Isaac's eyeballs are lookin' good

Mom and I just spent two action packed days driving to Missoula and back with 2 babies for Isaac's followup eye appointment. The NICU team checked his eyes once a week and sent the images to this eye doctor so this was the live exam. They are checking for retinopathy which can occur during oxygen therapy if the dose is too high. They don't want to see O2 saturation levels above about 97 percent while a baby is at risk for this. The blood vessels that grow around the eye are just under the retina and don't finish growing completely until very near term. In a preemie, the blood vessels can grow abnormally-toward the center of the eye instead of around the curvature and toward the front of the eyeball. Growing toward the center of the eye pulls at that thin retina and can cause detachment. Isaac's are fine-the vessels are mature and grew like they were supposed to. As he is home on oxygen, we are glad to not have to worry about the dose being too high. We are thankful to cross a worry off our list and not have to make that long trip again soon! It was a beautiful drive and we enjoyed the fall colors immensely.

So our days here consist of keeping tummies full and diapers empty, and going to doctors. The days and nights are busy but we are loving these three little boys!