Is there an ECHO in here??

Owen was such a good boy for his ECHO. They try to be quick but need to get quite a few images, so it usually takes 30minutes or so. We came prepared with our glowing globe, and the tech put on some claymation video which Owen loved!
Here he is looking up at the video.

I want to write a little bit about a lot of things...In an effort to organize this process I will just add titles to each topic. As you know I have a conversational style of writing, so this may help keep me on track!

TUMMY

Our tummies are better, and Owen is almost all the way back to normal. Poor babes, their guts just aren't meant to handle bugs. That did explain the few nights of wonderful sleep- he just didn't feel good.

SLEEP

Back to random sleeping schedules, but he is napping better! Our previous cat-napper of 20 to 30 minutes 3-4 times per day is now (for now!) a longer napper- about 45minutes to 2 hours 2 to 3 times per day depending on how he slept at night. THAT makes a difference on us, can nap ourselves, try to get ahead, rest, or blog:).

HEART (Roseville)

The ECHO and EKG looked amazing!! Yay! No signs of heart failure, not too much leakage going on in the tricuspid valve. His heart is enlarged, but hasn't continued to grow. Since he has been dehydrated we have been holding his diuretics and our cardiologist recommended continuing this regimen. That means 2 less meds twice a day! So nice, I'm not used to it yet, I feel like I am forgetting something with only 2-3 syringes instead of 5. As far as our cardiologist aka "The Riv" (Dr. Rivera) goes, he isn't concerned about seeing Owen for up to 3 months later. That is shocking to me, although I know we will need to get his sats checked, and our peds MD sees us almost monthly anyway.

HEART (UCSF)

So "The Riv" is sending Owen's images to UCSF for them to paw over and come up with a plan. They have cath conferences on Tuesdays (which we remember well), so they won't get a chance to chat about Owen until next week at the earliest. As you may remember, there are many hands at the drawing board at that facility. It is the benefit of a teaching hospital but also the drawback, as nothing happens quickly unless it is emergent. So we may have a plan in 2 weeks but we may not...

WEIGHT

Owen's weight gain has been halted by his recent illness. That also may have bought us more home time but we still just want those pounds. I have tried not to fret those ounces lost too much, but at least we have had the tube and a scale to assess his hydration status throughout the bug.

COLD

Yes, after the tummy bug resolved, Owen and I got the sniffles. I guess it must have been from the chickens because we haven't left the house... DRAT! It's hard not to be frustrated, as we maintain a pretty good house arrest thing going on these days, but oh well. It just means even more bulb syringe suctioning than normal...And he has a sad cough that makes him mad.

TUBE NOW

Owen had his first tube-less night of sleep last night since...August! Due to increased snot (no other real way to say it!) his stickies on his face lost their stickiness and his tube basically slipped out. If you are wondering, I was no where near Owen when this happened, as I have had many experiences of pulling it out on accident. Since he has been more of an early riser these days, we had just completed his 5th feed for the day so we just called it good and let him have a night without it. His cough/cold also was a deciding factor. He slept pretty well- from 10-4. I'm not complaining! I was in bed from 930-4 (minus helping Chris with the tube/changing after a gag session.)

TUBE FUTURE

"The Riv" does not feel comfortable subjecting Owen to anesthesia to get a gtube before his next cardiac surgery. He will require the feeding tube until at least 8 weeks after cardiac surgery. I think I have answered the question "How long will he need the tube?" at least 100 times. I'm used to it now, it is such a big part of him, our lives/routine, etc, and it is so obvious and people are just concerned. We will be lucky if we can get it off of his face by the time he is 1! I am just thinking that way because at the rate we are going it will be around then...

EATING

Owen has dropped his nighttime breastfeeding session, but still will randomly breastfeed here and there. He is still very random with the bottle, despite our consistency with the nipple, bottle, lighting, chair, etc. Yesterday he didn't take any breastmilk at all by mouth, the other day for Chris he took 2 ounces. Given the fact we are providing him ~35ounces/day he has a ways to go... Foods are also hit or miss. I tried bananas the other day to start to be nicer than just offering him veggies all the time, and he did not enjoy them. Try, try again.

CHRIS

Chris thankfully took sick days last week. We were all sick and recovering and washing laundry and making more laundry and nauseated that it was really hard to function to take care of yourself, let alone a babe. Chris has Owen for the first time for 24hours solo this weekend. He's hoping to snowboard when I get back next week.

CHELS

I'm going to SF with my mom and sisters for our girls getaway as a gift from Wynt and Dave for Christmas. WAHOOOO! So excited! I also have my first day of work on monday since June! I'm starting a new position at Kaiser Point West as an on-call RD. I will be filling in for classes, individual sessions, and home health. It is very short hour which is nice right now, maybe 1 class/session every 2 weeks. Just enough to do my thang and go to the gym too!