Lawson Andrew & Amelia Paige

Weight: 4 pounds 1 ounce

Lawson is having a restful day today. Just eating, sleeping and pooping. It feels good not to have big news.

Eric and I are praying for some dear friends of ours from the NICU. The couples name is Andy & Dawn Kimbrel. They had a sweet little girl named Emma Kate less than 2 months ago. Emma was in the NICU for about a month. We became good friends with Andy and Dawn at this time. Emma was released from Brookwood about 3 weeks ago. Dawn (26 yrs old) had a mild stroke the first night that Emma was home. They ran a lot of test on Dawn and were unable to find the cause of her issues. She was in the hospital (ICU) for several weeks when she tragically died on Thanksgiving. Her husband, Andy, called us the day after Thanksgiving to tell us the news. Her viewing was tonight. Please keep Andy and Emma in your prayers. Emma will never know the sweet and caring person that her mom actually was.

Weight: 4 pounds 1 ounce

I can hardly believe that we are up to 4 pounds. Lawson is doing well. He is taking 1.5-2 ounces of milk in each feeding. He is also being spoiled by the sweet nurses in the NICU. They pick him up and tote him around the nursery half the day.

Weight: 3 pounds 15 ounces

Lawson is doing well today. His sodium is in the normal range and he continues to get the ADH shots. After speaking with the doctor (Dr. Mena) today, we believe that our next step is to transfer to Children's Hospital. It will be a step before coming home. He will see the specialist (Endocrinologist & Nephrologist) there for additional test. They will try to administer his ADH med through a nasal spray (instead of two shots a day). They will also run additional test to determine whether this may be something that he will grow out of and whether any other hormones are affected. We may be moving to Children's as early as next week. We will find out on Monday.

Weight: 3 pounds 15 ounces

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Our sweet baby boy is growing each day. We are thankful for his life and his strong will to survive. We are thankful for his every breath and every gram gained. We are also thankful for the wonderful doctors and nurses at Brookwood.

Weight: 3 pounds 14 ounces

Lawson is doing well today. His sodium has been in the normal range. He gets a ADH shot every 12 hours (2 a day). They are talking like we will be giving them at home too. I dread giving Lawson a shot but if that is what it takes, so be it. Hopefully the meds can eventually be administered through a nasal spray. We are not sure yet...

Weight: 3 pounds 13 ounces

Packing on the pounds :). Lawson is doing well today. He has been off IV fluids for two days now. His urine output is not as high because the antidiurectic hormone is regulating his fluid retention.

Today I pray for our new NICU friends that are taking home one of their twins (George) today. They are anxious and excited. They hope to be taking their little girl (Ann Bonds) home soon.

Weight: 3 pounds 11 ounces

Lawson looks really good today. We can actually hold him without being hooked up to any tubes/monitors/etc. It feels so good!

He is getting 2 ADH shots a day. He seems to be responding to the shots.

Weight: 3 pounds 10 ounces

Lawson's sodium looks good today. The ADH shots are really helping. Lawson has been on a 7-day count down of being off of the Theoflin (the drug that reminds him to breathe). He has done really well so they are taking him off the SAT monitor. That is one less monitor -- Yeah!

Lawson is feeding really well. He took 40cc's of milk for me today. He seems to be getting stronger each day.

Weight: 3 pounds 7 ounces

Lawson is doing well today. His blood work came back and ADH (antidiuretic hormone) hormone was low. That is what triggers the kidney's to flush out the sodium. The pituitary glad (in the brain) produces that hormone. I believe they referred to it as Diabetes Insipitus (DI). It isn't like sugar diabetes in adults...it is about producing enough of the antidiuretic hormone (ADH).

They gave him a shot (of the ADH) and he responded. That is good. They will continue to tweak the meds and monitor his progress. They want to verify that there are no problems in addition to the ADH. We will know more as time goes by.

Praise the Lord for some answers. We are getting closer to a diagnosis. We thank everyone for your prayers!

Weight: 3 pounds 5 ounces

Lawson's sodium is higher than it has ever been today. We are waiting to hear from the doctor to see what steps need to be made. Mom and Dad are anxious to get this under control.

