When we showed up at the hospital on Monday, we had NO idea how quickly Jacob's recovery would be. Yes, it was one of the hardest things I have EVER had to do and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. But it was also the BEST thing that could have happened to Jacob.
After several days in the hospital recovering, Saturday came around along with a visit from one of the cardiologists. He took a look at Jacobs numbers, chest X-rays, statistics, nurses charts, and told me that he was putting us on the 'launching pad' for discharge on Sunday.
And just like that Jacob was going home. A week sooner than we had expected, and 10 times healthier than anticipated. Once the medication issues were resolved, the changes were immediate and remarkable.
Jacob started drinking from a bottle without ANY reflux or spit up. In fact, he's a great burper! It was a matter of gradually increasing his feeds because we needed to stretch his stomach. He hadn't been eating anything in weeks! They weened him from almost all of his medications. He's down to Lasiks (which they figure he will be removed from in 1-2 weeks) and Zantac (which he may or may not continue to be on depending on the reflux - I'm leaning towards NOT). And the boy has ENERGY! His face has become pink, his eyes are shiny, he's awake more than 1/2 the day kicking, grabbing, laughing, smiling, and discovering the world he had been too tired to notice before.
Before the surgery, the extent of his movement was using one hand to touch the face of the person holding him and just looking into their eyes:
Now, he is completely interactive and engaged in whomever he is with.
Now, he acts like a normal baby - he cries when he's bored, wants to be held, is tired, or hurt. Whereas before, he only cried when absolutely necessary because it wore him out too much.
He's almost rolling over, his legs are already considerably stronger, and his stamina is unbelievable.
Simply put, Jacob has been re-born. He is a brand new baby, already packing on the ounces, and enjoying every possible minute. It's fun to see his progress, and it will be even more fun to report on it. For once, I see many many MANY happy blogs in my future!
Welcome Home, Jacob! We're so happy you are with us!
3 comments:
That was unfair! You totally made me cry with the last video because the difference in him is unbelievable! I'm so excited to meet my "new" newphew -- again.
Love the all better onesie! That's amazing how different of a baby he is. I'm SO HAPPY to hear that he's doing well and more interactive with all of you. What a sweet little angel.
WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!!! I am so excited! What a cutie pie. I love his little laugh - I can't believe the two videos are of the same baby, it's amazing!!! HOORAY FOR JACOB! And I love the KC was brave enough to sing for the camera, Michael never would have done that :-)
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