Baby Blake Updates: Another Big Week for Blake Nov. 5th, 2012

82 days. Today marks day 82 for Blake and his stay in the NICU. He has certainly come a long way since day one. Blake will be 36 weeks gestation wise tomorrow. It is crazy to think that we have made it this far. When the doctors told me he would be in the hospital until around December, I couldn't even imagine it. It just seemed like so far away. But here we are, a month out from his due date and I'm starting to get pretty antsy!

This week is going to be a busy one for Mr. Blake. He gets eye exams every other week and his last one was just last Tuesday. Well, every previous eye exam has just shown that his eyes were still premature to see if there is anything to worry about. But last week the eye doctor saw some change and they are calling it 'stage 1' in his right eye which is why he is getting another eye exam tomorrow instead of next week. She just wants to keep checking on it to see if it gets worse or stays the same. Since he is pretty close to term and it just barely showed up, they don't think it will get much worse. And depending how bad it gets, they can perform laser eye surgery to correct it. But stage 1 is not bad, in fact it could self correct itself. Once you start getting to stage 3 and 4, then you are probably talking about options with your doctor. So as of now, its not a concern. We'll know more tomorrow after he is seen.

And Blake's BIG day is on Wednesday. If you've read any of my previous posts then you know about about Blake's tummy issues. He has had an ostomy bag on his belly for quite some time and that is where all his bowel movements go into. Well, he is finally getting his bowel reconnected and placed back inside his belly. The goal was to do the surgery when he got up to weighing 2000 grams. But they decided to go ahead and do it a little earlier because he has a hernia where the ostomy is. Not a big deal but they figured that they should just go ahead and to the surgery which will fix the hernia. As it turns out, Blake has reached his 2000 grams anyway which is great news. As of yesterday, he weighed 4 pounds 6 ounces.

The surgery is kind of freaking me out a little bit though. The thought of having him going under anesthesia again scares me. But what I am more worried about is the surgery as a whole setting him back on all the progress he has made already. The ostomy surgeries and issues plus the pneumonia really took a toll on him. Instead of progressing like he should have been doing, he was using all his energy to get better. He was able to slowly wean off the ventilators and get onto the vapotherm, but he still hasn't fully weaned the settings on the vapotherm. He has only been able to wean to 4 liters of pressure but went back up to 5 after he had his immunizations so that he could rest a bit. I am just praying that he can successfully wean off the ventilator and vapotherm quickly so he can start getting ready to come home.

He has 29 days till his due date. Now, I know they aren't guaranteeing to have him home by then but I can hope. Blake still has quite few obstacles to face before they can discharge him. The biggest thing he needs to learn to do is take full feeds by mouth. But he can't start practicing until he is weaned to 3 liters of pressure on the vapotherm. Feeding by mouth on a higher pressure would be like a "dog trying to drink while his head is sticking out of the window of a moving car." Blake's nurse gave us that fun little analogy but it makes sense. Once the pressure is lower, we can start trying to get him to feed by mouth. I've heard it can take some time for babies to conquer that feat so I'm hoping he can start as soon as possible!

I am extremely thankful for all the progress Blake has made already. God is good, that is for sure. I'm starting to think he may be home after his due date but that's okay. Of course I want him home, but I also want him healthy. This week is hopefully the last of the big hurdles. The end of this NICU roller coaster is in sight and as antsy as I am getting, I need to keep being patient. I keep telling myself that we have 29 more days but I do keep the reality in my mind and I know that it may be later than that. I don't care how long it takes as long as he continues to progress.

Please keep little Blake in your prayers this week while he undergoes his surgery and pray for a quick recovery. He's a strong little guy who has fought really hard to get to where he is at now. Hopefully these next few weeks get easier for him so he can finally come home!