Wednesday, May 14, 2008

My last entry explained the "poopy" situation and I am still having my "poopy" parties. Hunter is still making messes in his diapers.

They started to feed him Tuesday, May 13th at midnight. Hunter is getting 3 cc's of a special formula every three hours. This special formula is called elecare. It is specially formulated to be half digested to make it easier for babies who have difficulty with digestive issues. To give you a little comparison, a full term and healthy infant would be receiving 25 cc's of breast milk or formula eight times a day. Hunter has a long way to go still.

So, to explain more of the feeding process...Hunter has a feeding tube that goes directly into his stomach. They will feed him every three hours. Before they give him more food, they will pull the contents from his stomach out to see how much was actually digested. Hunter has been digesting anywhere from 1 1/2 cc's to 2 cc's every three hours. They will re-feed the remainder of the formula back to Hunter and give him whatever the difference is. Example: If they give him 3 cc's, he digests 2 cc's, they will put 1 cc of formula back and give him 2 more. This will give him a constant 3 cc's of formula. After he tolerates this, they will slowly move him over to breast milk and slowly increase how much he receives.

As for the bowel obstruction, it could still be a narrowing. They haven't ruled that out. Only time will tell.

They have also lowered his vent settings slightly and are winging him off the morphine. They are hoping that tomorrow he will be off of the morphine drop and on an as needed basis.

This is nothing short of a miracle. But, his battle isn't over. He still has a long way to go. I will never be overconfident. But, I am smiling today. This has put a whole new perspective on life for me. Instead of focusing on the negatives in a day, I find all of the positives. It has really helped me emotionally. I feel that this experience is changing me as a person. It has changed how I view things and people.

For now, I am tired and going to bed. Good night everyone.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers.