Wyatt Update and Date Night

Wednesday night, Lowell and I went out for a date night. We went to dinner at Red Robin. Lowell called it a celebration of life. :) I can’t even remember the last time we went out just the two of us. It was wonderful. We laughed and talked; we reminisced about old times and wondered about our new future with Wyatt. Afterwards, Lowell said we should have a monthly night out... *smile* I hope so. Next week will be 15 years together, hard to believe but even more exciting that we still enjoy spending time together. We are so blessed.
The food was great and the service was fantastic – Lowell never had to wait for a refill, which for anyone who’s ever been to dinner with him knows is amazing!

Meanwhile, we are definitely celebrating life. We love our new addition. Wyatt is so beautiful and sweet, rarely crying and quickly calming himself when he becomes fussy. He sounds a little like a goat when he crys – certainly not like a screaming baby. He sneezes with a whole body convulsion and likes to sleep with one leg sticking out straight.

I spoke with Dr. McQueen Wednesday also. He is the neo-natologist for the hospital and he’s Wyatt’s doctor. According to the doctor, the fuzziness on the x-rays is likely pneumonia even though his blood cultures come back negative for infection. The normal treatment for pneumonia is 7 days worth of antibiotics and so that is the plan of treatment for his lungs. Also, there is obviously fluid in his lungs that may or may not be related to the pneumonia. Treatment for this is an injection of a diuretic that causes his body to expel fluids and allows his lungs room to expand and absorb the fluid. This was done on Wednesday and Thursday. The only other concern for Wyatt is whether or not he’s developmentally prepared to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time.

Today is Saturday. I’m really excited about what the doctor will be ordering today… I’m really hoping that Wyatt will have his feeding tube removed and will be able to bottle feed. They have been decreasing the IV fluids and increasing the amount of formula that he gets over the past two days. This morning he got 15ccs of formula. We haven’t had any problem with him spitting up or getting fussy and he also sucks on his pacifier while he’s being fed so that he can associate sucking with eating. He’s doing so well!! I’m also hoping that the doctor will remove his canula today. He’s been on room air for the past two days and hasn’t had any episodes where his respirations have increased or his sats decreased. Honestly, I’m very excited and I’m letting myself get my hopes up… I’m really hoping that I don’t get disappointed if these things don’t happen today… I’m also really hoping that he’ll get to come home Monday or Tuesday. Monday will be 7 days of antibiotics and Dr. McQueen said that the only issue, other than his breathing, was his ability to eat. If we can get his eating under control today and tomorrow, I’m really hopeful that Monday will be the day.

Wyatt looks so good – so much better than those first couple of days. He is active during his feedings and has been waking up hungry right on schedule – he’s eating every 3 hours. Thankfully, as the amount of food he’s getting increases, so will the amount of time he can go between feedings. Yesterday, we actually saw a smile. It was lopsided and beautiful! I’m so happy that Lowell and I were both there to see it. :) I can’t wait until those little gestures and facial expressions have real emotion behind them, but for now, I’m happy to take what I can get. He has an adorable little dimple on his left side and a ton of chins. Here’s hoping that today I’ll be able to kiss his little chin without any tubes or connections.