Bree is home!

She came home last night around 730 so by the time we got her home she was tired so we did the mad scramble to get two kids into bed, and then we headed that way ourselves. She is doing great and all the nurses were amazed that she rarely cries when you are doing her g tube 'stuff'. She HATES when we are cleaning it, but does okay otherwise. I took some pictures this morning and when I get them edited I will post them. It is weird to see on her, but it's the way it's gotta be. Even the nurses mentioned that her g tube is in an odd placement..it is in the middle of her belly about two inches up from her belly button. Normally it is off to the left side, but I guess her tummy is more towards the center than most people. Once again my kid is not the norm...and i think that is AWESOME!

Surgery Story

For the most part Bree's pre surgery prep went like it should have...except for the part that her surgery started an hour late. Her pediatric surgeon, Dr. Rowe, was late coming from clinic so we were waiting on her. Once we walked her down to the operating room (and handed her off after kisses and loves), Adam and I went to go pass the twenty minutes of surgery time by getting a copy of her medical records. After getting lost and being redirected by a helpful hospital employee, ten minutes later we were at medical records. She started printing out her records and we were standing around waiting for them to finish when the medical records lady informed us that we were on page 30 of 306!!! So, Adam stayed back for the records while I went to go wait for report from Bree's surgeon and doctor.

Dr. Rowe and Dr. Ursea came out and let me know that her surgery went well. They gave me a sheet of paper that had all the specifics of her surgery on it and it even came complete with a picture from the inside of her stomach from the endoscope. It showed her G tube placement from the inside. Which, if you know me and my medical love, I thought it was AWESOME!

About five minutes after that Adam came and joined me as we waited to be call back to the recovery room to see Bree. As we were sitting there a PCT from the NICU walked by and said "Wait, you're Bree's parents, right?" We talked with her for a few minutes as she asked how Bree was doing and what we were doing there. After she walked off (back to the NICU) Adam and I looked at each other and went "Did you know her? Cuz I don't remember her!" We saw so many people in the NICU that it is hard to remember them all. However, we appreciate every single person who have helped us, taken care of Bree, and/or just like us. :)

We finally got called back to recovery where little Bree was sleeping off her sedative from the surgery. She looked pale and whenever she woke up she would fuss in pain. She broke my heart everytime. However, once Adam or I were holding her she was content and happy (and sleepy too). When she was content and snuggled in her Daddy's arms, I left to go pick up Riley from our friends house.

Update on Bree!

She is doing pretty good! In pain and sore...fussy of course, but doing good. Adam is at the hospital with her tonight and I am home with Riley. The news as of right now is that she should be able to come home tomorrow evening. I want to get her out of the hospital as soon as possible so that she doesn't catch anything and get sick.

I am headed to bed to get some much needed sleep!

It's G tube time!

As you all know, Bree has an NG feeding tube. It is the tube that goes in her nose, down her throat and into her tummy. This is because she is unable to drink bottles on her own. We are not sure of the exact cause of why she cannot drink them, but we are sure it is a number of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to: her prematurity itself, she could have some brain damage from her brain bleeds that are affecting her coordination with sucking, or it could just be her personality. Even with weekly speech therapy we are unable to succeed. So, we are moving along with placing a g tube. She will be having g tube placement surgery on Thursday at two. It will be at PCH with Dr. Dorothy Rowe and her GI doctor. Here is a brief overview of what the G-tube surgery or more commonly called a "PEG" (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) will be like: click here!

The sugery will take less than an hour and we will be staying overnight on Thursday for sure. I have heard some people say it is a 3-5 day stay, while the surgeon we have said some kids go home the day after if they are having no problems. Personally, I am going to push to get her out of that hospital as fast as possible before she can catch anything that is in there! I can always call the doctor's from our house if I need some guidance or some answers to questions. We expect Bree to be sore and not feel like herself for a bit but we hope that with rest and a few days she will start feeling better.

This surgery and placement will not change a lot of things for us. We will still offer her a bottle before she has anything 'pumped' into her. Whatever she doesn't finish after twenty minutes of trying with the bottle will be put on her pump and put in. The main changes with this G tube will be getting all that yucky nasty white tape off of her face (!!), and getting the tube out of her throat. I am excited to see what new noises she will be able to make, and if she does better with drinking bottles without a tube in her throat. I think I would...don't you?

I will keep all of you updated on Thursday so all of your positive thoughts, prayers, well wishes, or whatever you do to be thinking and hoping for the best for others is welcomed and appreciated! We love you all and I thank you for taking this journey with us!