Friday, December 23, 2011

A very Merry Christmas...


Our Clayton Cash has been doing very well since my last update!!  He has been in such a better mood lately—and I am so thankful!  I was starting to worry that his awful temper fits were going to stick around forever.  I didn’t know what I was going to do with the little wildcat..haha!  He still gets a little fussy but he is consolable—especially when he’s being held.  Eric & I are making up for lost time & getting lots of snuggle time with our little booger.  We are so in love : ) 

Clay continues to do very well with his trach. The nurses say it’s healing beautifully!   We have been learning how to suction his secretions & do trach care on our own, which is not bad at all!  Also, Eric & I did our first trach change on Tuesday...that got my adrenaline pumping!  My heart was pounding & my hands were shaking...lol!  But it went relatively smooth and I think we did a good job for our first time.  Clay also pulled out his NG (nasogastric) tube, so we learned how to put that back in. Clay handled it all so well—he didn’t require any drugs or extra oxygen or anything!  Yay Clay!

He is also doing well with bolus feedings.  He’s now getting 90 mL of milk over an hour period then his feeds are turned off for two hours.  The docs tried to push him to take the milk over a 30 minute period yesterday, and that didn’t go so well.  He puked more than I’ve ever seen him, poor little guy.  But 90 mL in an hour is still good, and that schedule will be easier for me to manage once we go home.

And yes, home is definitely on the radar!! The Discharge Coordinator came to talk to us earlier in the week and she is getting the ball rolling with the going-home process.  I would guess it will be the middle of January before we do get to go home, but how exciting?!  We will have an intensive-care unit set up in our living room & things will be far from normal, but we are more than ready for the challenge!

I suppose just about everyone has already seen the amazing photographs & video my good friend, Dusty, took of our sweet little boy.  Dusty is so talented & did such a fantastic job capturing the moment…he is truly an artist. You should check out some of his other work, too: www.dustinstevenson.com

Clay will be TWO months old tomorrow!! And Christmas is only TWO days away! While this Christmas season has been anything but normal for our family, I can honestly say I’ve never felt more in the Christmas spirit.  Even though we will be missing out on some usual family traditions, I can think of no other place I’d rather be than in the NICU holding my sweet baby on Christmas morning. God has blessed us so.  I hope and pray that each and every one of you is filled with the HOPE & LOVE & JOY & PEACE that is filling me and my family this holiday season.  After all, those are the things that are truly meant to be shared at Christmas.  May you all have a wonderful Christmas weekend & may God bless you all! 


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