repeat offender

Switch did it again...he pulled his feeding tube out last night. Of course I was not at home a didn't have an extra on me and it was right at feeding time. It was my firt one unsupervised and I got it in on the 4th try. He was not at all happy with Mom last night. We have an appointment with his surgeon, Dr. Kanter, tomorrow for his post operative follow up and one with his cardiologist next week. After those visits I will be Mississippi bound.Switch is getting so strong! Last night he rolled onto his side all on his own. I laid him on the bed on his back and turned around to grab a diaper, when I looked back he was rolled onto his left side and snuggled up with a blanket in the fetal position, if he does it again tonight I will be sure to get a picture. My guy is getting fussy soI must cut this short. Thanks to all and welove and miss you lots!

Shelley

No bandages, wires, or remnants of an umbilical cord (it fell off yesterday).

Mom is so tired! We're still trying to get his sleep schedule on track. He sleeps so well from 3:00 am until 11:00 am and I am able to sleep an hour every three. He eats every 3 hours and it takes an hour for the pump to get his food into his tummy, after that I have to pump breast milk and get his medicine together, then I sleep for an hour (if he's cooperating) and then I wake up to get the food ready....all day. I think I need the cloning machine or an extra pair of arms! Last night was rough because he was a meltdown and NOTHING would calm him down. I tried everything! Then I broke down and gave him some Tylenol and it kicked in around the time the doctor from the heart center called me back. There was no fever and the Dr seemed to think he was a little "backed up". Sure enough after he finally made a poop he was good! I was quite stressed out though! In the discharge class they told us that if we can't calm them down we needed to go straight to an E.R. and I was wanting to avoid the hospital, but I had my purse and diaper bag ready to go. The doctor from the heart center knew exactly who I was....Switches Mom :) I didn't recognize the doctors name, but he knew that I was Switches mom! My kid and his nickname is famous through Children's hospital as it is quite creative....Dad did good!

I apologize for not blogging last night, but I didn't do much of anything after packing all day. Many thanks to Mi Mi, Paw Paw, and my friends Danny and Katrina for coming to help!! I am going to hook my son up to his feeding pump and all that other stuff so I can catch a little nap before it all starts again. Love to all and thanks, as always, for your thoughts and prayers!!!

Shelley

unplugged

I think he really likes being free from all the machines because he just wants to be carried around. Sweet boy didn't fall asleep this morning until 5:30 and I did put him in the bed with me. I know I shouldn't have, but he wasn't comfortable in the bassinet and he wouldn't fall asleep unless he was being held :) His sweet soul deserved it though! MiMi and PawPaw came into town again and they have not put him down. He's enjoying their company very much! He had his first visit with the pediatrician and he has gained almost a pound (an ounce away). Mom is super sleepy so I am going to bed. We'll have a long day tomorrow of packing my belongings so I may not update. Thanks for the prayers! Love you all bunches.

Shelley

We're home, or osome place like it

We'll be shopping tomorrow for "premie" clothes because none of his newborn clothes fit, except this outfit from Dad. Noah hanging out with the baby. So sweet!!

Switch was discharged today! It's a very happy day. I came to stay with my friends Katrina and Danny until Switch has finished his follow up appoitments. I will be here for at least 2 weeks and I am not sure after that. Time will tell. I just got a chance to get on here because I don't have the nurses peaking in on him if I am not in the room. Now it's time for another feeding and more medicine. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a more informative blog. He has his first pediatricians visit tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers and I hope you all know how much we love you all!

Shelley

Another "maybe tomorrow"

Now it "looks" like tomorrow we'll be going home. They want to monitor him for a bit longer while he is off his oxygen. I am good with that because I wasn't convinced that he was going to do so well without the oxygen, after having been on it for the last 4 weeks. He had his suck/swallow test this morning and didn't do so good. He was aspirating a little so they want to continue the tube feeding and repeat the test in 6 weeks. Switch will be going to therapy to work on his suck reflexes and the therapist gave me a list of things to do while administering his feeds. I am going to give him a bath and we are going to do some reading. He slept all day so I am sure we'll cover all of the Grimm fairy tales.

