Overall, this was a good week for William. We not only received the good news that there are no leaks in the esophagus and trachea, William also got to have his ventilator removed on Thursday of this week. He has been doing a good job of breathing on his own, with the exception of during bottle feeding and when he gets very upset. He has a tendency to hold his breath when he gets upset and had a "blue spell" this week and had to get another Epi treatment.
On Friday, they tried to start bottle feeding, but he doesn't want to swallow. He drank 5 ml from each bottle (they tried 3 times) but the rest had to be put through his feeding tube. It's not a bad start for bottle feeding, but the bigger issue is why isn't he swallowing. Obviously it could be an issue of tenderness still from the surgery, it could be that he hasn't felt that sensation before, or it could be something else entirely. He also has a hard time breathing when he tried to take a bottle, so an ENT is coming in on Monday to take a look at his trachea to see if it's an inflammation issue from the ventilator, the surgery, or again - something else that hasn't been seen yet.
We found out on Friday that he also has an infection in his trachea - likely from the ventilator - so they started him on antibiotics. Hopefully that clears up easily and he doesn't get sick anymore.
His jaundice levels were high on and off throughout the week, so he got to sleep on a bilisoft blanket and have the bili lights on. Early this morning, he was able to get those turned off and is happily swaddled now :)
He is a blessing and gives these little smiles and funny facial expressions to us - he especially likes raising his eyebrows :) We can't say enough how grateful we are to all of his medical teams, this would be so much harder without them. The same can be said of all our family and friends. William has been on so many prayer lists from the time he was 5 weeks in gestation - we are more thankful than words can say for all the support and prayers.
The girls have been great through all of the hospital visits too. We hear from all the nurses how well behaved they are - thank goodness for Magna Doodle and Color Wonder :) We're doing what we can to develop somewhat of a "normal" schedule for them and try to get them up to see William at least every other day. They both love to sing to him and put their hands on his feet or his blanket. He'll be so "mommyed" when he comes home!
Norah and Isabella building a wonderful princess castle!
William off his bili lights for some snuggle time with Mommy
Bili soft blanket and bili lights - "Blue William"
William's first bottle
On Friday, they tried to start bottle feeding, but he doesn't want to swallow. He drank 5 ml from each bottle (they tried 3 times) but the rest had to be put through his feeding tube. It's not a bad start for bottle feeding, but the bigger issue is why isn't he swallowing. Obviously it could be an issue of tenderness still from the surgery, it could be that he hasn't felt that sensation before, or it could be something else entirely. He also has a hard time breathing when he tried to take a bottle, so an ENT is coming in on Monday to take a look at his trachea to see if it's an inflammation issue from the ventilator, the surgery, or again - something else that hasn't been seen yet.
We found out on Friday that he also has an infection in his trachea - likely from the ventilator - so they started him on antibiotics. Hopefully that clears up easily and he doesn't get sick anymore.
His jaundice levels were high on and off throughout the week, so he got to sleep on a bilisoft blanket and have the bili lights on. Early this morning, he was able to get those turned off and is happily swaddled now :)
He is a blessing and gives these little smiles and funny facial expressions to us - he especially likes raising his eyebrows :) We can't say enough how grateful we are to all of his medical teams, this would be so much harder without them. The same can be said of all our family and friends. William has been on so many prayer lists from the time he was 5 weeks in gestation - we are more thankful than words can say for all the support and prayers.
The girls have been great through all of the hospital visits too. We hear from all the nurses how well behaved they are - thank goodness for Magna Doodle and Color Wonder :) We're doing what we can to develop somewhat of a "normal" schedule for them and try to get them up to see William at least every other day. They both love to sing to him and put their hands on his feet or his blanket. He'll be so "mommyed" when he comes home!
Norah and Isabella building a wonderful princess castle! 
William off his bili lights for some snuggle time with Mommy
Bili soft blanket and bili lights - "Blue William"
William's first bottle
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