be in the NICU for a few days to be monitored with the
possibility of intubation. Overall, he is doing well, but we would
appreciate your prayers. We don't want to be here too many days.

Baby watch

Yesterday I took the day off to go with Jessica to her doctor
appointments. We went to the Center for Maternal Fetal Medicine to be
monitored and then over to Dr. Skinner's for a check up.

Dr. Skinner put Jess on bed rest and scheduled an induction date of
April 24. Jess and I decided to go have lunch at Gonzales Y Gonzales
at NYNY then to a movie at Green Valley Ranch. I joked about this
being our last date before the baby was born and well it was.

Today, I drove Jess and the kids to school an then spent some time at
a local café. Jess is iChatting me and saying she doesn't feel well.
Per doctors orders we go to the hospital to be checked. Luckily Dr.
Skinner was at the hospital and he decided to get this thing going.

Everything is underway and we are just waiting. Thanks to Charlotte,
Rachel, and Brad for taking care of our kids. Thanks to all the church
people for covering my weekend duties and willingness to help and buy
gifts. Thanks to Michelle for hanging with us at the hospital. Thanks
to our friends, literally all over the world who are praying for us.

Andrew Paul Holmes will be here soon. Stay tuned!!!

Sent from Garrett's iPhone