I have posted a few videos on you tube, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/mommy2switch

Thanks, again, for the prayers. We love you all.
Shelley

Send in the Clowns

The clowns came to visit Chase today. He didn't seem to care about their presence and as long as they are not carrying chainsaws I am good with them. Not much has happened today. The baby slept late because he was up all night pulling out his oxygen tube. I think I re-taped that tube to his face at least 7 times throughout the night. I don't think I posted the events of his N.G. tube, well last Thursday he pulled his feeding tube all the way out. I woke up to him squirming around and making noise, not fussy at all so I was just letting him hang out in the crib. Then it sounded like he spit up, so I got up to clean him off but couldn't feel anything wet anywhere on or around him. I looked closer and saw his tube sticking out of his nose. I pulled it the rest of the way out and Chase rolled his little head over and passed smooth out...haha. He looked so peaceful and comfortable without his N.G. tube in, but I had to call the nurse in to replace it. He was less than happy!!

We did start bottle feeding today. He did such a good job, Mom was quite proud! He choked a little so Dr. Kogon (the cute one that looks like a Ken doll) came in to talk to me about doing a suck test. They will give him a bottle and do a number of x-rays to track the flow of the milk to make sure that it is going into his stomach. Chase still has to come off the oxygen, have the suck test and complete the car seat test. I hope we get to leave tomorrow, but I am a little nervous. I know that I will be watching him sleep for at least a month! It is time for me to give him a bath and it will be my first one unsupervised...LOL! Thanks for all the prayers.

Happily,

Mom, Dad, and Switch

Each day this little guy surprises me more and more. He got his drainage tube removed this morning after having a little morphine to help out with the pain. Needless to say, Switch was out for the day! Mom got some good rest as well as he slept off the drugs. Dr. Kanter said that we could be discharged as early as tomorrow or Wednesday. My vote is for Wednesday because I still have yet to successfully put in an N.G. tube. The nurses are quite happy that his Dad got him to take so well to a pacifier, now we will just need a speech and occupational therapist to come by and work with him on a bottle :) Hopefully, we won't need this N.G. tube for feeding for very long. I did give him his meds through it today and it was quite easy. The trick is to remember to pinch the tube so that if he sneezes or coughs you don't have an eruption of meds coming out of the tube. I am sure it will only take once to forget that piece of advice! I also got to carry him down to x-ray this afternoon. They also made me hold him down while getting the x-ray of his chest. Not fun for Mom. They did ask if I were pregnant...I honestly had to think about it before I answered "yeah right" (9 months of answering yes and all of a sudden it's NO...threw me off for a minute..lol). I guess they had to cover their butts though. The second x-ray of his chest came back clear of any fluid in his lungs. Switch is now down to only 100 ml of oxygen an hour.....YAY YAY YAY!! This morning, the nurses tried going from half a litre to nothing at all and he didn't like that at all. He has also started receiving bolus feeds, this means he's getting them every 3 hours at a more effective level, instead of continuous feeds. He has had a big day!!

Keep praying for our little man and thanks to all for the many hours you have already spent praying!

Love to all,

Shelley & Blake

In nuh...step down that is

Paw Paw finally got to hold his grandson. We were all crying at some point :)

We're back in step down :) Praise God! He still has not had any weird heartbeats and he is breathing beautifully! And.......Mom got him back on the breast milk without having to make a scene. He is only having a litre of oxygen, an hour, and his nurse plans to ween him off throughout the night. Also, tomorrow he will be getting his drainage tube removed. They said "hopefully" he will be going home in 2-3 days". The meaning of "hopefully", around here, means probably but not likely! Lets hope that hopefully means hopefully this time!

I got to hold him tonight and finally cry tears of joy! Every time I have cried while holding him before was because I honestly didn't know when I would get to hold him again or even if I'd get to hold him again. He's doing so well now and I am full of joy. I have finally met the love of my life :) He has completely stolen my heart. A child puts everything into perspective and I can finally see what is truly important. Matthew truly is a gift and I am amazed at the strength of this little boy. It's hard to believe that he will be a month old in a few days.

Psalm 68:6

Thanks so much for the prayers. We love you all so much. Switch is one step closer to coming to visit everyone :)

Much Love,

Shelley & Blake

Don't mess with Mama!

