She's a chunky monkey! Well, relatively chunky. Our cardiologist was very pleased with Brooke's weight gain when she saw her on Thursday. She finally moved out of the first percentile in weight and length...and jumped to the ninth! A heavyweight! :) She weighed 11 lbs 15 oz on Thursday, and, as of her weigh-in tonight at home, we've surpassed the 12-lb mark! She's now at 12 lbs 2 oz. Right on target for my projected 12 lbs by March 1.
Her sat level was at 78 on Thursday, which was higher than it had been reading at home the few days prior. So encouraging! Heart rate, pulses and color are all good. Our speech therapist and I have been working hard to improve Brooke's bottle-feeding skills, and it's paid off! Because of her good weight gain and her progress in bottle-feeding, we are adding a third bottle each day. This means that she will be off of her continuous feed for 4.5 instead of three hours a day as long as her weight gain continues. Yay! They want to be quite proactive with getting rid of the feeding tube and her off the pump post-op (after recovery time), and we are thrilled with that! Speaking of the feeding tube, did you notice anything different about those sweet cheeks in the photo? No tube! She pulled a nice little trick Friday night and yanked it out. Thankfully, we got a new one to drop on the second try. Well, John did. I got to hold her head and hands while she kicked and screamed. Sigh. Again, we are thrilled with the idea of getting rid of that silly thing! For now, it's a great solution for her weight gain. Look forward to seeing both of those sweet cheeks all the time though!
At our check-up on Thursday, we confirmed our cardiac cath date of March 11. Also, because she's reached the benchmark of 12 lbs now--the original goal for the second surgery, the Glenn--that surgery is scheduled for March 25. That's 22 days from now. Eek! We are both nervous and excited for this date. Nervous because, well, it's another open-heart surgery for our little one. Sigh. Excited because it will mean that we've made it through the critical period between the first and second stages of reconstruction. This is a huge deal! We are by no means out of the woods, but getting to and through this second surgery will be so exciting for Brooke and for our family. If all goes according to plan, we will have much less intense follow-up after the second surgery. Which means a more "normal" (new normal) life for us, for Brooke. Also, we will be out of cold and flu season and out of that critical period between the first two surgeries so we'll be able to get out more and do normal things as a family...like run errands, go to the grocery, go for a walk, go to church. Yay! It's the little things. :)
Her sat level was at 78 on Thursday, which was higher than it had been reading at home the few days prior. So encouraging! Heart rate, pulses and color are all good. Our speech therapist and I have been working hard to improve Brooke's bottle-feeding skills, and it's paid off! Because of her good weight gain and her progress in bottle-feeding, we are adding a third bottle each day. This means that she will be off of her continuous feed for 4.5 instead of three hours a day as long as her weight gain continues. Yay! They want to be quite proactive with getting rid of the feeding tube and her off the pump post-op (after recovery time), and we are thrilled with that! Speaking of the feeding tube, did you notice anything different about those sweet cheeks in the photo? No tube! She pulled a nice little trick Friday night and yanked it out. Thankfully, we got a new one to drop on the second try. Well, John did. I got to hold her head and hands while she kicked and screamed. Sigh. Again, we are thrilled with the idea of getting rid of that silly thing! For now, it's a great solution for her weight gain. Look forward to seeing both of those sweet cheeks all the time though!At our check-up on Thursday, we confirmed our cardiac cath date of March 11. Also, because she's reached the benchmark of 12 lbs now--the original goal for the second surgery, the Glenn--that surgery is scheduled for March 25. That's 22 days from now. Eek! We are both nervous and excited for this date. Nervous because, well, it's another open-heart surgery for our little one. Sigh. Excited because it will mean that we've made it through the critical period between the first and second stages of reconstruction. This is a huge deal! We are by no means out of the woods, but getting to and through this second surgery will be so exciting for Brooke and for our family. If all goes according to plan, we will have much less intense follow-up after the second surgery. Which means a more "normal" (new normal) life for us, for Brooke. Also, we will be out of cold and flu season and out of that critical period between the first two surgeries so we'll be able to get out more and do normal things as a family...like run errands, go to the grocery, go for a walk, go to church. Yay! It's the little things. :)
We'd love for you to join us in praying for the following as we move toward these critical dates...
- Good health for all five of us, especially Brooklyn. The other four of us are battling mild colds right now. Please pray that Brooke is protected and that we heal quickly.
- Better rest for Brooke and for John and me and for discernment in figuring out what's causing her recent sleep troubles. She has been extra restless the last few nights so we are extra exhausted (if that's even possible). It seems paci-related, but I'm not positive.
- Continued peace as we move toward these critical dates. We really do have a peace that only He can give, but we know the eve and day of her second surgery will be especially difficult, as was the first.
As always, our desire is draw closer to Him through this journey, and we want others to do the same. We want to know Him more and Him to be known more. We pray you see Him in our story. He has done and is doing mighty things, folks. Be famous, Lord!
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