OhMyHead

In terms of going home he still thinks we’ll be here, overall, a full week (typical is one to two weeks with RSV; he thinks we’re closer to the one week). The key is getting him off oxygen. He said Ander will still have some respiratory distress for a month or more, so he isn’t as concerned about that as long as he can eat. Getting him off the oxygen is the key. So we just continue to wait patiently.

The doc’s parting words were, “Keep nippling.” And suddenly I turn 13 again. Giggle, giggle, blush…he said nippling…

He kept pulling the crazy thing out or coughing it up (did I mention he HATES it)? Well, God bless our nurse Lynn who thought this was ridiculous. So, she called the doc to see if we could try a bottle this morning. He took it like a champ and was SO happy – he had that look of pure bliss on his sweet face. I missed them rounding (drat) because I was showering, but once again nurse Lynn stepped in. She convinced them that the tube was causing him more stress and I’ve been given the all clear to nurse him! And he can eat as much as he wants every 3 to 4 hours. Woo hoo!! Thank you Lord and thank you Lynn!!

I’m also excited because I get to see the other kiddos, Mike, and Mim today. We’re going to do a small little birthday celebration for April.

Please keep up the prayers. Pray specifically that his breathing would improve and that they can wean him from the oxygen. Thank you more than we can say for all the prayers and emails and those providing meals. You all are a huge blessing to us.  And a special shout out and thank you to Mike’s work for being so understanding in all this. It means the world to have your support.

Praises – Ander had a good, smooth night – big answer to prayer! They’ve let me hold him quite a bit and we slept together for about three solid hours last night in the chair. So good for both of us. He’s taking his food like a champ and they keep upping the amount they give him and just did again. They’ll now take him off IV fluids completely. They’ve also been able to decrease his oxygen level, which they just did again. All good news!!

Prayers – His breathing has improved but is still pretty labored and he’s quite congested. Big prayers now are for his breathing to improve even more, for the oxygen he needs to go down even more, and for the swelling in his nose to go down so he can clear the congestion. Hopefully when all these happen we can start nursing again and then they can also remove his tiny mouth tube (which he HATES). Maybe today, but more likely tomorrow. He’s doing well but they really want his breathing calmer before we try to nurse.

Perspective – No, this isn’t exactly where we want to be right now. I had much different plans for April’s birthday and certainly isn’t fun to watch your child sick in the hospital. However, we are thankful that our little guy is getting the care he very much needs. And he’s doing better. And he’s big and strong (the most common comment we hear from the staff about him). His prognosis is good and there is no reason to think that in a week or so we won’t be over this hump and headed home with a healthy boy.

I stood in the hall today while the neonatal team rounded on Ander. While there, a large family passed thru the hall – a family leaving with an empty pink car seat. Their morning was much different than ours. Please pray for them. My heart broke and is still broken. God is good in the tragedies and in the triumphs. But the tragedies still suck and life sometimes does too. Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Thanks again for your prayers. Please keep them coming.