Updates (MACHE, Micah, and the new house)

First, we have to brag... there was a very familiar face on the latest blog entry from the Maxwell family. They have a wonderful ministry which has been a huge blessing to us, and their blog is likely read by hundreds if not thousands of people. Well, we saw them this weekend at the MACHE conference in Duluth, and during a stop at their booth they snapped this picture of the cutest baby there (our very own Micah) and published it on their blog.

Micah is doing very well. He had a 2nd blood transfusion on April 3rd and as been off his bili/light bed since April 13th. He's really been catching up on the weight charts, and gets cuteness comments wherever we go.

We finally closed on our new house on April 11th. Now we're in the process of doing as many projects as we can before moving. This mostly includes fixing some things, painting, some new floors, etc. Our dads have been enormously helpful with all this.

1, 2, 3, 4!

Welcome home...

Micah's transfusion went very well yesterday, and they sent him home today!

We will continue to keep a close eye on things. There is a chance he could need another one within the next few weeks, but we're glad to have him home.

Meanwhile, it looks like his older brothers have been having a good time with that heavy March snow we just got last night.

Oh, and the award for the best baby gift (I mean, one of the best - I don't want to offend anyone) goes to some of Erik's co-workers who gave a beautiful and refreshing bouquet of fruit. Mmmm.

Micah update

Micah is still at the NICU at St. John's Hospital. Micah's bilirubin has greatly improved over the last few days, however his hemoglobin has continued to decline. Therefore he will be getting a blood transfusion this afternoon. The Dr. expects this to give his blood the help it needs and he may even come home tomorrow.

Thanks for your prayers!

more pics of Micah

Still at St. John's, bilirubin is better, hemoglobin isn't yet.

What a day...

So, last night United says Micah can go home, despite his bili numbers starting to go back up a little - because we'll send him with a bili-bed to sleep on.

We kept him on that thing every moment he wasn't eating or being changed or something.

In the morning, we brought him in for his first pediatrician appointment to see how things were going. He looked very orange. The clinic didn't have needles small enough to find out how he really was doing, so we were sent to the lab at St. John's nearby.

Throughout these periods of waiting, he seemed more and more orange, tired, and limp. We waited at the lab for the results, and then were immediately sent downstairs to the Special Care Nursery because his bili numbers were very high.

So, now he's been re-admited (at a different hospital) and being closely monitored under the full-strength bili lights. Fortunately, they had a room for him with a pullout-bed/chair in it for mom.

Then, in the midst of all this, our house purchase is progressing faster then expected. We were asked to fax some paperwork and move forward with some things that we thought we had more time with. Somehow it all got done.

And to top it all off, Isaac had a violin recital. He did extremely well considering he hasn't been able to have his usual practice time with mom in several days. Yeah, Isaac! (Sorry the picture is a blur, but considering the day we had it seemed kinda appropriate.)

Welcome Micah!

Born at 12:38 at United Hospital in St. Paul

5 lbs. 5 oz.

Mom and baby are doing great.

We're moving to Fridley!

After a month and a half of searching and waiting in what is supposed to be a 'buyer's market' our offer on an incredible house in Fridley (one of the first we looked at back in January) has finally been accepted. We expect to move around late April or early May, depending on how long it takes to get through all this paperwork and stuff.

Check out some more pictures here.

(Guess we'll have to change the name of the blog.)

The latest on #4.

Baby #4 has given us an adventure in this new realm of rh-sensitized babies. We've had so many dopler ultrasounds, we could probably do them ourselves. He (yes, it's a he) has been up and down on the anemia chart, and will likely come out to see us in March.

One ultrasound technician said it's time to move on from all those cutesy profiles and printed us a picture of his "inter-cranial anatomy." Today, we caught him moving his mouth, and they printed out what he must have been saying.

Family Portrait