As I posted earlier today, the results of Corin’s echo-cardiogram came in today and everything is fine. What they heard was the common type of murmur that lots of babies have and that usually just goes away over time. Even if it doesn’t go away, it doesn’t pose any threat or cause any problems. So that was our good news of the day.
Our less than good news was that Kristi and I have had some unrealistic expectations about how fast Corin is going to take to eating everything for himself. That led to unrealistic expectations about when he was going to be coming home. He has been doing a good job taking to the breast, and a good job drinking from the bottle. But he has yet to eat a full meal either way, and gets tired out by the end. This is completely understandable, considering it is the most strenuous activity he has ever tried in his life. It was just a bit frustrating today as we reconciled our hopes with the realities of his abilities.
So the course we are on now is that he gets every other meal through his feeding tube. One the meals we feed him, he starts on either the breast or the bottle until he stops eating. Then he gets the rest of that meal through the tube. That has been going very well, as the extra rest he gets during his feeding tube meals gives him more energy to get through most of his bottle/breast meals. Kristi also got to meet with a couple feeding specialists today, who gave us a lot of good pointers and taught us ways to read his cues about eating.
Overall he is progressing well, and is right on track for a premature baby his age. They said that most babies (boys in particular) don’t fully develop all of their eating reflexes and coordination until the 37th week. We will hit the 37th week this coming Monday. So while we were hoping for a nice Mother’s Day gift of bringing our baby home, it looks like the reality is that we will be living in the hospital for at least another week or so. We have come a long way already and have overcome quite a few obstacles already. Today was just a day to be thankful for those accomplishments and to look forward to the next steps.
The day did end on a high note, with visits from Grandma, Pop and Lola. I also got to put on his little crab outfit, which is one of my favorites!
Your disappointment is sooo understandable. you want to bring the little guy home, and you will. in the meantime, he is taking the time he needs to be ready for that journey. just like he called the shots about when he was coming out, seems like he'll do so for when he's coming home as well. you guys rock! get some sleep and hang in! love, lola
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