Dax and Beau are one month old...

Little Beau posing with his balloon.
Proud Papa.
Little Dax with his balloon.
Beau Coleman
Dax Harrell



I spent the day with the boys yesterday while momma, her sister and her mom are spending the weekend in Houston finishing the nursery. The boys and I had a great day yesterday. Beau continues to improve. They removed his cannula on Thursday and yesterday his feedings went well and increased throughout the day. He also went the entire day without a single "Desat". Desats are common in preemies. They sometimes hold their breathes or their breathing or heart rates become irregular causing a desaturation of their blood-oxygen levels. Dax had a few yesterday but he continues to do awesome overall. Yesterday, I fed him twice with a bottle and he took almost the entire amount from the bottle! This will be one of the last and major hurdles before they are able to come home. Beau is behind Dax in this aspect with the rough week he has had but I was able to get him to eat from a bottle for a bit yesterday as well. They also both weigh roughly 4 1/2lbs.

It's hard for Leah and I to believe that the boys are a month old. It feels like we have been here much longer than a month. But God has continued to be with us. He keeps us sane and without him, none of this would be possible. We are thankful He has blessed us with the family and support He has as well as all of the incredible doctors and nurses that care for us daily. We have a new family in the NICU. It's amazing how they all have bonded with Leah and I and Beau and Dax. We will never forget any of them or the job they are doing to care for our boys. Thank God for them. I hope everyone has a great weekend. We love you.

God Bless,

CG

Soul Squad Update

We had another scare for little Beau the last couple of days. His stomach was very swollen yesterday which concerned the nurse practitioner and the doctor. They did x-rays and learned he had a large amount of gas/air in his belly that he was not releasing. They felt that he might be having some problems with his rectum, colon or intestines. They also said he may have a condition called Hirschsprung. This was not good news because if he would have had this, it would require surgery. They immediately stopped his feedings and put a tube down his throat to suck out the air and observed him over night.

This morning they did a follow up x-ray and another one was done at noon. These follow up x-rays revealed that he had resolved the problems in his stomach for the most part. The infection they thought might also be present was not seen on the film. Another bullet dodged it appears, Praise the Lord. They have since stopped the tube sucking air and they are going to see how he does overnight and see if his belly swells up again. He has yet another IV in which serves as the only way he is being fed. If his stomach does ok, they will resume his normal feedings some time tomorrow. We feel awful for him. He's very hungry and very upset about all of the things that are happening to him. We feel blessed though - it could have been much worse.

They also did their eye exams today which is not a pleasant experience for them but they both passed so all is good on that front.

We appreciate the continued thoughts and prayers as we continue down this path that God has laid out for us. This weekend will be the first that Leah has left the boys to go to Houston. She is going back with her mom so they (along with sissy) can finish the nursery. I will stay here to be with the boys. Please pray for safe travels and an event free weekend for the boys. We love you.

God Bless,

CG

Week 33 - Our 1st Easter together.

Happy Easter to our family. I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted. This was the first week I had to stay in Houston all week for work so I was real busy. We have had a great week with the boys overall. To start with little Beau - the doctors were unable to pinpoint exactly what was going on with him and the possible infection. They never officially ruled that he had a urinary tract infection. Whatever was going on with him, they had him on antibiotics so fast that the medicine was able to take care of whatever was ailing him. He finished his last round of medicine yesterday. He is doing great! His weight is over 4lbs now and his feedings seem to increase daily. He is no longer in his isolette so he is able to maintain his temperature on his own which is one of the things he has to do in order to go home.

Dax is also doing great. he reached the 4lb milestone today and his feedings have increased daily as well. He is also out of his isolette and doing great. He is not on any type of oxygen help (his brother is still on a cannula) which makes his momma and daddy very happy to see all of the tubes gone. Today was a big day for both of the boys. We fed them with bottles today. They didn't eat a lot of food but they did eat some. This is one of the biggest hurdles for preemies to cross. They have to be able to eat from a bottle or nipple before they are released and they don't usually grasp this until week 34.

Today is the 26th day we have been in the NICU in Austin. We continue to get amazing care from the nurses and doctors at the hospital. We are so thankful that God has put them in our lives to care for the boys. We usually spend every waking moment up there and then come home and collapse. It has begun to wear on us both and we have a long way to go but we feel so blessed they are doing so good. Thank you again to God, our family and all of our friends for the prayers and support. Have a great week.

God Bless,

CG-

My special day with Momma and her sweet boys!

I went to Austin yesterday to spend the day with Leah and her precious boys. Since Beau had a little set back Curtis asked me not to take pics of him. I could not help myself, he is still precious.
Leah is an amazing woman, watching her love on her sweet boys was amazing. I am so proud of her. She has been so strong.
Here are a few pics of Leah with Beau and a lot of pics of Dax. The boys are both gaining weight and are getting stronger everyday. I know that Beau will be right where his brother is soon.

Beau's little outfit warming up and waiting for him to get back into it!

Easter egg footprints of both the boys little tootsies!

Dax was so content. He did not want momma to let go. I don't think momma wanted to let go either.

After I left today I found out that Beau is now off of the CPAP and little Dax has moved to a crib. The boys are doing awesome. I can't wait to go back in 2 weeks and see them again. Continue to pray for them.

McCalle

A quick note on Beau

We arrived at the hospital yesterday to chaos. Our nurse Rhonda informed us quickly that Beau was not doing good. He had been having breathing issues all night and most of the morning and they were very concerned. He was having shallow breathes as well as holding his breath some which is a big no no. So the doctor did his exam of him and sat us down to tell us they felt he had some sort of infection. He said they needed to test his blood, urine and do a lumbar puncture to test his spinal fluid. The tears started again...

The tests were done. He was put back on the CPAP and late yesterday afternoon we learned he has a urinary tract infection. He was on antibiotics all day yesterday and will continue to be on them until this clears up. They hope this infection clearing up will help his breathing and get him back to normal. Thanks for the continuous prayers for the little man.

Much Love,
CG

Prayers are answered again

Leah and I want to thank all of our family and friends for praying for us. God is great and he is listening! Yesterday was probably one of the best days we have had as parents of Beau and Dax. To get the news that he is completely clear of any head issues has really lifted our spirits. Our doctor, Sami, told us that the first head-scan could have been a mistake or Beau along with God and tons of prayer could have worked it out on his own. I choose to believe the power of prayer along with him being a tough little dude got it done. So now that we can breathe again...

They are both continuing to grow. As most of you know, they are now free of the CPAPS and are breathing on their own. Their feedings seem to increase every few days and they are putting on weight. They are both weighing roughly 3.5lbs!!! The doctors continue to tell us they are doing as well as can be expected for their age. We still have a long way to go but we are very excited about bringing them home one day soon. Thanks again for all of the support. We love you.

God Bless,

Curtis

Beau Update!

Since many of you have been asking I am going ahead and updating the blog for Team G. They just got the answer we were all hoping and praying for. Beau is in the clear! His CT scan came back normal. Either the scan was misread last week or the problem they saw cleared itself up. Either way this is another prayer answered. Please continue to keep The entire Galloway clan in your prayers!