This week will probably be a long one. Welt's hernia surgery is scheduled for Thursday (the 24th), so we are pretty anxious to say the least. I know they say it's minimally invasive and he should recover quickly, but they will still be cutting my baby open. so I think I have the right to freak out a little. He will be intubated for the surgery, and hopefully they will be able to remove the breathing tube the same day, or the day after. Once he's off pain meds and back on his cannula, he will start a lower calorie formula (he's on 24 cal right now). He will still gain weight, but not nearly as quickly as he has these past few months.
Baby is jumping between 1 LPM and 1/2 LPM. If he continues to wean, there's a possibility he won't have to come home on oxygen. That will be decided when we do a carseat test (to make sure the straps don't make him stop breathing).
So, I know it's really no surprise, but our baby LOVES to eat. Every nurse that comes by tells me how surprised they are by his progress. One even said "you must be living right, cause this baby is doing things that just aren't done by 24 weekers." He will no longer take his binki (hallelujah) because nothing comes out of it. He's got us grown-ups all figured out. The original recommendation was for one bottle feeding per 12 hours, but the doc changed that order to every other feeding (4x a day). He did so well his first few days that they now have him doing one back to back feeding every 12 hours. It definitely tires him out quickly, though I don't think he'd have it any other way...other than a bottle every time. He sounds like a gremlin (and sometimes a little piggie) when he eats. His left vocal cord is the one that was damaged during his heart surgery, so when he eats, he lies on his right side where the muscles are stronger.
The retina specialist examined baby earlier this week, and again there has been NO progression in his stage 1 ROP. The doc said that he has never seen this in a 24 weeker. I guess our baby is breaking all kinds of molds!
4 days ago, one of Welt's primary nurses, Tamara, told us to expect him to come home in 10-14 days. Well, I guess now we are looking at 6-10. The earliest we were counting on having him home was his due date, March 7th, and most docs told us that was unlikely and that he would maybe be home mid-March.
So, Ben and I are scrambling to get things ready, and it's been especially rough since I have been attacked by allergies and Ben has a crappy cold. We've got a place for him to sleep and a car seat, so once we get some diapers, I think we will calm down. We've started paining his room and are trying to get the carpets cleaned before we bring home baby. Only time will tell :)
I just can't believe that this much time has gone by and that we are so close! I know that the love, care, concern and prayers from family and friends have been the driving force in his amazing progress. We love y'all so much, and can't wait to show off our big boy!
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