Finn is home!!!

I've thought of many somewhat clever titles and decided to go with the simple and most appropriate: "Finn is home!!!"

It all started on Friday morning when they pulled his feeding tube. After that, he had to take all of his feedings by mouth instead of tube. We didn't tell many people since the situation could change quickly, and he would be back on the tube. Finn showed us how tough he is and ate like a trooper.

On Sunday morning, Brian and I arrived at the hospital, went through the paperwork, witnessed his circumcision, and brought our little boy home.

Brian is taking some time off during these sleepless times. (We had no idea how much this little boy grunts through the night. Ugh.)

Time to go and get the kids off to school while Finn is asleep on my shoulder.

Pertinent pics

Another busy week on defense

Let's start with Monday, March 16th, Jakey's birthday. Now anyone who knows Jakey knows that he is far from typical and literally marches to the beat of his own drum, one of many. Because of this, it's hard to celebrate his birthday or other occasions with him. Cake? Why bother, won't eat it anyway. Presents? Only really interested in the computer or other electronic devices, not typical fare. Hats? Streamers? Guests? You got to be kidding. No way. Balloons? Now you're on to something.

Our boy loves balloons, totally loves them. So, on the way home from seeing Finn, I stopped at the grocery store to buy him a bouquet of 8 balloons, one mylar with the number 8, another mylar with Winnie-the-Pooh gang wishing him "Happy Birthday," and 6 latex balloons of different colors. I also brought home a package of his favorite glazed donut holes that he hadn't had in a while. And, Jake's birthday was made. He was so happy to have the balloons that he took them to whichever room he was in, even his bedroom. I had to stop him from carrying them into his bed though. Next time I down/upload pics, I'll show you the one with him in bed, balloons floating nearby. Oh, and this day was also Meg's 1/2 birthday; she is now officially 9 and 1/2 years old.

Also, that morning we found out that Finn passed the 5 lb mark -- just barely.

The 17th was also a momentous day. Early in the morning I took Meg to her second orthodontist appointment. Since we were halfway to the hospital, I also took her to see Finn for her second time. Since the first time was the day after he was born, it was nice for her to him without so many tubes and in such a fragile state. She also held him for the first time and loved it. She's going to be the best big sister and is anxious for him to come home. She also commented on how soft his head was with his silky hair. I'll post pics of this too when I can.

This momentous day was not done yet. At 2:30 pm, Finn took his entire feed by bottle, then at 5:30 pm, he took another feed by bottle served by Papa (Brian for those who don't know Walker family vernacular). At 8:30 pm, he rested and took the feed by gavage (tube), but the next two feeds were completely by bottle! That's 4 out of 5 by bottle! The next day, yesterday, he mostly rested, taking some by bottle and some by gavage. And, last night, his weight hit 5 lbs, 7.4 oz! Over one pound from his original 4 lbs, 6 oz -- in 3 weeks.

He's getting there. Now he just needs to eat solely by bottle or boomba (Meg's word for breast) for 48 hours, and then he can come home. We're getting there.

Oh, and me? Tired, oh so, very tired. I'm not picky about location either. Just give me a relatively flat surface, and I'm out ... until I have to pump again. Brian isn't faring much better. He's tried sleeping in Jake's room but now has a sore throat. Maybe allergies? Life is good but never easy.

Turning a corner ... slowly

Yesterday was a wonderful and surprising day. Finn was awake and alert and ready to eat by mouth. He had three amazing bottle feedings of 15, 22, and 42 cc's out of the 42 cc's he eats each feeding. He was also alert enough to take an unknown amount by breast in the morning. After his full feeding of 42 cc's at 5:30 pm, I rushed to the hospital, taking Brian's turn, so that we could try the breast again. This time the nurses weighed him before and after the feeding since 1 gram of weight gain is basically equivalent to 1 cc of breastmilk. With this method, we figured that he took about 8 cc's by breast.

Finn must have worked too hard yesterday and needed the rest today since he barely woke up for any of his feedings. Despite his sleepiness, he was able to eat another 10 cc's by breast. Just so that you know, the remainder of his feeding is fed to him by his feeding tube. Tonight, Brian made it to the hospital for Finn's 8:30 pm feeding and fed him 18 cc's by bottle. He's on his way home now and called to let me know that being able to feed his baby son meant the world to him.

We still have a ways to go before we can bring him home but are encouraged that Finn has started showing interest in eating. Thank you for your prayers. Brian is well enough to visit, and Finn has started eating by mouth. Your prayers are truly needed and very powerful.

Oh, and can you believe that Finn is 2 weeks old today?

Since it's been almost a week

Today we woke up to snow and a two-hour school delay. Since Meg has a two-hour orthodontist appointment in the afternoon (postponed since we were in the hospital during the original appointment) and Jake is still coughing, we kept the kids home. With such a busy morning, I'll be visiting Finn in the afternoon/evening. Brian is still sick and unable to visit Finn right now.

Finn is doing extremely well. He no longer has an IV and only has monitor wires and a feeding tube left. Over the weekend he moved from his isolette to a crib which resembles a clear, topless storage tub, like one Rubbermaid would make. He is tolerating the 40 cc's of breast milk that they serve him every 3 hours by tube. So that he receives more calories to help him bulk up and have more energy, they are enhancing the milk so that it is 24 calorie instead of the 20 that I provide. 

Because of how young he is and having been on a ventilator, he has not been able to take more than 2-3 cc's (cc=ml) by nipple, mine or the Gerber ones. We've tried breastfeeding every day for the past few days. He latches on easily, but does not want to suck and swallow. He usually falls fast asleep. I've been able to hold him for most of the time that I'm visiting him, even kangarooing (skin-to-skin contact) in a Murphy bad that they have in his room.

The other obstacle that he needs to overcome before coming home is de-satting (desaturation). He needs to go 5 days without his heart rate or oxygen saturation de-satting or going below a certain rate. He had his last one last night, March 8th, in the evening.

Finn is just the sweetest guy. His neighbor right now is a fussy little girl who is often crying loudly, and Finn isn't fazed at all. He sleeps through it or just looks around. The only times that I've heard him cry are when the nurse had to re-insert his feeding tube and when she had to remove the dressing covering his chest tube opening. When he is awake, he just loves to look around. His nurses just love him and his big eyes.

I do have a few prayer requests and would be ever grateful if you could take the time: (1) that Finn would start feeding, preferably by breast, (2) that Finn's de-sats would be all in the past, (3) that Brian and Jake would recover from their illness and that Meg and I wouldn't get it, and (4) that I can maintain the energy that I need to care for my family and Finn while pumping around the clock, I am becoming very weary and tired.

And a couple more

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