Ali drove for the first time since having the baby today. She dropped the kids off at her parents' house and met me at Burnsville after my track practice. When I went to get her out of the truck, there was a loud hissing noise coming from her driver's side front wheel. I looked at the tire and found a small hole. The tire was flat in a matter of seconds.
Luckily we had both vehicles there at the time. I drove the car 20 minutes to bring Ali to the hospital...dropped her off at the front door...drove 20 minutes back to the school...changed the tire...and drove the 20 minutes back up to the hospital again.
I held Brady for about 15 minutes and it was already time to bring Ali to her doctor's appointment.
Ali's wound still hasn't completely healed. There is now an area about one inch in length that is still recovering. The doctor did some silver nitrate cauterization on the wound. There was a small section that was healing and she used a Q-tip to open it up a little. Then, she cut that extra skin off. She then used a Q-tip with silver nitrate on the end.
When the silver nitrate comes in contact with fluid (blood), it causes a chemical reaction that burns the tissue to help it heal. Ali said it didn't hurt at the time, but the area was sore as we left the clinic. She'll go back for another incision inspection next Thursday. The race is still on between Brady and Ali to get healed first. :)
Brady had a setback with his feeding overnight. He took 45 ml at 9 p.m. At 12:15 a.m. he had 30 ml and then stopped sucking completely and cried. They gavaged him the rest of the night. They woke him up at 10:00 a.m. and gave him 30 ml. He was very fussy at that time and showed signs of reflux (arched back, making faces, etc.).
Yesterday the OT tried an orthopedic nipple to see if it would help him eat more quickly. The OT today thought the new nipple might be the cause of the extra discomfort. They thought it was allowing the milk to flow too quickly for him to handle. They moved him back to a traditional nipple and it seemed to help a little for his 12:45 feeding.
It's hard to tell if his difficulty with eating is brain related. We've learned that every baby is different and each progresses at a different rate. The process of being intubated slows the eating process down for some babies. Brady has also dealt with aspiration and reflux. Because his milk is more thick (to prevent aspiration), it takes more energy for him to eat. The one thing we don't want to do is create a negative eating experience for Brady. We want him to gain strength, coordination and confidence over time.
We're hoping to have a care conference later this week with the neonatologist, OT, and nurse to talk about Brady's progress and our next steps. If Brady's condition stays the same over the next few days, we might move toward a G-tube.
Once again, we're willing to wait as long as it takes and try whatever techniques they suggest.
Ali and I left the hospital a little earlier than usual today. We had a babysitter watch the kids, and we went out to dinner and a movie. Today is the 11th anniversary of our first date, and we try to celebrate it every year. We feel torn between our life at the hospital and our life at home. It was nice to have a few hours tonight to get away from everything. We also talked about how fortunate we are to be surrounded by such an amazing group of family and friends.
Thanks for your continued messages and prayers for Ali and Brady.
With love,
Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady
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