Thomas update - Tuesday January 6th

Its been a fairly good couple of days, in some cases really good as far as Thomas goes. He's been under the photo lamps which helps his skin. He has to wear a mask to protect his eyes, but we found out that last night he opened his eyes for the first time! We were really excited to hear, but a tad dissappointed we didn't get to see it, but today, we not only got to see him open his eyes, but also get his diaper changed. The latter doesn't probably sound that great to you, but any event seems to be magnified in it's significance to a parent. I have added those photos to the slide show. They are all rated G.

The other news, which may initially sound bad, but really isn't is that Thomas will have surgery tomorrow. Basically there is a flap between the heart and the lungs that all babies have. This flap controls blood flow to the lungs and normally closes on its own. With babies Thomas' size, often the flap does not close and restricts the growth of the lungs and left untreated, the lungs can flood. So, tomorrow, they will go in through his rib cage under his left arm and put a clamp on the flap, lickety split. The whole thing takes about 20 minutes and they set up an OR right at his incubator. And he gets his first cool scar! Which in the future will be the result of a knife fight. Its a very common procedure, so other than the normal risks associated with operating on a 26 week old, 1 pound baby, it should hopefully go well and will aid in Thomas getting off the respirator and growing.

Finally, a few people have asked about when Thomas is coming home and if he can be visited in the hospital. More than likely, Thomas will be in the NICU for the rest of what would have been Rebecca's pregnancy. She was due in April, so that's what we expect. As far as visitation, the good news is that we can visit him 22 hours a day, 7 days a week. The bad news is, basically no one else can. Much to my surprise, there is no big window that you walk up to with a room full of bassinets and baby names like in the movies. Its a highly controlled environment, where we have to scrub up before entry. We're only allowed 6 additional viitors, my parents and Rebecca's parents have taken up 4 spots. So I've decided to place the other 2 spots on eBay and they will go to the highest bidder. Good luck and happy bidding!