Daddy's My Hero

Sorry if you object to my posting this as public, but just wanted to make a note of how incredibly wonderful you are. Chase couldn't have had a better father, and we will miss you terribly this week while you're back at work. Afterall, I cannot sing Bob Marley- so Chase is missing out! This has been such a roller coaster of emotions for the past 10 days- and I would not have been able to do it without you. While I'm nervous about doing this solo this week, I know that the weekend will arrive quickly and after your chocolate bribery with all the nurses, I think I'm in good hands.

As far as updates on Chase- no real big events currently- they increased his feeding amounts yesterday from 32mL to 36mL, and after a a long, somewhat discouraging day of trying to nipple feed (both nursing and bottle), his 9pm feed he successfully managed to take 40mL! I know it's a hard thing to grasp the significance unless you are in the situation- but it was a huge accomplishment. This morning's feed didn't go quite as great, but we're learning. The nurse practioner who came in this morning discussed that they are looking to wean him off the caffeine soon, since it stays in his system for approximately a week, and she mentioned if we are able to get feeding down and all that, we want to be sure he'll be able to do okay without the caffeine as a stimulant for breathing. He has to continue to work on his apnea/brady episodes. Fortunately he hasn't needed any assistance with them, he recovers in a second on his own- but it's still something he has to grow out of. The only other thing mentioned today was looking into getting the RSV vaccinations monthly for him since Kaely goes to school and could be a carrier (as most elementary school children are for all sorts of things). No desire to leave him vulnerable.

I'll update again later with any photos or news :)

Our home away from home...