Again, I can't get on the Internet from my room so I can't put any pictures on here. I will get some up soon though. Switch is doing so good after his second surgery. He hasn't had any irregular heart beats today and his blood pressure has been good. He came off the ventilator really well, but he won't take his pacifier anymore. I guess we'll work on that tomorrow. The nurses don't seem to care about it because his pacifiers keep getting thrown away, even the ones I take up there come up missing. He started his feeds around 4:00 this afternoon. When I was up there they were giving him formula. Ugh...Why am I pumping? Him getting breast milk was the one thing from my "birth plan" that I have actually been able to follow through on! Now, for some reason they think my milk isn't good enough. They said the medicine I was taking shouldn't be given to him through my milk. I said "the same medicine I asked three of his doctors, the lactation consultant, two nurses, a nurse practitioner,a midwife, and a medical assistant about and they all said it was fine". I was pretty mad, but I didn't loose it like I did in Target :) I kept my cool and asked the nurse to have whomever made the decision to call me because I have not started taking the medicine and the breast milk is more important to me than anything else!!

Now that my blood pressure has gone down a bit I am going to go to bed. I know once he's in step down again I will be back to waking up to every whimper! As always, thanks so much for the prayers. They mean so much to me and the family!

P.S.- (Daddy added these pics from his phone)

Love to all,
Shelley & Blake

Two steps forward and twelve back

Switch came through surgery just fine today. His blood pressure was a little low when I went to see him, but as the "knock out" drugs were wearing off his numbers were coming up. I also got to see the echocardiogram being performed right after surgery. It was great to see that everything was looking good. The doctors and nurses feel that this, hopefully, last procedure will expedite his discharge from the hospital. He is back on a ventilator, but they want him off of it tonight or early morning. Dr. Kanter said the plan was to have him back in the step down unit by Monday and home by the beginning of next week. I can't believe that in six days he will be a month old! Poor thing has not been outside the hospital. I can't wait to get him into the sunshine so he can feel the breeze. I have taken so much for granted in the past and this kid has opened my eyes to what is important.

Danny , Katrina, and the kids came out to visit today and Katrina made dinner :) It was so good and so appreciated! I have had ENOUGH of hospital food and McDonald's!! I don't have pictures to post tonight, but I will get them in the morning. I am going to bed because it was another trying day. Thanks again for the continued thoughts and prayers!! We love and miss you all.

Shelley & Blake

round two...

Second surgery is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. He is going to have the left side of his diaphragm tacked down. A nerve was nicked during his heart surgery that has made the left side of his diaphragm paralyzed. A lot worse could have happened so I am really really trying to see that this is not so bad. He will go back to ICU after the surgery tomorrow though. Dr. Kanter feels that this will help to get him out of the hospital. Soo...finger are crossed and prayers are being said!

Finally a minute to update on the rest of the day. He has been fussy today and with the spells he's been having I jump to every whimper he makes. No sleep tonight! They tried a car seat test today, but since he's having another surgery it was useless to go through with it because they would have to test him again later. I hate that he has to be strapped into one after open heart surgery, but that's why they test his vitals while he's in the car seat. The test will last an hour and a half because I live so far from the hospital. He did good today for the twenty minutes he was in it and he looked so tiny in it. I am going to try to get him to sleep and then myself for a bit before I have to pump again. Say your prayers for his surgery tomorrow. The doctor said that he is the second case and will be taken to the OR sometime in the late morning or early afternoon. Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers! I know he has a ton of people still praying for him. I will update tomorrow after my little man has successfully had his second surgery.

Much love to all,
Shelley & Blake

Big step up to "step down"

We made it to step down today! I went by ICU today to see my son and he wasn't there. I asked the nearest nurse "where's my baby?". She said he was moved to another room and she offered to take me over there. I asked "where is over there?". Se said "step down" and then I squealed and jumped up and down. Dad and I have been waiting for this wonderful news since he had surgery almost two weeks ago. I am by his bedside and nothing, short of showers and potty breaks, is going to make leave. He had a spell when we first got here tonight and it scared the living mess out of me. His heart rate was jumping around and he started to desat (oxygen level in his blood got really low). He got more oxygen and he finally calmed down. I am not sure if he is ready to be here yet, but we'll see how this goes. I feel like I may never be ready to take him home myself. Not that I am questioning my mothering skills, but who has a sick kid and isn't scared to death?!?! He is sleeping now and I have his Dad's song playing for him. As I am trying to write this I keep getting up to every little noise he makes. This post is taking forever for me to write!

