July 5 Update

3 lbs. 15 oz.!! That's right. Carrick is one ounce shy of four pounds! Our little man is gaining weight like a champ. He's starting to fill out his preemie clothes better now too. He had another eye exam today and he has developed something called Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). ROP occurs as his retinas are developing and he had about an 80% chance of getting it because he was born so early. In order for his retinas to form he grows blood vessels in the back of his eyes and these vessels gradually spread toward the front. This process is usually finished by the time a baby is born. He was born very early, however, and due to his needing so much respiratory support and extra oxygen, the growth of those vessels can get confused. He starts growing abnormal, new vessels. This also causes scar tissue to develop. If the scar tissue gets bad enough it could cause his retinas to detach. He will most likely never even get close to having such a severe problem, though. His ROP has been diagnosed as a stage two. This is considered a mild case where a little ridge of tissue is visible that separates his developed retina at the back of his eyes from the undeveloped retina in the front. At stage two he doesn't even have any abnormal blood vessels growing yet; that happens in stage three. Right now, he has a 90% chance of recovering from ROP spontaneously without any medical intervention. So the doctor's plan is to continue to give him regular eye exams to make sure the disease does not progress. If it ever does he may need some laser therapy to destroy the abnormal retinal tissue. We aren't worried about anything right now, though. He will probably be just fine. Watching him get an eye exam is no fun. He gets drops to dilate his pupils. Then the eye doctor has to hold his eye open with a little speculum and another instrument that looks like a kind of stick. This is only because he can't be told to hold his eye open like a grown-up. It doesn't hurt him but it doesn't exactly feel good either. I've never heard him cry so hard before. His eyes are also a little bloodshot for a couple of days after. It's necessary but difficult to watch. Other than this little bump in the road he's doing great. Still on a pressure of 3. About 21-25% oxygen. And still eating 9 ccs an hour. Maybe tomorrow he'll be four pounds! Thanks for praying. More to come.