PLEASE GOD WRAP LAWSON IN YOUR HEALING HANDS. PLEASE GIVE ERIC AND I THE STRENGTH TO MAKE IT THROUGH ANOTHER DAY. WE ARE READY FOR THE ROLLER COASTER RIDE TO BE OVER. WE LOVE YOU AND NEED YOU LORD!

Weight: 3 pounds 5 ounces

Lawson looks good today. The central line is now in place and ready to be used at any moment. He is taking is bottles well today. His sodium is still elevated.

Weight: 3 pounds 4 ounces

Lawson is 2 months old today. Another milestone for us. We couldn't imagine being this far along 2 months ago. Lawson is truly our sweet little miracle.

Today Lawson is getting a central line. This will allow him to continue to get fluids and not be stuck every day. The central line is necessary because his little veins are weak and can't handle many more sticks. He will have to continue to get fluids until his sodium level is under control.

Nurse: Amanda/Suzy
Doctor: Dr. Mena
Weight: 3 pounds 3 ounces

Lawson's sodium is up a little from yesterday. They continue to watch it. He is enjoying his milk (gained 2 ounces from yesterday). He is getting bigger and stronger each day.

Nurse: Annette/Lindsay/Joan
Doctor: Dr. Mena
Weight: 3 pounds 1 ounce

Lawson is doing well today. He is taking his bottles well. His sodium is about the same. He seems to be resting well. It is time for his vaccines and immunizations. He will get those this week.

Nurse: Annette/Lindsay/
Doctor: Dr. Strange
Weight: 3 pounds 1 ounces

Today I got to bottle feed Lawson for the very first time. He was a bit sleepy during his feed. His sodium was down a little.

Today Lawson moved out from "Critical Row." That is what I call it:). It is the middle row of the NICU where the nurses keep a close watch on each baby 24 hours a day. The goal is to move under the clock (where he is close enough to be watched) then to the wall (where he requires a bottle every 3-4 hours). We are now under the clock. This is a big step.

We pray that Lawson gets bigger and stronger each day. We pray that his kidney's mature each day. We also pray for the friends that we have met in the NICU (Rachelle & Chad - their twins, Anne Bonds & George) (Kirsten & Tim - their baby boy who is making progress and his twin sister that he lost last Friday night) (Dawn & Andy - their baby girl, Emma). We are so blessed to have met these people. There is a comfort in knowing that they are walking in your shoes.

Nurse: Caroline/Tara
Doctor: Dr. Mena
Weight: 3 pounds

Yeah...Lawson is right at 3 pounds. He is taking a bottle every other feed (tube feeding in between so he doesn't get too tired). He is still on IV fluids for his sodium. It continues to be a little high. They are thinking that it is due to his premature kidney's. And they hope that they will come around and that level will even out on it's own. We continue to pray that this is the case. Only time will tell.

Nurse: Lindsay
Doctor: Dr. DiCarlo
Weight: 2 pounds 15 ounces

Lawson's sodium has come down even more. It is heading in the right direction. Hopefully it will continue to go down. His breathing has been very stable and he seems to be enjoying his feeds. Only 20 grams away from the 3 lb. club.

Nurse: Caroline
Doctor: Dr. DiCarlo
Weight: 2 pounds 15 ounces

Lawson's sodium has come down some. But they will continue to watch it. He is on 3 bottle feeds a day (30cc's = 1 ounce...Wow). This is his first day to try 3 a day. They give him a bottle, three hours later - they tube feed, then three hours later - they bottle feed. He did well on his first bottle then he got a little tired on the thrid one. He continues to do well off the C-Pap machine. We are happy about that.

We pray for his sodium to continue to come down. We also pray that he can maintain the level on his own (without IV fluids).

Nurse: Caroline
Doctor: Dr. Strange
Weight: 2 pounds 14 ounces

Lawson is back on IV fluids. His sodium is back up. The doctor says that it should regulated by now. So they are talking to a specialist and trying to tweak things to see if it will come down.

They are letting me feed him a bottle today. He gets one bottle a day and his other feeds are through his tube. I can hardly wait to get to the hospital.

We pray that his sodium level comes down and that his kidney function is normal. Today is day 48....I pray that the Lord give Eric and I the strength and patience to make it through November.