He has another x-ray scheduled for the morning and they told me I can go with. I have not talked to the doctor to find out how long he will be here or what his home care is going to consist of. He is still on continuous feeds, but they plan to change it to every three hours. Once he has taken well to that schedule then we can try the bottle and nursing :) That's all the updates I got from his nurses today. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring more news from the doctor. Until then we thank everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers! Today was a big day and I know everyone is thanking and praising God!

Much love to all,

Shelley & Blake

No more "hopefully tomorrow"!!

OUR BABY BOY IS OUT OF ICU! I WILL POST MORE LATER.

Much love and Thanks,
Shelley & Blake

Sweet dream

I slept in today because I got absolutely no sleep last night. The stress level is high! I should be resting up because I know once I get him home I will never sleep and I will be a constant watch guard at his bedside. His nurse this evening was very nice and so sweet. She said that he would be weened from one of his cardiac medicines by the morning and he was already down to one litre of oxygen. The last time she saw him was the day after surgery when he was swollen and his chest was left open. She said he was looking so good and cute! He has become attached to his pacifier and I am sure we are going to have a good time trying to get him weened off that thing. I also spoke to Dr. Kanter, the surgeon, today and he said that he is looking better everyday. He still has the fluid on his lungs and depending on who you ask it is either looking the same or a little better. At least nothing is looking worst. Many thanks to God and all who have been praying for him.

I had a dream this morning that he said his first words "Love you" (I woke up in tears). He would only say it for me and Dad and no one would believe that he said it. It was like the singing frog from the Bugs Bunny cartoons.

I have a follow up appointment in the morning with my doctors so I am going to "try" to get some sleep. I can't thank you enough for the prayers. Please keep them coming. Love and miss you all!

Shelley

forgot to mention that he went from weighing 2.7 kg to 3.0 kg :)

finally, a plan

He looks suprised! MiMi forgot to turn off the flash :)

We finally have a competent nurse! He was very helpful and actually gave me a "plan" that they are working on. I finally feel like they aren't running an experiment on my child. He said that Chase's heart rate has been more regular with the medicine that he is on now. They are going to continue to monitor his heart rate and make sure that the medicine is going to continue to work. Unfortunately, if the meds don't work then Switch will have to see an Electrophysiologist (one who studies the electricity of the heart) to find out why the beats are off. The nurse assured me that his Electrocardiograms are looking good and that's why there is a confusion. Usually, with arrhythmia, something negative will show on the ECG, but with Switch, this is not the case. So as long as the ECG's look good and the meds are working then he won't have to see the Electrophysiologist for any test. He even said that x-ray of his lung is looking less cloudy..meaning some of the fluid is coming off his lungs. He is requiring less oxygen and the nurse even said that he maybe able to go down on the amount in the morning. Things sound good, but they also sounded good before the fluid on the lungs and the arrhythmia situations. Keep praying for my little man. He's so very strong and everyone just loves him bits!! I think he's the favorite of the ICU because I got a lot of compliments on him today :) Or maybe it's because I'm his mom and I think he's the most amazing thing ever! I held him for about 2 hours tonight, but it only felt like five minutes. I could have slept in that chair with him all night!!

Also....

My Mom lost her cousin Carolyn today. She had a heart attack last night. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers!

Thanks again for the prayers. We love you all. Hopefully tomorrow will bring another good news blog!!

Shelley and Blake

Cheese...

Look at how good his incision is healing! It looks even better in person.

Switch smiled big for me today! It was the cutest thing, but he would not cooperate when the camera came out. I caught half of a smile from him and it's still pretty cute. Mom got to hold him again today. I hated to hand back to the nurse. She said that his heart rate was beating more regular with this new medicine and he was doing well with the lower amount of oxygen. They keep saying that step down will probably be tomorrow. I am still not going to get my hope up.

