May 31, 2010

No sooner did I post the last update, Benjamin went back on cpap because he was showing signs that he was working just a little bit too hard to breathe. I figured it was pointless to post again because I was confident he would be back on the nasal cannula within a few days and he was. He’s been such a superstar. We’re so proud of him and the progress he’s made.

He’s up to 5.5 ml/hr. of breast milk which equates to about 4.4 ounces a day. He’s getting continuously fed from a tube in his nose and he’s been tolerating it well. However, his poor little nostrils are swollen and bloody from the prongs as well as the feeding tube and he’s been acting very agitated over the past few days. The nurse assigned to him today was able to get a nice size plug out and he was a happy camper after that! I had a wonderful afternoon just staring at him so content in my arms.

We signed Benjamin up for Reike and he’ll have his first session tomorrow. We think this is just the coolest thing! For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, it’s a form of energy healing where a certified Reike master will lay her hands on different parts of Benjamin’s body and channel her energy to him to provide stress reduction and relaxation. I can’t wait to see how he does with it. If only they offered it for the parents!

We will meet yet another new neonatologist at some point this week. S/he will only be on for the next two weeks. We found that as soon as we get comfortable with one, s/he is done with his/her rotation and we have to get used to another one. At least he will always be followed by the same surgical team even after he comes home and has his outpatient visits. We love his chief surgeon. We rarely get to see her, but the last time we did she was telling us that her mom out in California was asking her how Benjamin was doing. We thought that was unbelievably sweet and it continues to amaze us that there are so many wonderful people out there that are praying for our son each and every day.