4 Weeks Old

So, today, Jaime is 4 weeks old. A lot has happened in just 4 short weeks.

First, I must tell you a story about Jared, Cincinnati and Fire Alarms! It's been a few weeks since Nana's (Tom's mom) visit, so it's a good time to share this story. When she came down by herself to meet Jaime a few weeks ago, she stayed at the Marriott Hotel that is just around the corner. It was really nice and had Disney, so Jared wanted to stay with her there. We packed his bag and he went to spend the night with Nana. Well, during the night, the fire alarm went off, I think it was around 2:15 A.M. There was a voice over the speaker and the guests had to go outside. It was a cool night, but over all OK. They finally got the "all clear" to go back in, so they went back to sleep. About 3:30 A.M. the alarm went off again, Jared woke Nana up, got a blanket and they all went outside...again! The "all clear," they went in and went back to bed. About 4:15 A.M. the same thing happened, another fire alarm. Turns out it was just malfunctioning. We all thought this was a pretty funny story, all except for sleepy Nana and Jared. Fast forwarding to tonight. Jared and I were just getting ready to enjoy our Grater's Ice Cream (thanks Jeanie & Bev), when the fire alarm went off here. We didn't go outside (at first), but Jared was scared. So, we went to get spoons and then we see the manager running down the hall. This, of course freaked Jared out more, so we went outside. Next thing we know everyone from RMH came outside and the fire department was coming. We sat on the bench and ate our ice cream out of the container and just watched. Turns out someone burnt popcorn and that set off the alarm, the fire dept. had to come to deactivate the alarm. In the midst of all of this, Jared insisted that we MUST call Nana to let her know about the alarm. So, we did. Well, tonight, just moments ago, Jared woke up and asked me when the alarm was going to go off again. HA! So, Nana and I decided that Jared will forever associate Cincinnati with fire alarms. Every where we go now, he's looking for them. He even knows the different colors and styles....he's too funny!

Anyway, now that I shared that...let's chat about Jaime. He's 4 weeks old today! He's doing well. He's pit on some weight and grew, too. I thought he was a bit sleepy today, but he's still on a lot of meds. He did have his arterial line d/c'd today. Kristy and I got to dress him, too. He didn't LOVE being fussed with, but he settled down pretty quickly. At least all of that fussing made him look cute...HA!
He also had his Nitric oxide weaned. It will officially be off by morning. He has an Echo in the morning, if it looks good, extubation is the next step!

As for his feeds, well, those were supposed to start today, but Jaime never had a bowel movement, so they didn't. He hasn't had one since before his surgery, so they're just waiting for it to happen. Once it does, Jaime will be getting 1ml of breast milk an hour. They'll see how he tolerates that and go from there. We were told that he may not experience the horrific reflux issues that most LCDH babies have because he's a right-sided CDH and his stomach and other digestive parts (other than his bowels) have always been in the right place. That remains to be seen, of course-we're hoping though!
Tomorrow, he will be one week out from surgery. His incision is healing nicely. He's slowly being weaned down from some of his medications, too. He already had the antibiotics taken off, all of his cultures drawn on Tuesday came back negative...YEA!

After 6 weeks of being in Cincy, Tom will be heading back to Cleveland tomorrow. We're all going to miss him. I think it's bitter sweet for him, as it will be good to come home, but it will also be hard leaving the boys. We'll be alright, though, Titi (my sister) is coming down for the weekend! Tom will be back by Monday and hopefully he'll be coming back to an extubated boy who tolerates his feedings! :-)
Anyway, if you're in town, feel free to attend one of Tom's gigs and say "hello."

That's about all the news from Cincy, the town of fire alarms! I'm off to bed!

Hope everyone is well!

Love,
Sheryl