It is nearly a month since our last post. Landon is tipping the scales at 11 lbs. now and continues to develop everyday. I (Gary) love coming home to him everyday. Allison has done a marvelous job at home with him. Through all the ups and downs we have come through that first surgery as a family, intact and stronger than we were before all of this. Sounds cliche, but it is true.
The anxiety of the next surgery is starting to set in. We are approximately 60-90 days away from step 2. Clearly, I do not want to miss anything that happens in Landon's development, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping to already be done with round 2 of his surgeries.
Emotional roller coaster is one way to put it. Now that he has much more of a personality it will undoubtedly be more agonizing to see him strapped to a bed with 20 machines attached and tons of different medications being administered through his various IVs.
We are nearly two months removed from the hospital and the month spent there seems like a distant memory on most days. But when I stop and think of what we went through, the memories are vivid and scary to recall.
Landon is taking to his bouncy seat toys actively. He is swatting the hanging toys consistently and more aggressively. He has also come close to grabbing these on a few occasions, as you can very clearly see him focusing on the toy and using some hand-eye coordination. No official grabs yet. No surprises there considering his genes and his father's heightened hand-eye coordination! He is eating well on most days, but volume at times is still a challenge. He continues to experience good weight gain so the volume is not too concerning.
Allison heads back to work next week. She will be working Monday through Wednesday every week. Her work has been fantastic through this process and was willing to let her reduce her hours so that she could be at home with him 4 days a week. This is also critical to allow us to schedule doctors appointments for him on those Thursdays and Fridays. We are very thankful that she can be with him 4 days a week.
We have found a daycare option with a friend of ours. Sadly her family has also been affected by Congenital Heart Defects. It is a huge blessing to have her take care of Landon and her experience as a mother of kids with heart defects will no doubt be a huge asset in Landon's care. I am looking forward to Landon being around other kids too as he grows over the next year or two. Mindy, who will be providing his daycare, has two boys. One is six months and the other is 4-years old. While tough to give your kid to anyone, I believe this is really an ideal situation for us and for Landon. Daddy gets his lunch partner back for Monday through Wednesday too. Bonus!
Merry Christmas! 9 days until Christmas. Where has the time gone?
Showing posts with label weight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
A Good Report Card
We had an appointment in Denver yesterday and Landon gained 6 ounces from last Monday to yesterday, which is great! He's still pretty behind in the weight department (apparently he's only in the 3rd percentile, but I know that is compared to normal kids- I should have asked where he is in comparison to kids with heart defects and surgery), but he's trying to gain some ground!
Overall they are still pleased with where he is but want him to continue to gain weight. For now he is staying on the same calorie level of fortified milk which is good because his little body already seems to be having some trouble processing what he's on! He's been eating pretty well the last several days, but the poor guy hasn't been pooping as much as normal so he seems a little uncomfortable sometimes! The doctors at the cardiac clinic in Denver recommended trying to give him some apple juice (like 1/2 oz) every day to see if that will help things along. It's amazing how the "basics" become such a big deal with a baby!
Gary's mom (Connie) leaves tomorrow and we are sad to see her go- she has been such a great help as was my mom (Pam) when she was here. It's wonderful sometimes to have an extra set of hands around to help out with lots of the little things, but it will also be nice for us to have some time as a family just the 3 of us to figure out our routine. Our friends Jessica and Kyle had a baby girl yesterday and we got to meet up with our small group and visit them in the hospital tonight! We are so happy to have another "member" of our group and it was great to see them and their sweet girl Annabelle. There have been so few non-doctor visit outings that it's been hard to feel like we can get out of the house at all- especially me (Allison)! But tonight Landon did really well being out and in a group of people so it gives us the confidence to be able to take him out some to run errands, go to social things, etc.
Looking back I can't believe all Landon has been through over the last 6 weeks and all that Gary and I have faced as well. God has been so incredibly faithful during this time to give us the strength for each day! We have become so much more aware of (although we could never fully understand) how amazing of a gift it was when God gave his son Jesus Christ up as a sacrifice for us. We know that God loves our baby boy even more than we do and to know that his love for us is so great that He willingly put his son through such pain and agony gives us a whole new perspective on how much He loves each of us. Going through something so difficult makes you appreciate the little blessings and the big ones too, and it also makes us more cognizant of who gives us those blessings! Praise God for giving each of us life- what an amazing gift!
Overall they are still pleased with where he is but want him to continue to gain weight. For now he is staying on the same calorie level of fortified milk which is good because his little body already seems to be having some trouble processing what he's on! He's been eating pretty well the last several days, but the poor guy hasn't been pooping as much as normal so he seems a little uncomfortable sometimes! The doctors at the cardiac clinic in Denver recommended trying to give him some apple juice (like 1/2 oz) every day to see if that will help things along. It's amazing how the "basics" become such a big deal with a baby!
Gary's mom (Connie) leaves tomorrow and we are sad to see her go- she has been such a great help as was my mom (Pam) when she was here. It's wonderful sometimes to have an extra set of hands around to help out with lots of the little things, but it will also be nice for us to have some time as a family just the 3 of us to figure out our routine. Our friends Jessica and Kyle had a baby girl yesterday and we got to meet up with our small group and visit them in the hospital tonight! We are so happy to have another "member" of our group and it was great to see them and their sweet girl Annabelle. There have been so few non-doctor visit outings that it's been hard to feel like we can get out of the house at all- especially me (Allison)! But tonight Landon did really well being out and in a group of people so it gives us the confidence to be able to take him out some to run errands, go to social things, etc.
