Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Happy Fat Tuesday



Although we spent this Mardi Gras parade season in the hospital, it ended happy, as we got to go home today. Braden got to watch this adorable little hospital parade that came through - some of the kids in other wards rode in little wagons and tossed out beads, cups, and stuffed animals. With his little hat, the nurses were calling him the Mardi Gras King.

We came home with some new "toys". Braden will now be on Oxygen when he sleeps, because his body has a tendency to relax too much, and his oxygen saturation will drop as he gets really relaxed. We were told that 98% of the kids who have oxygen at home, are put on it for sleeping purposes. So we will get set up at home and at the daycare too - so he will have O2 on-hand when he is napping, if his numbers make it necessary for him to have the extra help during the day.

We will also be adjusting his feeding schedule and amount... Braden is gaining weight appropriate for his age, however, his length growth has been pretty slow... so we have to find a middle ground, so as too much weight on a smaller frame doesn't make it that much harder for him to breathe. We hope to get him off of the night-time feeding machine, but we will have to see how his body tolerates the new schedule & caloric intake. He is getting close to the age where we need to decrease the calories some, and increase the water intake.

They believe he just had a respiratory virus that had to run its course, but may do a sleep study in the future to investigate more about his apnea episodes. So we will keep everyone posted about that. For now, we will keep praying for Braden to grow stronger, and that he will soon grow out of some of these issues as he grows older and stronger. He continues to make slow progress, but at least we are making progress!

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

Kodi, Brad, & Braden

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We love you! Kiss that little chunky man for me!