Danny, Katrina, and Noah came out to visit us today. Their visit was much welcomed as today has been a hard one. We went to lunch at Chipotle, which I won't be recommending to anyone, and then we went to the hospital. I went to visit with Switch for about 45 minutes and then we visited in the waiting room. We found the fish tank for Noah, he was amazed and didn't want to leave when it came time go.

We woke up pretty early to see Switch this morning. He was asleep and Dad did everything he could do to try to wake him up. Nothing worked though, hopefully this means he's a heavy sleeper :) Blake left around 7:30 this morning or something close to it. It broke my heart to watch Dad leave and I am sure it broke his to do so. I can only pray that it won't be long before Switch is with Dad again!

Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers. We love you!

Shelley and Blake

Round Two...

Today we found out that Chase may have a second surgery that will repair a nerve that was severed during the first surgery. The nerve controls his diaphragm that has been "sluggish" since the first surgery. Mom and Dad are quite frustrated at this point!! However, we know that if it needs to be done then okay. Whatever it takes to get him better and get him home!! We went up to the hospital around 9:00 this evening and our baby boy was wide awake. I asked the nurse if we could hold him and since it is Blake's last night here I let him hog the baby. It didn't take him long before he dozed off to sleep (I swear Dad is like a baby whisperer, he's amazing with this child). We are going to wake up very early in the morning so that Dad can spend as much time with his son before he has to hit the road. Short blog...sorry. Tomorrow should be better. Until then, thanks for the thoughts and prayers. We love you all! Say a prayer of safe travel for Blake and my Dad since they are both going to be on the road tomorrow. Much love to all!!

Shelley and Blake

Almost home...

This has not been a great day, but it was okay. Shelley called this morning and ... yep.... you guessed it... more tubes! They switched out his old feeding tube for a different kind of tube that goes all the way into his large intestine which is supposed to keep the spitting up or acid reflux to a minimum, so ... we'll see! We can"t wait to call in and be told that they're releasing him from ICU. On a lighter note, Switch's Mi Mi and Paw Paw came to visit again. His Mimi finally got to hold him! She was smiling from ear to ear afterward when we saw them. Paw Paw decided not to hold him, but believe me, he was happy enough for both of them just seeing her get to hold him! He will have his turn soon though. As far as Matthew's condition goes... well, he's doin okay, nothing's really changed for the better. He is on more oxygen today and his breathing is a little sparatic. They are keeping him in ICU until they can figure out what is causing him to have to struggle to breathe so much. He's getting more calories added by the day, so he'll be pumpin out two pound diapers soon! Yaaay mommy! =) We are just so glad and thankful that we are at least getting to spend some time with him. I have to go back to Louisiana soon and get back to work. I hate the idea of leaving because I don't know when he's getting released from ICU. It'll be alright though. I'm sure I'll get to see him again in a couple weeks after he's home! Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers, we know you all will! I hope you all got to see the video daddy made, it's at the bottom of the blog so if you haven't seen it, scroll down after you're done reading and watch it! Anyway we'll keep everyone posted. God bless. Until tomorrow, that's all for "Life with Switch".

=)

-Blake and Shelley

Hopefully Tomorrow...AGAIN

Still in ICU!! No word on when we might get moved to our own room. It is quite frustrating at this point. It might not be so bad if they would stop telling us that it is "hopefully tomorrow". I am not getting my hopes up anymore. I know he needs to be where he can be monitored as closely as possible, but I really really want to stay at the hospital with him. It would also be nice if her were out of ICU before his Dad has to leave to go back to LA.

We visited with him for a little bit today and he is as cute as he ever was :) He looks as though he may have a rash and, of course, Mom and Dad freak and think that he may be allergic to something. The nurse said it may be the detergent that the laundry company uses to was the baby blankets. The nurse also told us that his heart rate got a little high today and they are giving him medicine to keep it regular and bring it down. I asked if it could arrhythmia, but she said she wasn't sure. I am worried that they may be "masking" a potential problem, BUT I am not a doctor. I am a concerned Mom and I want to know why, how, when, and everything else they can tell me!!

Keep praying for our sweet little man. He is stronger than Mom or Dad at this point! We know when all this is over we will laugh at how stressed out we once were. Switch will be getting away with everything before we know it!! Keep the prayers coming for him. We love you all.

