Little Sammy is making great strides in getting home to his big sister. Today he was switched to a regular oxygen cannula. Since his birth, he’s been on a high flow cannula to keep up with his oxygen needs. The switch is something to celebrate! He also took whole bottles during three consecutive feedings this morning. That’s an enormous step! We’re still working on nursing, but we can continue to do that after he gets home. For now, he just has to prove he doesn’t need his feeding tube. He’s made it pretty clear that he doesn’t want it any more after pulling it out of his nose twice yesterday and once today. Atta boy.
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| nine days old – held by Nana Scott |
This waiting has not been easy. Not that anyone expected it would be, but I just have to say it. I didn’t imagine Sam would still be in the NICU nine days after his birth. I so long for him to be home with us. It gets very tiring and long being at the hospital alone. (Pete made a very good decision to go back to work for the week to regain a bit of his regular routine. Next week he’ll begin his paternity rotation, which includes half days of clinic each day and nothing more. Ahh, that will be lovely.) Just about every day for the last week, I’ve been with Sam from his 8am feeding until his 5pm feeding and then have returned for the one at 8pm on a couple days. By yesterday I was feeling emotionally exhausted, so I decided to stay home for the morning to be with Ella. The time together helped me tremendously. We cuddled in bed, watched Sesame Street, did some laundry, and played outside. Today my mom arrived and will stay with us until Thursday. So, so nice.
I realize this post is a bit all over the place. I can only sort of think of what I would like to say and the order of how I would like it written. It’s far too late for me to still be up writing, but I wanted to update you on Sam’s progress before more time passed. I do hope to write some more articulate very soon. Thanks for understanding. And thank you a ton for your continued prayers. Really…THANK YOU.
Thanks for the update! Praying for you.