6lb. 8oz.

Overall, Corban is still doing well, although he's not gaining much weight. He hovers around 6lb. 8oz., which isn't much for a 4 month old. Been trying to figure out how to chunk that baby up!

Weight Loss Program

Corban is still off the ventilator and doing amazingly well without ANY respiratory support. It's been over a week now! WOO-HOO! That. Is. Outstanding.

I am a tiny bit concerned though about him losing weight, but I'm hoping it is just due to all the physical therapy he's had this week. Maybe he's tuckered out from his new exercise routine. :)

His First Bottle

Well, the speech therapist gave Corban a bottle this morning before I could get there. Was bummed out that I missed it! She reported that Corban did OK with the bottle. Not amazing, but OK. He has a weak sucking reflex due to being on the ventilator so long, so he wasn't able to get much out. But he was able to get a little bit and hopefully he'll get more out next time. We can pray, right??!

Swallow Study

Corban is having a swallow study done this afternoon. Pray for him!

Later...

Corban did superb on his swallow study! He did everything perfectly. His nurse said she almost cried as she was so proud of him. The speech therapist is coming tomorrow morning and they are going to try giving him a bottle. Hoping he does it. That would be completely wonderful!

Clean Face

A week ago I asked prayer for 4 things. The first two have been answered above and beyond! Thank you, Lord. Corban is up to full feeds on the fatty milk, AND he's still doing well off the ventilator. He was doing so well, in fact, that they took the nasal cannula away completely. I got a snapshot of Corban tonight, with NOTHING on his face!

Off the Ventilator!!!!!!

EXCITING NEWS!.... dum dum da....

Corban is off the ventilator!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! He pulled the tube out himself this morning! Crazy man! We had been planning to try taking him off the vent this coming Monday (after a few days with an exercise routine), but I guess he was tired of waiting. He is doing remarkably well and seems to be awfully proud of himself now that he's running the show. :)

Weight Gain

Corban weighed 6 lb. 9 oz. tonight. So, that means he's only gained 1 1/2 pounds in almost 4 months time. Wow. Not much, but it's something.

Hammin' It Up

Corban is still looking really good lately. He's more active when he's awake and more restful when he's sleeping. He's also been smiling a lot the last few days (usually when I am about to go home). I think he knows if he whips out the charm, it'll be really hard for me to leave!

Home for Christmas

Here are some specific things you all can pray for....

#1) That Corban will do well with the full fat milk and not produce more fluid on his lungs because of it. #2) That Corban will be able to come off the ventilator without any more crazy episodes like last Saturday. #3) That he will be able to swallow/take a bottle. #4) That he could come home before Christmas.

NPO

Corban is doing well today. He was just sleepin' away when I went to see him earlier. He is still NPO, which means "nothing by mouth," but hopefully tomorrow he'll start back on a tiny bit of milk. His body needed time to fully recover from the trauma of Saturday morning.

After a Long Day

For having such a traumatic day today, he looks surprisingly good tonight.

Not Ready for This

Corban was doing well tonight, although he is running a fever now. They are doing a blood culture to see if he has an infection. They went ahead and started him on antibiotics though, as a precautionary measure.

He was doing so well this week! I'm not ready for this again.

We Almost Lost Him

Corban could have died this morning. He wasn't handling being off the ventilator very well and spent most of the night crying. This morning, he dropped his heart rate and oxygen levels drastically low and even with chest compressions/bagging, he wouldn't come back up. The nurses thought for sure they had lost him. It took two rounds of EPI (epinephrine) to jump start his heart before he finally came back.

Thinking about this verse from Job today:

‎"For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." -Job 5:6-7

Corban is one who has been born to trouble. He's suffered more in his first 3 months of life, than many of us will ever experience in a lifetime. Praying the Lord has mercy and heals his little body soon. May God give us years of joy together after these months of sorrow.

Off the Vent Tonight

I'm so excited! Corban is off the ventilator right now. Can't wait to get to the hospital! Oh, to hear him cry again! Never have I been so excited to hear a baby cry.

My Thanksgivings

What am I thankful for? Well, let's see. Today marks 2 weeks since Corban last had to have fluid taken off his lungs. That's huge! Huge. Huge. Huge.

I'm thankful that, so far, he is tolerating the small amounts of milk he's getting. It's been over 5 days since we started. That's incredible.

And thankful that he was doing well enough today, that the doctor tried taking him off the ventilator completely. He wasn't able to be off more than 10 minutes, but it was something.