Hello Everyone-
Wow! In going back through the past week I realized I had not sent out an update on Gavin.
Last Wednesday Gavin had laser surgery on his eyes for R.O.P. The surgery went well and took just a bit under 2 hours. The doctor was pleased with how the surgery itself went and left us with a good prognosis for Gavin and his eyesight in the future. He did have quite puffy eyes for a few days and they were quite red and bloodshot as well. This was to be expected after the surgery. As of today his eyes are no longer red or swollen and he opens them often and looks all around. Gavin had a follow up visit today with the doctor who was very pleased with his progress. She indicated that the plus disease they were seeing prior to surgery had pretty much gone away and that the R.O.P. was retracting and going away as well. This is all a good sign and they will continue to follow him weekly to make sure things continue to progress this way.
Gavin has had quite a time with weight since the surgery last week. They had to make him NPO (nothing by mouth) on Wednesday at 1 am and he was not back up to full feeds until sometime on late Friday night. As a result, he has not made a whole lot of head way in the weight gain department. He did weigh in on surgery day at 3lb and has wavered from that weight to 3lb 1oz the past week. They will be watching him over the next few days and if no weight gain is seen they will change things up with his feedings. This will likely mean ommitting the breast milk component from his feedings for a while. Currently Gavin is on a 50/50 mix of breastmilk and formula making a total calories of 25. Prior to adding the breastmilk in they were able to fortify the formula to 26 calories and Gavin was gaining weight nicely. He will get back to a diet of breastmilk but gaining weight is really important right now. It just may take some time. I say the milk isnt going anywhere so do what needs to be done to get him to grow and gain weight. The big news for Gavin is that he had his first bottle on Sunday and did quite well. He was able to take 22cc by bottle and a full feeding for him at that time was 26cc. Currently he is able to nipple by bottle 1x per day as tolerated. Sometimes he gets pretty tired and other times he does really well. This was an exciting thing for us because it means Gavin is maturing and growing. Gavin has also been placed on meds for his thyroid because although it was not abnormal, it was on the low end of normal and the Endocrinologist felt it would help in his growth to put him on Synthroid.
Currently, Gavin remains on low oxygen support. Most days he is on 1/32 of a liter which to you and I might not even make a difference but it is enough for him to get by. He has not had many apnea episodes lately and his bradys are becoming few and far between as well. Both of these things are something that diminish with age and maturity.
The optimistic outlook for Gavin to come home at this point is January sometime. This is somewhat disappointing but at the same time we do not want to bring him home before he is completely ready. Ian told me last night at bedtime he was going to ask Santa this weekend to bring his baby brother home for Christmas. He said this was all he wanted next to a lego set and a Wii. I am not sure even Santa could make this happen. It brought tears to my eyes and has ripped me up pretty good today.....but, in the end it will all be worth it and Gavin will be home here safe and sound. In the meantime, maybe Santa could work on the Lego and the Wii while the doctors work to get Gavin big and strong.
We are getting ready for my baby shower this weekend. This was planned for quite some time prior to Gavin's arrival and had to be cancelled and rescheduled due to his early arrival. A good friend of mine from high school and her mom and my mom have worked very hard to put together a nice event so I am sure it will be fun. I am excited to see all my friends and be able to spend time in fellowship. We will be having the shower at our house so it has forced the hand to get the house back in order. Gavin's room is completed and ready for a baby. I am so proud of Colin for the beautiful job he did in Gavin's room. It looks awesome. A special thanks to our friend Becky for her generous time doing Gavin's wall mural. He has a beautiful log cabin room and I am absolutely in love with it.
Thanksgiving is next week and we sure do have a lot to be thankful for. We will be having our traditional Thanksgiving dinner with family and we will visit Gavin in the afternoon. We are so thankful for family, friends, a beautiful home, a job that pays, medical insurance (although frustrating most days), sunshine, happiness, and Gavin of course.
Last week as I listened to the Bishop deliver his sermon I was particularly drawn in by one thing. Well it might have been two things actually.....the first being that I miss hearing Pastor Ron preach (hint, hint) and the second being the message I walked away with. He spoke that day about living life to its fullest. Living each day to our maximum potential and not looking back. His message was that of "Resist the temptation today to live in the regrets of yesterday." So for me, for us, we have looked inward this week to make sure we are living life to its fullest daily. Some days it is hard.....but each day we have to remember, even in difficult times, to stop and be thankful for what we have and where we are even if it is not the optimal situation. God has blessed us and continues to provide for us daily.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Prayers for strength and growth for Gavin. Prayers for new employment for Colin and continued strength for us as a family as we enter this holiday season. Thanks again for all of your wonderful support that you have leant to us over the past few months.
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