Update No. 3...

It's almost midnight on New Year's Eve as I write this.  I am at home with Matthew while Amy is still in the hospital and watching over Ely.  This is the first New Year's eve that I can remember us not being together, so it is a little bit of a lonely night.

Today has been a pretty good day.  Matthew seems to be feeling better. We hope after another night, the antibiotics will have done the heavy lifting and have him on the way to recovery.  He certainly seems in better spirits.

Amy spent some good quality time with Ely tonight in the NICU.  We were encouraged to learn that her feeding tube has been removed, so I am sure that will make her a bit more comfortable.  She seems to be eating well enough from a bottle that the tube was no longer necessary.

Ely had her echocardiogram this afternoon, but it could be a day or more before we get results.  Evaluations are done by doctors at UMC, so it takes a while to get results (which is further slowed by the holiday).  We are praying that it shows nothing out of the ordinary.

Ely is still having an occasional oxygen saturation issue, but the good news is that she is recovering on her on without stimulation.  We are hopeful that this means her body is learning to regulate itself.  By all accounts she appears very healthy, other than the oxygenation issue.

We are hopeful that Amy can come home in the morning as planned.  She hasn't seen matthew since about 2:00 yesterday.  This is the first time she has not been the one to nurse her little boy back to health when sick, so it is certainly eating at her.  Having her home with us, even if Ely can't come home yet, will make things a little more manageable.

Thank you to all for your prayers of healing and for your thoughts and concerns.

Continue to pray for our family.  For Amy, please pray for her quick recovery from the delivery.  Also pray that she will be able to handle the stresses of having two sick baby's one being in the hospital.  For Matthew, please pray for his continued recovery.  Also pray that he will be able to handle with ease the disruption to his schedule that will occur over the next few days as we are back and forth to the hospital to be with Ely.

Brad