Greetings, all.

We are becoming increasingly familiar with the routine of the NICU. In some ways the overwhelming sight of the rows of monitors, incubators, and other machinery has faded over the past several weeks. The nurses joked with us that we no longer had the "deer in headlights" look as we entered the room. What was once shocking--seeing our babies being 'bagged' to help them breathe--has become almost normal. As new babies enter our section, we can see that initial shocked look that the dad has as he first visits the unit. Usually, a day or two later, the mom is wheeled into the unit and has that first reunion with her baby. These initial reunions are amazing, they are a frequent reminder of these small, but growing, miracles we have received.

Over the past two days Jonas has been very stable with his ventilator. He has been on the Drager ventilator, he was moved down from the high frequency a couple of days ago, and has been in gradually decreasing amounts of oxygen. Several days ago he was needing over 60% oxygen. The last two days he has been in the low 30% to high 20%. He continues to do well with his feeding. He is now up to 5.5 ml an hour. In late breaking news...he is now receiving all of his nutrition via milk. This means his PICC line was no longer needed and at 4pm it was removed. The key benefit of the PICC line being removed is that it can be a gateway for infection. With it gone, the nurses do have to prick his foot from time to time for blood, but it is a worthy trade-off.

Elsa continues to be a stable little girl. Her oxygen needs have crept up a bit over the past several days but the doctors and nurses are happy with her progress. Yesterday she received a slightly larger tube for her ventilator. The positive of this switch is that it greatly enhanced the efficiency of the machine. The potential drawback is that it might cause more irritation in her throat. She is also receiving all of her nutrition via milk and is currently at 5.0 ml per hour. Jonas passed her up yesterday, but we are encouraging her to catch up when she is ready.

We thank everyone for their prayers of healing for Elsa and Jonas. In the days ahead, we ask for prayers of healing for Jonas and Elsa's lungs. We also pray for Elsa's brain bleed to continue to heal.

(The pictures: Elsa checking us out; a perspective shot of Elsa's bed with the various bells and whistles (literally); Big Poppa with Elsa's footprints)

*Jonas was not purposely left out of the photo session. His agent indicated the lighting wasn't right so he will be back in our next update.

God Bless,

Dan & Mari & Elsa & Jonas