Happily,

Shelley and Blake

BTW..... He is doing amazing with the pacifier. His little muscles get tired after a while, but he has taken to it. One step closer to ditching the feeding tube :)

No strings attached...

Today, like the last few days was the same. He's still in CICU, but with a little more progress! We went and saw him this morning, and he got his pacing wires out of his chest that were "just in case", which monitored his heart and could act as pacemakers if his heart was beating irregularly. The nurse told us that they would also take out the last tube which was another "just in case" precautionary measure. We left and went grocery shopping and waited until after the 7 pm shift change to return to see him. When we got there, he was all bundled up in a blanket (better known as swaddling) and he was the cutest thing ever! ( of course) =) We were so glad to see him relaxed and calm. He was breathing so well and had his big eyes wide open and a pacifier hangin half way out of his little mouth! After a little while, the nurse told us that they did in fact take the last tube out, so I didn't hesitate, I asked if we could hold him, and she said YES! We smiled at each other as if to say, YAY! And naturally I let Shelley hold him first. He was more than glad to see his mommy! She held him for what seemed like forever, and I didn't wanna disturb him sleeping, and I was feeling a little left out... but just about the time I wanted to ask her to hold him, she had to go pump some breastmilk! So, she let me hold him, and he was a little fussy at first, but as soon as I gave him his pacifier he suckled on it and didn't let go until she was finished! We felt relieved a little because all of his wires and tubes were gone, but we're still not going to be satisfied until he is well and out of CICU with "no strings attached". His diaphragm is a little slow on one side, and they haven't reported any change in the fluid on his lungs, however, we know that GOD can and GOD WILL heal him in due time. Hopefully and prayerfully tomorrow we will be blogging about the good news, but time will tell. We are forever greatful for all the prayers, and phone calls, and support from everyone. We are truly blessed to have people such as y'all in our lives. We hope to report better news tomorrow! We love you all, and again thanks for all your love, prayers, and support.
=)
Happily,
Shelley and Blake

Something New........

We woke up his morning expecting to see Switch in his own room in the step down unit, I was so happy that we were going to be able to stay with our son, but we were told otherwise when we called this morning for a check-up. He had a little fluid on his lungs and Dr. Kanter wants to continue to monitor him for a few days. When we heard the news we were quite upset. I suppose it is better to have him monitored by his doctor to make sure that everything is good before he makes the move. We are so ready to have a healthy boy and have him at home. Blake and I were also told today that he may be going home with a feeding tube and a gastro tube so that he can get feedings at night to beef him up. We have a long road of recovery ahead of us and we know that the Lord would not have placed this upon us if we couldn't handle it. Our relationship with the Lord is closer and stronger. Not to say that we haven't questioned His will a time or two. We are so lucky to be blessed with such a precious son!!

Blake made an amazing movie for Switch. I know some of you have seen it on Myspace or Facebook, when I finally figure out how to post a video on here I will so that you all can watch it. It brought tears to my eyes, but with the stress, emotion, and fatigue any thing can bring me to tears. But really, the video is that good. Best Dad Ever :)

We thank you all again for the continued prayers!

Gentle hands...

Well, today was yet again another uneventful one. We waited until about 11 am to get to the hospital because they were doing shift change all morning. When we arrived, Switch was wide awake and eating (breastmilk through a feeding tube) and his eyes were all over the place, sometimes focused, sometimes crossed. He was in his own crib today, in preparation for his move to the Step Down Unit tomorrow! We were so happy to see that! As the day went on, his nurse decided to let us hold him, and of course, mommy was thrilled! She sat down eagerly and soon realized that he wasn't in his best of moods! So, daddy helped a little bit to calm him down, and prepare for picture time. He was better after that for the most part, and then we switched "Switch" and I had to calm him down with mommy's help and a little amazing thing called, sugar water on a pacifier! Plus, daddy's gentle hands coddled and loved him until... =) He soon fell asleep and we put him back in his crib, and went to the cafeteria to get a late lunch. Lunch was short, due to our inability to control our withdrawls we have when we're away from him. We went back up and played with him and tried the pacifier a little more and off he went again to sleep. So, we then went and got some groceries, and I cooked a nice meal for us and just enjoyed a little relaxation time. Right now, it's 1040 pm and we're about to go see him again to take more pictures and play again. He's going to be all ours tomorrow and we're so excited! We'll continue to keep everyone up to date on how we're all doing. Until then, that's all now for "Life with Switch". We hope to make our rounds as soon as he comes home. We love you all, and again thanks for all your love, prayers, and support.

=)

Happily,

Shelley and Blake

Sleep at last...

We are so sleep deprived so we decided that we could sleep in today. Although, with mom getting up every 3 hours to pump, I still feel like I could sleep for days and still not have enough. We got up to the hospital to find all of Matthew's drainage tubes and most of the IVs removed. His nurse told us that he had a wonderful night and he was going to have a bottle today (all of my hard work and long hours of pumping finally paying off). He was suckling on his fist all afternoon and we were sure that he would have no problems taking to a bottle. Unfortunately, he didn't appreciate it much and was given a feeding tube instead, but he didn't appreciate that much at either. The nurse had to make sure that she had the placement of the tube so she pumped a little air into his tummy to listen for a gurgling sound. Then she did it three more times for another nurse to listen. My poor little man was not happy and quite gassy after they finally deciding that they had successfully placed the tube in his stomach. I was complaining to Blake that they should have let me gave him the bottle in the first place. Mom's are better for that kind of job! Though, he was not convinced. The respiratory therapist came over with a pacifier so we could try to get him use to suckling. With all the tubes that have been shoved down his throat it's no wonder that he thinks everything that comes into contact with his mouth is going to hurt. Then she went and got the good stuff. It was a sugar water type stuff that she out on the end of the pacifier and he liked it. He would get the sweet stuff off and then spit the pacifier out. He gagged a few times so she told us to work on it with him at another time. Dad wasn't satisfied so he tried until it was time for us to go. Matthew almost got it and we can't wait to try again tomorrow. We didn't get to hold him today, but we got spend a quiet Sunday with our son and I couldn't be more happy. His larynx is still swollen and irritated so he still can't produce an audible cry. We hope tomorrow will be different. I heard him for a few minutes after he was delivered, but Dad has yet to hear him. Switch did cough while gagging on his feeding tube and I thought I was going to cry. I didn't cry, but I did think it was the sweetest most precious cough in the world!! He did a lot of hard work today and has come so far in his recovery. Blake and I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers and we hope that they continue until he is at home, in his own bed, and waking Mom up for a feeding instead of an alarm clock waking her up for a pumping!! Switch told me that he loves you all and can't wait to meet you!

One last, first step

Exciting news! But first, this morning, we got up around 530 am-ish to see our little man before the 7 o'clock shift change at the unit. Matthew Chase is finally recovered from open heart surgery! We anxiously waited all morning after the CICU nurses told us we could come visit him at 8 am, and then after arriving to see him, we were told 11 am...? So, we met with Mr. Danny and Mrs. Liz for breakfast and said our good-bye's... so they didn't get to see him after he was all sewn up( We love y'all and miss having y'all here, see you soon) But anyway we held our composure, and patience hasn't been our best quality through this whole process, but surprisingly enough, we managed to find it somewhere! And, it paid off... we got to see him finally at 11 and he was kind of in and out, still tired from all the sedatives yesterday. The nurse, Kevin, who has been amazing, and helpful, and seems to have won Switch over with his deep commanding voice, told us the great news that we weren't expecting! He had done well with their breathing tests and he was getting the ventilator taken off! ( see pics below of huge tubes in his nose and mouth =( ..... ) We couldn't believe the great news, it made our day! Anyway so he finally got the tubes out and we got to see him without all the tape and tubes and stuff around his cute lil face! After about 2 hours of just playin with him and watchin him sleep... trying to coherse him into throwin a fit because we have yet to hear him cry, Kevin told us even more wonderful news. Tomorrow (Sunday) Switch will be getting the rest of his drainage tubes and heart monitor cables and feeding tubes taken out!!! Which means we can finally hold our baby boy for the first time like normal parents! We are so ecstatic, which is why I have to end this posting and go to bed! We are very thankful again for all of your prayers, he's doin so good. We love all of you, we will continue to keep everyone updated. May God bless all of you. Until next time, that's all for "Life with Switch"...

=)
Happily,
Shelley and Blake