Martin Update 8/31/11 - 2, 4, 6, 8 Who do we appreciate?!

Martin is doing great! We had our weekly appointment with our pediatric cardiologist on Tuesday and they were still happy with his progress. Martin has gained 6oz from last week and has even gotten a bit taller. :-) His blood pressure was normal and measured the same reading when taken on both his arms and legs, which means that his blood is circulating well. Also, his oxygen saturation measured at 88-89%, up a percentage point from last week. Additionally, his respiration was in the high 40s, down from last week, which means that he is not having to work as hard to breathe. Way to go heart!

2, 4, 6, 8...10, 12. The magic number of bottles to have by mouth before the NG tube can be removed was 8. Well, we wanted to be really sure that Martin was eating well by mouth before we removed his NG tube so we didn't have to reinsert one. Today, we gave him his 12th complete bottle by mouth! Shortly after calling the nurses line at Egleston, we removed his tube. He seems to be breathing better already. :-)

We are thrilled that the NG tube is out! No more changing the pump bag, cleaning the pump bag, testing for placement, flushing the line after use, figuring out how many milliliters are left to pump at 3am, removing and re-taping the tube in place on Martin's face, etc. With all of that said, there are a few things we did like about the NG tube...One upside to the NG tube was that we could administer his medicine easily, even while he was asleep. So we were a little nervous about having to give meds by mouth, but Martin is a champ. He swallowed each drop of the Inderol Doug gave him this evening without a fuss. We will share an update later about the 3am doses.

On a different note...Martin seems to enjoy parts of his bath and being read to each day. We tried several different ways to bathe him and found that he likes the baby sling tub in the sink best. Thank you, again, Comfort! Doug figured out that you can adjust the hammock part of the tub so now Martin can lay back and relax without worrying about his ears getting in the water.

We are definitely passionate about books and want to share our love of reading with our son. Before Martin was born, we both read out loud to him and were always amused by his reaction to our voices(moving around and pushing on my tummy). Now that he can see the pictures, it is a whole different story. He seems to enjoy the rhythm of Dr. Seuss & Sandra Boyton books and the images in Goldilocks & his touch and feel ladybug book. (Thanks to Andi, Evan, Helen, Ben, Sabrina, & Mummy).

Martin has an appointment on Friday with his pediatrician. We are hoping his recent trends with eating and gaining weight continue! Thank you to all of our readers. We enjoy your comments and knowing that you are so interested in our family's journey. Your interest encourages us in so many ways. Thank you for your support and love!