ALMOST 30 and thankful!

Sorry that it's been so long since I've updated! In about 2 1/2 hours I will begin my life in the 30's and I have so much to be thankful for. I have an amazing husband, family and friends and God has blessed me with 2 precious children. I could write forever about all that I have to be thankful for. I used to think that 30 was old...funny how prospective changes things! I look back on wonderful memories and can't wait to see what God has in store for the rest of my days! Here's a recap on how things have gone...sorry that I haven't updated sooner.

On Friday, they bumped his feeds up to 60cc's or 2 oz! This is what he needs to be taking from the bottle 8 times a day before he can come home. On Friday he also nursed like a champion for the first time and then got a bottle in the evening. The plan at the time was to give him 1 bottle a day and attempt nursing him 1 time a day giving him at least 1 tube feed in between to "rest"...until yesterday when we hit our first speed bump in 10 days. Daniel went up early to give him his 11am bottle. He latched and began sucking, but he tired quickly, his respiratory rate went up and his oxygen dropped into the 80's (it has stayed high 90's to 100 the entire time!). So they immediately stopped, gave him a rest and tried again. Same thing so they quit. Ordered for his blood gases to be tested and ordered a chest x-ray. All came back great! (His x-ray looked the best yet!) His oxygen went back into the 90's-100 so and with as good as everything else looked there was no need to put him back on oxygen-he just needs to figure this out!



SO-as soon as Daniel came home, I went up and spent the evening with him. I spoke with our nurse practitioner (whom I LOVE) and she reminded me that eating is like exercise for him right now and that this is very common. He just had major surgery, is not even 2 weeks old, attempted 2 feeds or "exercises" on Friday...and was a little tired! I tried to put it into prospective - after having a c-section there is NO WAY I could exercise twice a day. But of course I left at shift change worried about my little man.



But in looking back, day 10 could have been 'surgery day' on ECMO, part of one of our worst case scenario's! I looked back at my old post to see all of the milestones that Preston Banks has achieved and I have so much to be thankful for. I guess I just need some bigger "Patience Panties" as we work through this feeding stuff.



Today (Sunday) Daniel went up this morning and said his second chest x-ray looked great. His respiratory rate is still a little elevated today, so we are going to give him today off of oral feeds too to see if things will settle down a little more and hopefully go back to 1 bottle tomorrow (Monday). Please pray that his respiratory rate will settle as he gets used to life outside of my belly and using his different sized lungs. Please pray for us as we continue to find a "schedule" each day for keeping up with NICU visits and caring for Mary Wallace. Thank you for all of your sweet messages, cards, food and most of all your prayers. God continues to reveal himself in new ways each day as we journey this road!! We have had the best care thus far and LOVE the doctors nurses and staff...God answered that prayer in a big way!