Day 45

As you know, we are now in the NICU 2 and mainly focusing on Pearson's feeding.  He started out at 5 ml every three hours and is now able to get 20ml if he will take it.  He's still getting all the food he needs through his feeding tube, so he's not really hungry. We are mainly just working on getting him to take a bottle and learn how to suck, swallow, and breath all at the same time.  I definitely know why all the CDH moms say you must be patient throughout this part of the recovery, because it is a VERY slow process teaching and getting these babies to eat. We have an occupational therapist working with Pearson now and she has been alot of help.  He started out taking 5 ml from the bottle and has taken as much as 20ml now.  It's very rare that he does this, but he HAS done it. Getting him to take a bottle at all can be a challenge, but we know he will get there eventually! Dr. Kays wants him drinking 60-70ml before he can go home, which means we still have a ways to go. We try to be here for most of his feedings, because the nurses have told us that the least amount of people feeding him the better and the sooner he will be out of here! If they had a place for us to sleep I think we would just stay all night, especially if it meant getting him home sooner! Lol! I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but alot of CDH babies end up having reflux problems, so Pearson is going on Monday to get an upper GI done to see if he is going to have any problems. Usually when a baby has reflux problems they will do another surgery and insert a tube into his esophogus to help with the issue.  We are praying he doesn't have bad reflux, but it's definitely not anything we can't handle.  We are just SO thankful to God that he is here with us today.  We hope you all will continue to pray for Pearson's continued healing and that his organs will work the way God intended them to.  I would also like to ask you all to pray for this nice family that arrived from California to have thier CDH baby cared for by Dr. Kays. He was born on Tuesday and I just pray that God will give this family and thier baby the strength and comfort they need to overcome this terrible illness. I  certainly know that He is the reason we have made this far!

In regards to the "Love Offering" from our church, Pearson bracelets, Cheryl's cakes as well as the upcoming Cut-A-Thon, "Pictures for Pearson," and golf tournament, we can't even begin to express our thanks and gratitude for all you have done and continue to do to help make this time in our life a much easier and pleasant experience.  Matt was supposed to go home four weeks after Pearson was born, but with all the help and genourosity of our family, friends, church, and community, you all have made it possible for Matt to stay longer and get to hold our precious son everyday and be with me through this time of continuous progress.  I know it doesn't sound very stressful or like much that we are just trying to get him to eat now, but it can be really stressful and overwhelming at times, which makes me so very thankful that Matt is here to go through it all with me. We live in the best community and are surrounded by the greatest, most loving and caring people in the world.  We feel so blessed to have each and every one of you in our life, and we are so humbled by all that you have done and continue to do. We hope to somehow repay you one day.