Still Healing

Ali and I went to have her incision checked this afternoon. There is still a small area that hasn't completely healed and continues to leak fluid and blood. It's in almost the same location as last time. The doctor removed all of the staples and used Steri-strips to seal the wound. She cleaned the opening and told us that we will need to use the same technique as last time to help it heal. So, I guess I'm back in the business of changing gauze twice daily for Ali until our next appointment on Friday. The good part is that the wound is now only 2 inches long compared to the 12 inches before. A part of me thinks that Ali is doing this on purpose as sympathy for Brady's healing. The race is on to see who gets out of the hospital fully healed first. :)

Ali attempted breast feeding for the first time today. Brady was able to drink 9 ml the first time and 8 ml three hours later. The goal is to get him to 100 ml feedings.

There is a feeding tube that runs through Brady's nose and into his stomach. In order to test how much he ate the first time, they drew the milk from his stomach back into a syringe. After measuring it, they sent it back into his stomach (along with 91 other ml to complete the meal). For the second feeding the weighed him before and after eating.

The nurses told us that he had a 40 ml bottle feeding at 2 a.m. this morning. Once again, this is great progress from yesterday.

The OT continues to work with him every morning. We heard that Brady had some tummy time this morning. We hope to hear more from the neurologist in the next couple of days. Brady was once again removed from the oxygen assistance for several hours this afternoon. We hope that he can make a permanent transition sometime soon.

Probably the most rewarding part of today was seeing Brady's personality come out. He was awake for long periods of time, and we enjoyed talking to him and playing with him. He also got extremely angry at times and had some very normal baby cries.

It's hard to say goodbye to him every evening. Ali and I always say prayers with him and give him a kiss goodnight. We then do the same with Ava and Casey a couple hours later at our house.

We painted and decorated Brady's bedroom in the weeks before his birth. It's been strange to walk past it for the past 13 days and not hear any baby noises. Brady continues to heal and grow, and we know he'll be sleeping in his crib at home sometime soon. As always, thanks for all of your messages and prayers.

With love,

Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady