So much to share...

Hi friends!

We have so much to share with you...I've been thinking all day about how I wanted to write this blog post and finally I settled on a simple question and answer format because...well, because my brain is so stinkin' tired these days and I think it might be the easiest way to share what is happening with our little Jude dude.

So, what has been happening with Jude since our last blog post?
The doctors and nurses have been tweaking and playing with Jude's feedings (through his ng tube in his nose down into his stomach) to try to find a happy place for Jude's digestive health. Since our last post, it has been hypothesized that Jude's throwing up problems are due to the fact that his tummy is not quite ready to handle large volumes of food just yet.  So, they've backed down on the amount of food he is receiving but they've upped the caloric value's of his formula (with some helpful add-ins). His throwing up has slowed down since his rough couple of days (with one day totally 13 vomits) and we are beginning to see some improvement. He is still throwing up but not as frequently and many of his vomits are smaller in size that they were in previous days. The doctors are ok with a few throw ups a day (I know that there are many little kidos that have dealt with a lot of throwing up in their earliest months of life) as long as he is not losing weight and he is continuing to grow. It is SO HARD to watch him throw up so much. I'd give anything to make him more comfortable and not in constant battle with the contents of his tummy.

Additionally, Jude has been doing awesome from a respiratory standpoint. Yesterday the doctors decided to try him off of O2 support and he is handling it very well! Here is some cute proof:

We took this picture just moment after our nurse helped us take of his O2 cannula. His ng tube was out for a little while, so we took the opportunity to snap some sweet pictures of our little guy's adorable face!

As long as Jude tolerates being off O2 well and as long as he doesn't work too hard to breathe (and therefore burn too many calories, causing him to lose weight) then he will remain off O2. Please join us in prayers of thanksgiving for healthy, growing lungs for Jude!! Please also pray that he will be able to continue to stay off the O2 support. It would be great to bring him home without a need for O2 support!


So, what do all of these positive changes mean for Jude and his time at the hospital?
Well, basically they mean that our little guy is nearly ready to go home. By nearly I mean, Monday or Tuesday!!!! The last several days have been spent learning how to use and manage Jude's medical equipment and finishing up any tests or follow ups that the doctors want performed before discharge. We are SO hopeful that the upcoming days will hold a trip to our new home in Florence.

(Oh my, I am getting crazy tired right now. Please forgive me for any typos or poor sentence structure!)

When Jude comes home what will his needs be?
We know for sure that Jude will come home being fed formula through his ng tube. Jude will not be getting a g-tube. So he will come home with a pump that will be used to feed him. He is on continuous feeds right now and will remain that way until we get the go ahead from his doctor.

I must cut this short (I keep falling asleep in front of the computer) but I plan to pick back up tomorrow. Feel free to email/message me any questions that you have and I will try to answer them on our next blog.

Thanks for understanding...more soon.

But thank you for celebrating with us! :)