Looking back I can't believe all Landon has been through over the last 6 weeks and all that Gary and I have faced as well. God has been so incredibly faithful during this time to give us the strength for each day! We have become so much more aware of (although we could never fully understand) how amazing of a gift it was when God gave his son Jesus Christ up as a sacrifice for us. We know that God loves our baby boy even more than we do and to know that his love for us is so great that He willingly put his son through such pain and agony gives us a whole new perspective on how much He loves each of us. Going through something so difficult makes you appreciate the little blessings and the big ones too, and it also makes us more cognizant of who gives us those blessings! Praise God for giving each of us life- what an amazing gift!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Right on Track
Landon is still doing really well and now meeting his daily goals for eating!
Ready for a math lesson? They want him at about 100-120 kcals per kilo per day. He is now 3.50 kg (they use kilos in the hospital, which is very confusing. That equals 7lb 11 oz, up 1lb 2 oz from birth) so he should be taking 350-420 calories per day. He is on breastmilk that is fortified to 26 calories per ounce so he has to take 13.36-16.15 ounces per day to be considered at his "goal". Since he eats so little at a time, we measure it in mL instead of ounces and there are 30 mL in an ounce, so his daily goal in mL is 404-484. Yesterday he ate 406 not including the few minutes that he nursed so he is just within his goal range.
He does tend to "snack" quite a bit so he is often taking small quantities since he runs out of steam while feeding. They are ok with him doing this for now, but in a week or so when we come back for a clinic visit, they'll want him to be moving more towards feeding in larger amounts every 3 hours. He did gain some wait from yesterday to today so that is great news and he is scheduled to discharge tomorrow! He'll have another carseat challenge this afternoon since it has to be within 3 days of discharge and the last one was over a week ago. This will be his 3rd one and I'm hoping he sleeps right through it just like he has before!
Last night all 3 of us (Gary, my mom and I) got a chance to go out to dinner with Gary and I's friends from Colorado Springs, Danielle and Jared. They met us at D Bar closer to downtown Denver and we had a great time. It was so nice to get away from the hospital for a few hours (when you're here day and night, being gone for 3 hours feels like forever!) and have a nice meal and be able to take your time a little bit. We are so grateful that we've had some friends drive up to see us from the Springs! It takes away the feeling of seclusion and we are so eager to get back home and introduce Landon to many of our friends! After we get home it is certainly going to be a hectic week! Gary will be trying to work most of the week and we'll have appointments with the pediatrician, cardiologist and one back up in Denver. Still it will be nice to get away from the chaos of the hospital and establish a routine!
He has still been tachypneic (breathing at a high rate) which I don't think is a major concern but they've done a few xrays to make sure he doesn't have fluid in his lungs or anything and those have all come back normal- except the one from this morning which I haven't heard back about yet. Everything else is looking good and we are just praying for no more complications so we can go home tomorrow.
Ready for a math lesson? They want him at about 100-120 kcals per kilo per day. He is now 3.50 kg (they use kilos in the hospital, which is very confusing. That equals 7lb 11 oz, up 1lb 2 oz from birth) so he should be taking 350-420 calories per day. He is on breastmilk that is fortified to 26 calories per ounce so he has to take 13.36-16.15 ounces per day to be considered at his "goal". Since he eats so little at a time, we measure it in mL instead of ounces and there are 30 mL in an ounce, so his daily goal in mL is 404-484. Yesterday he ate 406 not including the few minutes that he nursed so he is just within his goal range.
He does tend to "snack" quite a bit so he is often taking small quantities since he runs out of steam while feeding. They are ok with him doing this for now, but in a week or so when we come back for a clinic visit, they'll want him to be moving more towards feeding in larger amounts every 3 hours. He did gain some wait from yesterday to today so that is great news and he is scheduled to discharge tomorrow! He'll have another carseat challenge this afternoon since it has to be within 3 days of discharge and the last one was over a week ago. This will be his 3rd one and I'm hoping he sleeps right through it just like he has before!
Last night all 3 of us (Gary, my mom and I) got a chance to go out to dinner with Gary and I's friends from Colorado Springs, Danielle and Jared. They met us at D Bar closer to downtown Denver and we had a great time. It was so nice to get away from the hospital for a few hours (when you're here day and night, being gone for 3 hours feels like forever!) and have a nice meal and be able to take your time a little bit. We are so grateful that we've had some friends drive up to see us from the Springs! It takes away the feeling of seclusion and we are so eager to get back home and introduce Landon to many of our friends! After we get home it is certainly going to be a hectic week! Gary will be trying to work most of the week and we'll have appointments with the pediatrician, cardiologist and one back up in Denver. Still it will be nice to get away from the chaos of the hospital and establish a routine!
He has still been tachypneic (breathing at a high rate) which I don't think is a major concern but they've done a few xrays to make sure he doesn't have fluid in his lungs or anything and those have all come back normal- except the one from this morning which I haven't heard back about yet. Everything else is looking good and we are just praying for no more complications so we can go home tomorrow.
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December 2012