The First Transport is Away!

Well, our first kiddo, Zack, came home on Thursday.  Because he was still having a few slow heart rate events he came home with an apnea monitor.  His heart rate really will only slow once a day, but the siren the monitor puts out jolts him right out.  Mostly it just puts out a siren when the wires are loose. We didn't expect him to come home in snow!  Made our trip longer but thankfully uneventful.   The first night he only woke us a few times.  He must have been breaking us in.  The second night- wow- he wanted to party all night!  The third night he was the best :)

On Saturday morning he met his cousins Dee Dee and Ainsley.  They brought him some some of their baby gear that they are must too big for now that they are almost four.  Zack loves his new ocean themed bouncer.  In fact he is in it right now! 

We also took a trip to see his brother Donny at the CHOP NICU.  It was nice to be able to all sit together now that Zack is not in a crib across the room.  Zack also visited the nurses in the Special Delivery Unit that took care of Mommy while he was being incubated. 

Donny's condition has now stabilized enough that the docs can now start investigating how we are going to manage his care once he leaves the hospital.  He is now on nasal cannula at 23% oxygen, we breath 21%.  He does not like 21%- he likes 23%- so picky!  He had an upper GI series of CT the other day.  It revealed that he does have a small stomach contributing to a lot of reflux.  A small stomach is something that is often seen in little ones born with one lung.  The docs feel that the reflux is contributing to his very fast breathing.  They moved his feeding tube from his stomach to the first part of his intestine.  The also changed a bigger feeding every three hours to a continuous slower feed.  His breathing rate has slowed to a much more normal level. They also found a very tiny amount of left lung tissue (the one he is missing).  Next week he will go for a bronchscopy with the surgeons to see if there are any abnormal connections between his pulmonary and digestive systems.  Long term, he may have a surgical procedure that tightens the connection between his esophagus and stomach to prevent as much reflux. 

Today, Zack will meet his great grandparents!  He will also watch his first Giants vs Eagles game.  Daddy will teach him to be a Giants fan even though he spent most of his life so far in Philly!