Recap of the past week

Going home!

Yup! I'm a little miracle!

Wow! It's been a long week, with lots of events occurring. Here is a quick review of what occurred over the past 6 days. On Sunday during rounds, the NP (same one we had on Saturday) said that Alexander's NG tube could come out because he had gained weight and they wanted to see how he would do with exclusive breast feeding. We were told that if he did well and gained weight, we could go home Monday or Tuesday... Monday was not good. It began with Alexander's lips turning blue after his bath. The doctors ran test and since everything came back fine, they seem to think he was just cold and upset about having the bath. 2 hours later, Alexander aspirated on his medicine I was giving him by mouth ( with the nurse training me). His oxygen level dropped down to 51%, he turned blue and collapsed into the nurses hand. All I could to was shout his name while the nurse got him to breath and get his oxygen back up. I was so thankful that my mom was there with me since Wes was still at work. Alexander got better as the day went on but this mommy was an emotional wreck! The positive for the day (besides Alexander acting more like himself), was that Wes got another 2 weeks off from work! Tuesday, Alex's meds were discontinued, breast feeding exclusively continued and close monitoring occurred. Wednesday, Alexander continued to do well and lost a little weight. It was decided to begin introducing a bottle, twice a day, (which had me on edge because of the last time I gave him something by mouth) because it is hard to determine how much Alex is intaking when I nurse. However, nursing would continue though. The OT worked with Wes, grandma Jeannie, and I on how to feed him by bottle. He also started his vitamin D by mouth (another moment of being on edge) because I can't provide it through the breast milk. Thursday, Alexander gained weight and it was decided that we would incorporate 3 bottle feeds throughout the feeding and I would still nurse. On top of that, we were told we could go home!! We have to monitor Alexander's weight and see his pediatrician on Monday. Then, meet with the cardio team next Friday, followed by the cardiologist the following Monday. If he loses weight while home, fortifying the breast milk will be discussed again. The pediatrician and NP will be in close contact in regards to his weight. Yesterday, we had help from both grandma's to help us get things into some sort of routine. Alexander eats about every 2-2.5 hours and we have incorporate bottle feed every 7 hours. It was an exhausting day but I'm sure once we find a routine, Alexander will thrive more than he already has. Today was a quiet family day! We are beginning to get the house in order and our life into some sort of routine. Alexander gained weight this morning too! (we weight him every morning). After 5 nights straight of sleeping in the hospital and many nights of being at the Ronald McDonald house, it is SO nice to be back in my own home! Keep praying and sending positive thoughts our way that Alexander continues to gain weight and be the little Superman that he is!