It seems like it has been much longer than 19 days since Grant was born, but it's true. A week ago they were beginning to talk about when Grant may come home, but that conversation was short lived. Unfortunately, Grant is not feeding very well from the bottle so he has a feeding tube to make sure he eats the volume they want him to. In additiona, he has trouble maintaining his body temp, so he stays under the heat lamps (I think he kinda likes it). He was gaining a little weight each day, but he has lost over the past couple of days. He weighs about 4 1/2 lbs. (slightly more than his birth weight) He also had a blood transfusion yesterday (which is not uncommon for premies) because he was pale and his stats had dropped over the past few days. So far the transfusion seems to have helped. It's easy to get discouraged, but we have to remind ourselves that he is still a premie and was not due until 9/14. It's easy to get caught up in the "set backs" and overlook the successes. Overall, he's doing well. At this point nothing is life threatening and we expect that he will come home one day soon..
What's next... Grant will continue to try to bottle feed at every other feeding and then tube feed the balance when he tires out. A speach therapist will examine his mouth to see if there is something physically hindering or complicating his feeding. No new updates from the Cardiac team. I predict we will not hear much for several weeks from them until he gets bigger. For now, we continue to be patient and grateful for the small wins. Grant will not be able to leave Le Bonheur until he is feeding well, gaining weight, and his stats are stable. More to come...
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