Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday was Father's Day in Bolivia! It was Gerson's FIRST Father's Day where HE was the father! We were able to go visit Jayden, which was a great gift for Gerson.
He also got the "gift" of a dirty diaper. Nurse Joy said it was high time Gerson showed us he knew how to change a diaper. Yesterday was his first! He did a fabulous job!
I was able to feed Jayden by bottle twice. He has really taken to the bottle well. Before his surgery, he was only taking about 10 ml by bottle. Now he takes about 55 ml! Of course, this great improvement has happened because the nurses have discovered that if they support his chin, he actually sucks rather than munches. I did the same yesterday when I fed him, and he did a great job! This is very encouraging.
As you can see, when we take the bottle away, he still wants FOOD. He substitutes his fingers, but quickly figures out that there is NO MILK  coming from that source. We are so proud of him!

We did get good news from the doctor yesterday. He said that if all goes well, the plan is to send Jayden home with us at the end of next week!!!!!! Today Jayden is getting an MRI on his brain just to be sure there are no calcifications there. He will have several more tests over the weekend. Next week Gerson and I will spend all week in Indy, spending 24 hours at a time at the hospital taking over ALL his care so when get experience before taking him home. 

We are SOOO excited that we will soon have our precious son home with us. Pray that all his tests have good results and there are no surprises that would cause setbacks. Also pray for Gerson and I as we begin to take over all his care in the next week. It's a bit overwhelming, but we're up to the challenge.

Please also pray for Jayden's G-tube and his feedings through them. Although he is doing better with the bottle, he still requires feedsings through the G-tube to supplement what he can't take through the bottle. However, the downside to a G-tube at this point is that he when he gets mad he pushes all his food to the "burp tube" and then he has an empty stomach and gets even more angry! So, pray for us as we try to figure all of this out and help Jayden get the nutrition he needs. Thanks!

Welcome to the Family!

I forgot to let everyone know some VERY exciting news!!! We have a new nephew! Johnathon Philip Bennett was born to Elissa and Andy (my brother) on Sunday!!! We are thrilled he entered the world with no complications. Elissa and Johnathon are doing very well and are already at home with Daddy and big brother, Joshua. Whenever I figure out how to get the pictures from my email to my blog, I'll post a picture of our precious new nephew.

Recuperating

Hello, friends.  I wanted to write a quick update.  Jayden continues to recuperate from his surgeries. We have not been able to be with him much since his surgery due to a variety of reasons. We were planning on going down to Indy yesterday, but I came down with an infection and am in currently on antibiotics. We will hopefully head down tomorrow.

According to the nurses, Jayden is doing pretty well. However, he continues to lose weight, and in order to come home he needs to GAIN. Of course, this is somewhat expected as they stopped his feedings for the surgeries and are slowly getting him to full feedings again through his G-tube. As of last night, he weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and before surgery he was up to 7 lbs. 11 oz. I'm a little discouraged.

In addition, he has been very fussy. I don't know if he's fussy because he's in pain, hungry, or misses his primary nurses and Mommy and Daddy! One of his primary nurses has been sick, so he's had new nurses this week. It's always hard to know whether it's "normal" fussiness or not. His primary nurses know him well and can usually tell the difference. However, with neither of them being there for several days, I don't know what to make of his fussiness.

Please continue to pray for us. It seems every time we think we're getting closer to bringing him home, there is some disappointing setback. I don't want that this time, but I can't help but be a bit nervous.  

On a good note, Jayden is no longer on oxygen. He pulled the tube out of his mouth when he was on the ventilator and didn't have any trouble breathing on his own! That is a HUGE praise! The next day he pulled his IV out, which they had to put back in. I think these are ways he's telling us he's ready to get out of the hospital and come home! We agree!

Pray that I begin to feel better and have wisdom concerning my infection. It's hard to be home when I want to be with Jayden, but I don't want to compromise his health in any way. Please pray for the doctors as they continue to regulate his feedings and pray he can get to full feedings and begin to gain weight SOON. I would love to have my son home next week! 

When we are back in the hospital, we'll take more pictures so you can see how well he is looking. Thanks for continuing to pray!