Lots to Catch Up On!

Time flies when you're having fun (and when you have a baby in the NICU and go back to work after almost 4 months), so imagine my surprise when I looked today and realized it's been a over week since we've written a new post! There's a LOT to update you on, so let's get to it.

To start it off, let me say that this week has been great, though not without its challenges.  Like hug-the-nearest-random-stranger great, or even Andy-Samberg-hifiving-a-bobcat great.

Downright epic, y'all.

Here are the general highlights from the strictly medical side of things:

• Dade's blood clot continues to resolve itself.  He had an echo-cardiogram at the end of last week to see how things are going with it. The clot is still there and will be for a while, but it has opened more on one end.  That means the blood thinner is doing its job and things are moving in the right direction!
• Dade is up to a little over an ounce on his feedings now!  He's still being fed by tube and will be until after he's off his ventilator.  He had a little trouble at first with a full ounce because gravity feeding through the tube can go a little fast.  He spit up several times, but that seems to have been rectified by using a pump to send the milk through the tube now rather than relying on gravity.  The pump can be set to feed him over any amount of time, so the nurses can give him the milk slowly.
• The ventilator settings are slowly but surely coming down!  We're so proud of Dade and how he's handled the tweaks on the vent.  Pray that he can keep it up!  No mention of when he may come off the vent (it will be awhile yet), but he'll move to a nasal CPAP after this.  
• X-rays have looked magnificent the last couple of days!  His right lung has had a lot of air in it, and his heart has even shifted a little more to the left!
• Baby Betty Ford continues.  Dade is now completely off of his pain medication, and his sedative is next.  He's on methadone during this time to help mitigate any withdrawal symptoms. The upside to this is that he's now more awake and aware than he's ever been, but the downside is that he's now more awake and aware than he's ever been!  He's starting to notice things like the tube that's floating in front of his face and the fact that it runs down his throat.  He doesn't like that one bit.  He tolerates it, of course, but there are times when he gets mad that he'll start grabbing at the tubes and tugging on them.  During those times, we just gently hold his arms, rub his head, and help him chill out.     

One of the biggest things to come out of the past week is that WE CAN HOLD DADE!!!  It took 49 days for him to be ready (not that we were counting at all), but the day finally came!  We were a little worried about how Dade would take it; he'd rarely been lifted from his bed or moved unless absolutely necessary, after all. It turns out we worried about nothing, though.  It took him a little while to settle into Tara's arms, but after that, he loved it!  We try to hold him a little while each day now because 1) it's awesome, and 2) he really seems to relax more while he's being snuggled.

Discussions with Dad regarding the imagery of societal constructs in Green Eggs and Ham & Naptime with Mama

The day we were able to hold him the first time ended up being even bigger though... Remember Tara's post about praying for a room with a view?  We have one!!!  Dade has a window and sunlight, and is doing very well with it!  He was a little fussy the first day because he wasn't used to the brightness, but he's settled in to it.

The view from our window!

Moving night.  Dade slept like a rock through ALL of it.

Along with the new room has come a new bed, too!  His little giraffe warmer bed is gone, and Dade is officially hanging out in a crib.

The new sleeping quarters

And yes, that's another crib mobile.  We braved those waters just one more time and ended up with a win!  He didn't freak out and actually seems to enjoy the music and colors now!

So there's your mega-size UpDade for today.  Thank you as always for your continued thoughts and prayers!  They're being heard!

We love you all!