Bye Bye Arterial Line!

Today was a big day for Jaxson. Jayson and I arrived at the hospital around 8am (huge thanks to my parents for keeping Jeffrey last night!) so we could be there when the doctors did their rounds. Jaxson had been doing well all weekend, so we were expecting good news and we hoped to get the results from some tests that haven't come in yet.

The neonatologist came by and got the rundown on Jaxson. He gave us the results from the previous days echo, which showed that Jaxson's heart was doing fine. The gap between the two valves has fully closed and no obstructions came up in the process. His aorta is still small, and could possibly cause issues down the road, but now he will just follow up with a cardiologist once a month to see how he's doing. He will also have a slight murmur, but for his condition it's actually expected. So no surgery! And because his heart is doing well, they don't need to take labs anymore, which means his arterial line was removed this afternoon! That took away almost half of the wires he was hooked up to. Now he lays swaddled in his bed comfortably with his little feet covered and warm :)

Since everything else was going well, the doctor had an occupational therapist come down today to try and bottle feed Jaxson. In his short little life, he's been sustained on IV nutrition because they didn't want to stress his body by giving him something to metabolize. So the OT came down to see if he would be willing to take a bottle. The biggest issue right now with that is not his cleft palate, it's his respiration. He breathes about 80-100 times per minute right now (they like 30-60), so the biggest risk is actually choking. Well, Jaxson wasn't interested AT ALL in a bottle, which was sad and frustrating. The OT said that sometimes babies are smart and they won't take a bottle if their body can't handle the challenge. He's been taking a pacifier, so we kind of figure that he just knows he's not ready. Which is fine because he still gets what I've been pumping out for him, it's just through a feeding tube. Which had to go in through his mouth because he takes oxygen through his nose. His poor little face has so much stuff on it now! It's very hard to look at, but at least he's getting real food now.

We have not gotten the results of the chromosome tests yet, but hopefully we'll get those tomorrow. They are going to do a spinal ultrasound tomorrow as well to make sure that the end of his spinal cord isn't wrapped up. He's got a small dimple in his back, but I think Jeffrey has one too. I'm not worried about this one, they are just making sure that everything is checked out while he's there. They are also going to do an MRI on his skull before he leaves the hospital. They think that some of his bones may have fused together early, so they're looking to see if that's the case or not. This one makes me a little nervous. If he has fused bones, he'll have to have surgery because it can hamper brain growth. If not, he'll be fine. I just don't want him to have surgery!

So the million dollar question is when does he get to come home? As soon as his breathing is under control enough for him to eat out of a bottle, and as soon as he proves he can tolerate real food without it causing too much stress on his body. The doctors have done their work and he's pulle through with flying colors. Now it's time for Jaxson to do some work and get healthy so he can come home to mommy, daddy, and big brother Jeffrey!

I feel completely drained and exhausted, but absolutely amazing tonight! My baby is doing things that I thought were milestones he would overcome after surgery months from now. But God is answering all of our prayers and those of everyone else who's said some for us. Jaxson is in much better shape than we could have hoped for and it looks like I'm going to be able to provide what he needs that only a mother can give. I can sleep well (for 4 hours at a time lol) knowing that Jaxson is going to improve every day.

And thank God I have an amazing support system. I had forgotten how much having a C Section hampers you. The first time wasn't so bad because it was just Jeffrey. Now I can't take care of Jeffrey by myself because there are too many restrictions. I certainly can't lift him. I can't stretch to reach things. I can't drive anywhere. So it's not safe for me to watch him at home by myself with the closet family member/car 20 minutes away. So, as my dad just told me, I have to focuse on what I CAN do. Jayson has to go to work tomorrow, so dad will take care of Jeffrey and I will go spend time with Jaxson. Jeffrey will be in good hands and Jaxson will get the attention he needs from his mommy. At least I can take care of one of my boys! And soon enough I'll have them both and handle it just fine. But for now, I'm so happy that I have the help around me that I need. My friends and family are amazing and God is so good to put the right people in the right places at the right times.

I can't promise there won't be any more breakdowns, and I can't promise that there won't be sad posts once in awhile, but for now everything is looking up. Life is about as perfect as its going to get for awhile, so I'm going to soak it up and enjoy it while I can!