Trying to juggle a baby in the NICU, a wife recovering from surgery, and two kids at home is a daunting task. We went to bed last night with a great plan in hopes of having another fantastic day like yesterday.
Here was the master plan...Our house was going to be Grand Central. Rita was going to come over at 8:00 to help get Ava ready for school (bus comes at 9:00) and Casey dressed and fed. She was going to go to Bible study at Hosanna! at 9:30. Amy was coming over at 9:00 after getting her kids off to school and bringing Cole (her 2 year old). Rita was going to take Cole to Bible study with her and drop him off at the child care center there. She was then going to bring Cole back to her house and have Jerry watch him while she went to a hair appointment. My mom was coming over at 9:15 to watch Casey. She was going to bring Casey up to my cousin Emily's house and Emily was going to watch him while she visited Brady in the hospital. Amy was going to drive Ali to the hospital at 9:00 and come back at 3:00 to get her kids off the bus. I was going to teach, stop by the weight room, and be up to the hospital by 3:30. Ali and I would then be together with Brady for a couple of hours and I would drive her home to eat with Ava and Casey. Got all of that? Ready. Break.
Ali woke up at 5:30 a.m. to pump milk. I changed her gauze pad (I'm thankful that I only have two of these left) and went to work.
I went to school and taught first hour. I felt my phone buzz while I was teaching, but I didn't look at it. In between 1st and 2nd hour, I read this text from Ali:
7:26 Dr. Darnell called and I have a bladder infection from Strep B. So she called in an antibiotic to CVS. I have to take it for three days. She said I shouldn't be taking the meds while breast feeding, so I should pump and dump for the next three days. What a mess...
I started teaching second hour and my phone buzzed again. At the end of second hour, I read this text from Ali:
8:19 Ava just threw up
So much for the master plan.
Rita started cleaning the house and taking care of Ava...my mom showed up and took Casey back to her house...Ali and Amy and Cole went to the hospital...Rita took Ava back to her house.
Since 2 year olds aren't allowed in the NICU, Ali and Cole sat in a closet together while Ali pumped one last time before medications forced her to dump her milk. Amy went up to check on Brady. While Ali was still pumping, Amy came back and told her to hurry because the neurologist and occupational therapist were working on Brady.
The OT was doing an evaluation of Brady. We have noticed that Brady likes to tuck his thumbs and form fists. They are putting Brady's hands in splints every three hours to force his thumbs out. We've learned this is common practice for babies in the NICU.
The OT said Brady's upper body is stronger than his lower body. She was working on reflexes and resistance with his limbs. She had him sitting up and also checked his mouth and tongue. An OT will visit Brady every day and we will also learn exercises to help him recover. Once again, these are all common practices for babies in the NICU.
The doctors and nurses were also making rounds during this time and gave an update on Brady's progress. His chest X-ray was clear. They gave him a lasix diuretic to help remove his swelling. They are continuing to increase his feeding amounts. Everything is looking very good.
The biggest change from yesterday was that they moved his feeding tube from his mouth to his nose. They have now started giving him small amounts of milk in his mouth to train him how to eat. It's common for NICU babies to have a hard time eating initially because they spend so much time with ventilation tubes in their mouth and throat. Brady seems to like the milk and is already sucking well on his pacifier.
Ali spent most of the afternoon snuggling with Brady in a chair and pumping and dumping. I finally made it up there around 3:00 and found them both sleeping in the chair. It was very cute. Both of them are completely exhausted from the events of the past week. I'm still not sure which one has endured more. Brady and I then had some Kangaroo time and I couldn't stop staring at him. It's still amazing to see how much he has changed from two days ago.
Around 5:00 we placed Brady back into his bed. As I was talking to him, he opened his eyes about halfway. He kept them open for about five seconds. He closed them. Then he opened them again for five seconds. It was the highlight of my day.
Tomorrow is a big day for Ali. She'll have stitches for her incision at 2:30. Her stitching will take place in a building a short walk from the NICU. Ali plans to spend as much time as possible with Brady before and after the procedure.
We've learned that it is common for diabetic mothers to heal more slowly and sometimes need to be restitched a handful of times. We are hoping and praying that the incision heals completely this time.
Today was filled with a lot of stress and anxiety. We're hopeful that tomorrow is a day of healing and peace. That's the master plan for now. :)
With love,
Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady
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