DOL 94

Guess what folks!?! They took my feeding tube out! I'm just feeding with my bottle now! That's great news. I hated that tube...it was so uncomfortable and it made breathing that much harder. Boy, am I glad that's gone! Now I can kick back, relax and enjoy my dinners instead of fighting for air and feeling congested. This is great!!

I'm up to a whopping 8 lbs., 9 oz. now! Yeah, I'm pretty much the biggest kid in here. I think I'm ready to hit the road and move on for more greener pastures (whatever that means...)

Oh yeah, and one more thing......



I'M GOING HOME ON WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY17th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it?!? I'm so excited. I can't wait. I don't know what to do first. I'm going to look at everything, and smell everything, and cry, and yell, and eat a lot, and meet my dog, and see my room...and..wait, I'm tired now...I need to take a nap. There will be plenty of time for all of that once I get home. This is great! I'm a lucky guy...

DOL 91

Hello everyone! I'm doing great over here...I'm itchin' to get home, but the docs just wanted to try to sort out this hypertension thing. They are just trying to rule out the big, scary stuff--which for the most part, they have done! I still think the elevated blood pressure is just me, being me...I squirm and bear-down a lot. I'm a wiggly little guy. Actually, I'm not so little anymore. In fact, I'm a healthy 8 lbs., 3 oz. I'm getting up there! So, for the time being the docs have me on some a little medication regimen..nothing serious. But what I can tell you is that I hate taking that prilosec for my reflux..(it's soooo salty!)

I also have a little wound on my backside...the docs want that to clear up before they send me home. It can hurt sometimes, so I appreciate the extra care that they are paying to it!! Once that's looking better, I'll bet they are going to take out my feeding tube and start me on oral feeds alone...then as long as I can keep my weight gains up, I should be outta here! I can't wait!!!

DOL 86

Well hey there folks! I have some pretty good news. I met with the cardiologists from Children's Hospital today...they gave me a clean bill of health. My little heart isn't causing any hypertension! That's good news. They also said that the tiny little hole in my atrial wall will probably close up on its own. Even if it doesn't, they said that they could repair it with a really simple, easy routine surgery with a catheter. That's a relief. Chances are, though, that this won't cause me any issues...boy, I've had more tests by three months than most of you have had in three decades!! These hospital folk are great! So, now where back to square one about the hypertension. They are going to do a lab culture to ensure that the ol' kidneys are doing what they're supposed to...but since the renal ultrasound looked normal, I'm not too worried about it. It's just another test!! I'm getting pretty good at these things by now!

Well, all things considered, I'm doing well here. I'd like to get home, but they keep telling me that I can't until I can take a whole bottle at each feeding. They don't want to send me home with this ridiculous feeding tube. Plus, my folks wouldn't be able to stop me from pulling it out...I hate it!! So, hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon!!

I'll check in again once I get some more feedback from these tests! Oh, I almost forgot...I'm up to 7 lbs., 14 oz. I have rolls on my chubby little legs! I earned 'em!

DOL 84

Well hello there everyone! I'm attaching a little video of me taking a bath. They've been giving me regular baths for my little fanny. My skin has been breaking down a little bit lately. I'm hoping that all the medications that they powder me with will do the trick! Plus, I like all the attention!

I'm up to a whopping 7 lbs., 12 oz. now! They keep giving me food, so I keep eating it! I'm looking forward to coming home soon...I can't wait! Until then, I'm just going to make the most of it here.

The docs gave me a cardiac ultrasound to see if they could figure out why I have slightly high blood pressure. They think that I have a slight atrial septal defect ("ASD"). But, there's also a good chance that it's just the patent foramen ovale ("PFO") that we're all born with...so there's a good chance that it'll just close up on it's own. Either way, they don't think that it's causing my hypertension...so they're doing a kidney ultrasound next. So, we don't know yet, but I'm not worried about a thing...except when my next feeding is supposed to start...NURSE!!!

DOL 79

Hey there everyone! It's been a few days since my last post, but I wanted to update you on my progress. I'm getting really big now. I'm up to 7 lbs., 8 oz. That's a long way from 2 lbs., 6 oz.! Let me tell you...it's been a lot of work. I've been trying to get used to taking my bottles, but it's tough to stay awake for the whole thing when it's so warm in here...with a full belly...and it's dark and (sometimes) quiet...YAWN...I'm getting sleepy just thinking of it!

The doctors have mentioned that my blood pressure is a little high...so they're going to do some tests. Maybe that's what's making me tired!?! I think it's just because I like to grunt and groan all the time and that little cuff on my leg makes me mad so I squirm and kick when it inflates! We'll see in time, but don't worry about me; I'm a tough cookie...(I can't wait to eat cookies).

Here are some pics and video of me!

DOL 76

Guess what folks?!? I'm 7 lbs!!! I have tripled my birth weight! I can't even believe it! It's great! As you can probably tell from my previous photos, I've put on a little weight since I came along 74 days ago...I'm looking a lot more like a chubby baby now. No more chicken-legs on this little man! Now I've got a few extra chins for good measure!

7 lbs! I'm excited! Here are a bunch of photos of me looking husky!

DOL 71

Hey there folks! It's been a few days since I updated you...I have been busy trying to get the hang of this bottle feeding thing. I have a little acid reflux, so every time I finish eating, I tend to spit up a little and it doesn't exactly feel or taste too nice. So, the nurses have been trying all sorts of tricks to try to minimize this. It doesn't help that I have this tube in my throat that prevents me from completely closing off the path from my little stomach. But, I can't lose the tube until I can take all my feeds through the bottle.

All of this reflux business keeps me awake when I'm supposed to be sleeping and growing. I am eager to grow out of this or for something else to make it go away! I can get pretty uncomfortable when this happens (not to mention the gas pains) and when I'm uncomfortable, I yell. I don't mean to, I just yell at the nearest person. "HEY, THIS HURTS! COME PICK ME UP AND RUB MY BACK!" That usually gets their attention, but I hate to keep yelling...so hopefully this will get better soon. After all, I can't wait to go home!

Even with this issue, I still keep eating and growing...I'm up to 6 lbs., 12 oz. I'm one of the biggest kids in this place now! Hopefully, at this rate, I'll get to go home sooner than later!