TGIF

We're glad to report that we got safely to the doctor's office and back this time without incident. This was the first time the pediatrician had seen Peter. He said he was glad to finally meet this little guy after hearing so many rumors of his existence! The doctor approved special monthly shots (Synagis) to prevent respiratory viral infections. He also gave the green light for starting solids, so we wasted no time mixing Peter up a nice bland bowl of baby cereal this evening. Peter's initial verdict: "Hmm... this is an interesting but weird way to eat."

In other news, Peter has been 'talking' a lot lately, making the usual sounds a baby makes at 5 months. We are very excited, because it's not always possible for a baby with a trach to make sounds. He seems most talkative when Daniel is in the room but also carries on conversations with his toys.

Just another manic Monday

Hi all,

Things had been going so well.... Today we were supposed to take both boys to the pediatrician for a checkup. We packed up and had to go in two cars because it would be hard to squeeze a nurse in between two carseats in the back. I went with Daniel in the smaller car. Michel, Peter and nurse drove away before we did, so we were surprised when we got to the doctor's office and they weren't there yet.

Come to find out, on the brief 10-minute drive from home to the doctor, Peter threw up all of the large feeding he'd had before we left. It went everywhere--including down his tracheostomy, which blocked his breathing. Michel and the nurse had to pull over and change out his trach and suction the vomit, then they rushed to the nearby hospital's emergency room as Peter was still having difficulties.

By the time they got word to us at the doctor's office, Peter was stable once more. Daniel and I left the doctor's office in mid-checkup. When we got to the emergency room, Peter was happy to see us and his face brightened at the sight of his big brother. Peter's been tired but otherwise quite normal since we got home. That's more than can be said of his parents. The appointment is rescheduled for Friday, so perhaps we'll all have recovered our strength and sanity by then. On the bright side, the ER doctors did a chest X-ray and Peter's lungs looked even better than they did at his last cardiology appointment.

50/50

Peter has now been home for one month! We went back for another checkup at the hospital on Thursday. The cardiologist and pulmonologist were extremely pleased with the way Peter's chest X-ray looked. They even saw an improvement compared to the previous visit. Consequently, Dr. Baker said that Peter could go to a 50/50 mix of my milk and the Portagen non-fat formula. This also seems to agree with Peter, as he has been eating heartily and growing! There were no changes to his medications or ventilator settings this visit.

With our busy lives we don't have as much time to enjoy our favorite genre of pleasure reading, the mystery novel, as we would like. Luckily we get the real-life version every few days. First it was The Mystery of the Missing Stethoscope, which disappeared for almost a week but actually never left the room. Then yesterday it was the Case of the Nurses' Shoes. We had two nurses for a certain shift. (One of them was doing orientation.) They were both wearing similar shoes. When their shift ended, Nurse A left and Nurse B was distraught when her shoes were nowhere to be found. Fortunately she had an extra pair in her car. Five minutes after she left, Nurse A turned up to return Nurse B's shoes, which she had put on by mistake, and retrieve her own. Nurse B's shoes are still here.

Daniel is doing a great job as a big brother. Today he was trying to teach Peter the alphabet using flash cards. You may laugh, but Peter watches everything Daniel does with rapt attention. He may have Peter so well educated by next year that they will be able to start kindergarten together.