Parenthood (at Home)

We love having our baby boy at home.

Home. That word carries so much more meaning after having spent almost twelve weeks at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. Being at home allows us to be a family that celebrates life together.

I am so blessed to have Bryan with me to help with the learning curve of having a baby at home. Yesterday we put Ayden in his first outfit that didn't have buttons all the way up the front. You should have seen Bryan and me trying to figure out how to clothe Ayden with the least amount of stress placed on our son (and us)! He looked quite cute in his overalls, as you saw from pictures posted from his pediatrician visit, and the pocket in the front was handy for keeping his feeding tube secure. (When I asked Bryan this morning to get an outfit for Ayden for today, he came back with another full button outfit! Oh, well! Ayden is still super adorable!)

Last night we gave Ayden his first bath. I wish that I had thought to have a camera handy, but once we started the process, I couldn't be so cruel as to make him wait for it to be over just because I wanted pictures of him hating the experience. Yes, just like in the hospital, he cried through the whole ordeal. He also peed in the water. Oh, joy!

Bryan and I haven't slept all that much the past two nights. Bryan mentioned that life is very different without the comfort of the hospital monitors, but more than that, we are trying to figure out how warm to keep him and when to change his diaper and/or add formula to his feeding pump. Ayden is also trying to make adjustments, and he is in the middle of a sedative taper, so that can make for some fitful sleep. (Of course, he sleeps like an angel during the day!) Last night I remembered from my pediatrician notes that babies usually like to be swaddled up to four months of age. We decided to give it a try, even though he hasn't wanted to be swaddled in a very long time (not since the first time we were in 6C). I'm glad we gave it a shot because swaddling appears to be doing the trick!

Ayden really is such a sweet baby. He smiles a great deal, and he is wonderfully observant. He still is so enamored with Bryan. His eyes will follow his daddy throughout the room, even if it means tilting his head pretty far back to see Bryan behind him. (Below he is looking at Bryan.)

Ayden has his first cardiac clinic appointment on Monday. We have been listening for his heart rate with the stethoscope and monitoring his oxygen saturation with the pulseox machine. He has excellent numbers. Please pray that they find things to be going as well as we think they are.

Update on Jude: They will begin slowly weaning Jude from ECMO tomorrow. Matt and Diana have been told that Jude will stay in the hospital until after the Glenn procedure, the second surgery for hypoplasts.

Special Thanks: This afternoon we received a basket on our doorstep. I was (am) so overwhelmed by what the present contained. Two of my seventh graders from this past school year, Allyson and Elizabeth, recently had their 13th birthday party. Part of their festivities was spent thinking of our little family. They organized donations from their friends, also students from BA, and they created a package filled with gift cards, quarters for the hospital, and a journal. Each of the girls at the party signed a card, and they included pictures from the party. I feel encouraged and blessed by their tenderness and thoughtfulness. God shines so brightly through these young ladies and their families. We are humbly grateful! Happy 13th Birthday, Allyson & Elizabeth! THANK YOU!