Monday, August 29

Hello,

Baby Brody is doing good. He seems to be in some pain from his surgery, but we are giving him Tylenol. We follow up with his pediatrician tomorrow.

Going Home

Brody was discharged from the U of M today at 5:00 p.m. and we are on our way home. His hernia surgery site is looking good and we worked out some eating issues. He was coughing and sputtering during eating, so we are thickening up his formula with some rice cereal. This is working really well. We also got some reflux training which showed us how to prop up his bed at a 30 degree angle and we got a sling to keep him from sliding down to the bottom of the bed. So it was a really good day for information that will make things better for Brody.

Wednesday night

Good news! Brody's breathing tube is out and he is back on his regular oxygen amount. He ate 45 mLs at 7:30. Now all he needs to do is keep eating and we can go home!

Wednesday

It is Wednesday afternoon and Brody is still intubated. His pain medicine drip was discontinued so that he will wake up and start breathing on his own. The tube will be removed when he starts breathing over the ventilator. He will be put on a high flow cannula and then weened to his usual low flow cannula. If he is not ready to be off the ventilator, they will re-intubate him and leave the ventilator on for two days while he recovers. We knew the surgery could set his breathing back, so this is not entirely unexpected. His hernia site is swollen and he has two big cuts that are bruised up. But the hernia site is good (as expected). We'll post more as the day goes on...

Out of Surgery

The hernia repair went well. As expected, his breathing isn't the greatest. So, the breathing tube is staying in for now and he is going to the NICU for recovery. We were expecting to have our own room for a night, but he needs closer observation so he is going to the NICU to see all of his old friends. The tube will hopefully come out in a day. We are waiting to see him now.

Surgery Day

Hello! We got down to the hospital at 6:30 this morning. His surgery was scheduled for 9:30. It started a little late, so it is now 11:00 and he is still in surgery. We will post another update after his recovery.

Back to the U of M!

We are going back to the U of M for Brody's hernia repair surgery tomorrow morning. We will be there overnight for observation. The surgery is at 9:30 and will take about an hour and a half. I will post again when it is over. Your prayers are very much appreciated.

Sunday, August 14th

Brody is very alert and staying awake more during the day. He is really watching toys and things and is starting to interact when we talk to him. We just started the 5th formula. He continues to not eat very much, or when he does eat a normal amount he tends to throw up.

Brody with cousins Avery and Brooke. He sure likes these girls (and they sure like him)!

There's not much new to share about Brody. He is doing very well at home. We are still in the process of finding a formula that will work for him. His hernia surgery is scheduled for the 23rd. He needs to be on an 1/8 liter of oxygen or it might get postponed again. We are able to keep him on an 1/8 for a few hours at a time and he made it the entire night last night on 1/8. He is tired of the cannula in his nose and has been pulling it out lately. He grips the hose right by the sticker and pulls the sticker and all off of his face. He is starting to coo a little bit and pushes with his legs like he's trying to crawl.

Chelsea's visit

Chelsea stayed with us for two weeks. It was such a good time! She enjoyed spending time with Brody and helped us out a lot. We will miss her very much. While she was here, we picked raspberries, visited relatives, went to Brody's baby shower at the Tiernans', went to a movie, walked around the mall, went to Brody's doctor appointments, went to the Benton County Fair, hung out at home, and much more. She was able to enjoy a couple of good thunderstorms, which she says are few and far between in Texas this summer. Chelsea is going back to school this fall. Thanks for visiting us, Chelsea, we love you! Oh, and Happy 20th Birthday today!

August 1st

Last week we went to the mall to walk around. This picture was taken when we sat down for a break. It turned out to be one of my favorites.