Day 74

Parker had a fabulous day! Still on 1L nasal cannula and doing fantastic with it. Discontinued his drainage tube that was going from his mouth to his belly. Started him on some pedialyte 5cc took that through the bottle and did great! He gets that two more times tonight, then they'll switch to mother's milk. He's such a good snuggler. As I was holding him today I felt a great amount of love for my little man. He is truly a blessing in our lives, and I am so grateful that he is here with us! What a miracle baby!

Day 73

Parker did very well today. Turned his nasal cannula flow down to 1L. Had some snuggle time with mom and day. Just a good day! Probably will start his feeds tomorrow. Nice and slow of course. Get his belly used to some milk again. Its so much fun watching Parker grow. He was very wide and awake a few times today. He definitely has daddy's brown eyes, and his long beautiful lashes. Why do boys always get pretty lashes? At first I thought Parker looked more like daddy, but I've gotten a few of the nurses and doctors saying he looks more like me. He's a mix of the both of us ;)

Day 72

Day 72

A wonderful day for Parker. He was extubated today and placed on 2L nasal cannula and doing great. His surgeon said he's looking great and should be pooping by the 5th day after surgery...well Parker showed him. He pooped twice today!! Been gassy and farty all day! It's one of the few times I will be excited that my son is farting and pooping. So glad to know that everything is working. He was really fussy this afternoon so I swaddled him and held him for a while. I've missed not being able to hold my boy the last 2 days. He got some well deserves snuggle time. We are so proud of our son. He constantly amazes us!

Day 71

Parker had a pretty good day. Still in the vent. He was breathing above the vent and awake this morning, then we gave him some morphine in the late afternoon and he was out!! So bumped up his rate on the vent. No worries, poor kid had a big surgery, he needs some rest. His weight is up to 5lbs today! Lots of fluid weight of course, so he got some Lasix to help pull the fluid off. I wanted to snuggle with him today, but knew he needed his rest. So I just sat by him and held his little hand. He looked so precious today. Love that little man.

Day 70

Parker did great today! Surgery went well. They removed a very small portion of his bowel and put him back together. Appendix removed too. There are possibilities for post op complications, but we know Parker will stay strong. He is still on the vent and is being weaned off quickly. Thankfully he is tolerating the weaning well. He will remain NPO (no milk for him) for several days. Once the bowels start functioning we can start him up on feeds. Although this is a set back, it's a step towards home. He did great throughout the day. Has pain meds on standby when he needs them. Once again, we have such a strong kid!

Day 69

A much better day for Parker! No crazy desats and low heart rates. All the little man needed was some blood! He is so pink today! No more pale boy. It's amazing what a little blood can do. Parker has a big day tomorrow. He is going to surgery for his ileostomy take down. Time to put those intestines back together again. Its the set back we've been waiting for. But it is a good set back because it will help him get closer to home. We will have a long week in front of us because he will be ventilated for surgery and most likely a few days after. We also will have to let his bowels rest for several days before we can start feeds again. John and I continue to have high hopes for this kid. We know how strong he is and that he can overcome anything! What an amazing son we have!

Day 68

The roller coaster ride continues! Parker was acting up again and desating pretty low this morning. So he got the work up again just to be sure he's not getting an infection. Feeds were stopped, labs drawn, PICC line and TPN started. So far no sign of infection. His blood count was pretty low today, so he got 1 transfusion and will be getting another tonight. Hopefully all he needs is a little boost of blood. His nasal cannula flow was turned up to 2L. Not sure about the plan for surgery. Waiting to hear what the surgeon wants to do. His ostomy output has slowed down. We will most likely keep the TPN going just to give him the extra nutrients he needs to fatten him up. John and I are keeping our heads up during these low points. We know how strong our little boy is. He won't let anything stop him!