Hi Everyone! I didn't realize that the last few entries were all scrambled. I got a new cell phone and added the blogger feature to update the blog from the mobile phone. Well, as you can tell it worked oh so well! Thank you to Loraine for pointing it out to me!
So, since I last successfully updated, Leah has been released from the hospital, gotten better and relapsed. We took her last week to the pediatrician for a really bad wheezing attack. He thinks her reflux is causing it and returned her to the medication prescribed by the pulmonologist in the hospital - albuterol and pulmocort nebulizer treatments, along with Zantac. Thankfully it worked. Now we have to get her a specialist to see whether or not she has asthma or if this is all uncontrolled reflux. She is doing much better though since she re-started the zantac and has even started gaining weight again! She now weighs 17 lbs 4 oz.
Micah is doing well. He is a big baby - 23 lbs. 10 oz! Everyone comments on how heavy he is to hold - they prefer to sit while doing so. Micah loves to be held and thrown around and absolutely loves his food! Both Leah and Micah are eating a lot of different things now, thanks to Daddy. He is once again making baby food and as Leah discovered while in the hospital (they provided Gerber), his food is much yummier than store bought! They've eaten beef, chicken, pork, and salmon along with most veggies and a bunch of different fruit and cereals. They enjoy the baby snacks too - like the wagon wheels and cheerios. They very much want to feed themselves, but there aren't many finger foods that their two little teeth each can handle so they will have to wait for that.
Harry has completed kindergarten and will enter first grade in September. I absolutely cannot believe it. He is an excellent reader and is also very good at math. His main troubles are behavioral - he can't shut his mouth and he hates following directions (he always knows a better way - sound familiar?!?!). We are hoping he calms down before 1st grade since they won't be as lenient. Harry has started camp again and is loving it! He is in the same group again, but there are mostly different kids - although he has Anna Banana for a counselor again (and boy is he happy!).
Now for Golda. She finally "made weight" this month, now weighing in at 15 lbs 6 oz! We had her testing earlier this month and were greatly relieved when the surgeon showed us the x-ray and explained that the gap is now very bridgeable and when did we want to schedule the surgery! I walked down the hall with him then and there and scheduled it! Golda will be admitted to the hospital on the 7th of July and her surgery will be first thing in the morning on the 8th!!! They anticipate it lasting four hours and she will go to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) afterwards. She will remain there 3-5 days where she will receive 1:1 nursing care. She will be on a respirator (and therefore sedated), she will have another broviac central IV line placed as well as a urinary catheter and an arterial line for frequent blood gas checks. After a few days, they will begin trying to get her off the respirator and then the urinary catheter. Once she is off she can move to the regular ward where she will remain for another 7-10 days (about 2 weeks total) if all goes well. After about 7 days they will give her a barium swallow to check the suturing site for leaks. Leaks are the main concern in this type of procedure and a large leak will return her to the OR while small leaks will keep her on the central line feeds longer. Once they are sure the sutures are healed and not leaking she will be offered a bottle! As long as she is stable she will then return to the long-term care facility she has been in. Once we feel we can care for her at home she can come home permanently!!! That will depend on how bad her reflux is and how she handles the attempts at oral feeding. If she can keep her food down most of the time and still gain weight (whether she is receiving it mostly by mouth or by GT is irrelevant) we will bring her home. We are very excited as you can imagine, but also a bit nervous about how she will do both in the surgery itself and in the aftermath. But at least we are at the point of thinking about that now!
Okay, I am exhausted now and must hit the sack. I will try to post more often again and certainly will try to keep you apraised of Golda's condition :) Happy Fourth of July!!!
Micah is doing well. He is a big baby - 23 lbs. 10 oz! Everyone comments on how heavy he is to hold - they prefer to sit while doing so. Micah loves to be held and thrown around and absolutely loves his food! Both Leah and Micah are eating a lot of different things now, thanks to Daddy. He is once again making baby food and as Leah discovered while in the hospital (they provided Gerber), his food is much yummier than store bought! They've eaten beef, chicken, pork, and salmon along with most veggies and a bunch of different fruit and cereals. They enjoy the baby snacks too - like the wagon wheels and cheerios. They very much want to feed themselves, but there aren't many finger foods that their two little teeth each can handle so they will have to wait for that.
Harry has completed kindergarten and will enter first grade in September. I absolutely cannot believe it. He is an excellent reader and is also very good at math. His main troubles are behavioral - he can't shut his mouth and he hates following directions (he always knows a better way - sound familiar?!?!). We are hoping he calms down before 1st grade since they won't be as lenient. Harry has started camp again and is loving it! He is in the same group again, but there are mostly different kids - although he has Anna Banana for a counselor again (and boy is he happy!).
Now for Golda. She finally "made weight" this month, now weighing in at 15 lbs 6 oz! We had her testing earlier this month and were greatly relieved when the surgeon showed us the x-ray and explained that the gap is now very bridgeable and when did we want to schedule the surgery! I walked down the hall with him then and there and scheduled it! Golda will be admitted to the hospital on the 7th of July and her surgery will be first thing in the morning on the 8th!!! They anticipate it lasting four hours and she will go to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) afterwards. She will remain there 3-5 days where she will receive 1:1 nursing care. She will be on a respirator (and therefore sedated), she will have another broviac central IV line placed as well as a urinary catheter and an arterial line for frequent blood gas checks. After a few days, they will begin trying to get her off the respirator and then the urinary catheter. Once she is off she can move to the regular ward where she will remain for another 7-10 days (about 2 weeks total) if all goes well. After about 7 days they will give her a barium swallow to check the suturing site for leaks. Leaks are the main concern in this type of procedure and a large leak will return her to the OR while small leaks will keep her on the central line feeds longer. Once they are sure the sutures are healed and not leaking she will be offered a bottle! As long as she is stable she will then return to the long-term care facility she has been in. Once we feel we can care for her at home she can come home permanently!!! That will depend on how bad her reflux is and how she handles the attempts at oral feeding. If she can keep her food down most of the time and still gain weight (whether she is receiving it mostly by mouth or by GT is irrelevant) we will bring her home. We are very excited as you can imagine, but also a bit nervous about how she will do both in the surgery itself and in the aftermath. But at least we are at the point of thinking about that now!
Okay, I am exhausted now and must hit the sack. I will try to post more often again and certainly will try to keep you apraised of Golda's condition :) Happy Fourth of July!!!
