1/02-09/11

Things continue to go well.

We had a meeting with all the department heads at the Hospital the other day, a kind of "State of the Omi" meeting.

They went over all his current conditions, treatments and medications. We also talked about what the next course of action is, and what he has to accomplish before he can go home.

He is on nasal cannula 24-7 now. That's a good thing. They realized that he's really pissed when he's been on CPAP, and does about the same on that and cannula, so they decided it would be in his best interest to just do the latter.
The rub for his respiratory issues right now, is that he spent so much time on the vent, that he breathes really fast. It's not like he's having trouble breathing, he just does it really fast. Until that comes down, we can't start trying to bottle feed him cause they're afraid that with him breathing that quick, he will literally inhale his food. So, he just has to come down on that rate, which he appears to be doing. It's just like everything else; going to take a little while.

Ok guys, enough CPAP.

Omi also weighs a little over 6lbs now. Can you believe it? A pretty big difference from where he started out. 
He was a double cheeseburger, now he's a whole bag of them.

His ROP (eye surgery) has regressed, meaning that the surgery worked. His blood vessels are no longer obstructed and he seems to be making progress. It's odd, after he recovered, we can tell that he sees more now. You talk or make a sound and he turns and looks at you like you're bothering him. Further proof that he's our kid.
They're still going to check him every week to make sure that it continues without problems.

I can see you now........and I don't like it.

All his lab reports have either been good, or have shown improvement. He's been needing less medication and supplements the last week or two. All good stuff.
He got his first round of immunizations the other night. I guess four of his favorite nurses were almost in tears cause they didn't want to do it, but he just looked at them like he didn't understand what the big deal was. Sounds like that one was harder on them.

We spoke with the nutritionist that we will soon be working closely with. She has a Masters in neonatal nutrition, and the staff just raves about what she's able to do for kids, so we're going to pay a lot of attention to how/what she wants to do.
I swear, I will end up with a degree in chemistry by the time this is all over.
So, she's going to teach us what's best for him given his situation and put him on a plan with a certain type of formula with supplements.
Oh, and he's developing acid reflux. Another result of the vent tube. Know how they treat it? With Zantac and Prilosec OTC. Go figure.

We will also be taking classes in what to expect when we come home dealing with a preemie, baby CPR, how to use an oxygen machine and a heart monitor to name a few. 
So yes, most likely he will be coming home with a few contraptions.

We also spoke about the appointments he will have afterward. He's still going to spend quite a bit of time at the Hospital seeing specialists and Doctors. Yep, lots of follow ups for Omi.

So the other night he had a series of bradycardia's "bradys" that had everyone puzzled. Over an hour he had about twenty of them. A brady is where there is an irregularity in heart rate. So, his heart rate kept dropping and coming back up for no apparent reason. They hooked up a 12-lead/EKG to try and document the event, but never caught one. Too random. He looked like a little bomb hooked up to all of those cords. Lot's of preemies get them, but he really hasn't had but a handful the whole time. Everyone is kind of stumped but the Cardiologist said from what he could see it was nothing to worry about. Hope so. Maybe just one of those odd things that as long as it works itself out,....whatever.

Don't cut the red one!

So, the big question everyone has been asking; when is Omi coming home?

Well, we don't know yet. Things are working in his favor more now than they have since he's been in the Hospital.
His big task is to learn how to eat. He hasn't been able to be bottle-fed at all, so it's going to be a foreign concept to him. We give him a binky, and he tries to push it out of his mouth. He was so used to the tube down his throat that he wants to get rid of everything. 
Not a huge deal, but he is going to have to unlearn everything he's learned until now. The general consensus is that it's going to take a while.
So, if there are some some setbacks with eating (and we expect to encounter a few) it will take a bit longer. Who knows, he could surprise us.
Nobody can say exactly how long it will take, but the Doctors all seem to think he will be there another month, month and a half. 

So there's enough light at the end of the tunnel that we are thinking of installing blinds, but it might take a while longer to get to the end.

Omi does things at his own pace, so that's the way we're playing it. But, we're definitely closer to going home than not.

Eat Omi, eat!