God is Good

The doctor called me this morning to let me know that Ivan would be transferred out of the NICU today, and would be moved to a regular room where we could stay with him (even spend the night) and take care of him. He said Ivan was progressing nicely, and they would be taking off the air tubes and turning off the phototherapy lights. The only real concern left is that he is still not taking a bottle very well.

Our plan was to eat lunch quickly after church, and then all go up to the hospital for the afternoon. We needed to be there by 2:00 at the latest, because the hospital did not have enough of Mary's milk to cover Ivan's 2:00 feeding. However, as we started eating lunch, Owen "spilled the graham crackers" again.

So, we scrambled. We were considering trying to find someone to watch Owen for the afternoon, but we needed to leave in just a few minutes to get there in time. So, we decided that Mary would stay home and I would drive up to the hospital to deliver the milk.

On the way there, I got a call saying that Ivan was being moved and they gave me his new room number. I got there by 2:00 and was able to feed him myself. He took a little bit from the bottle, but wasn't really very awake so I had to give him the rest via his tube. I spoke to the new doctor for a few minutes, and then headed back home.

I really don't want Owen to have to spend another night away from home, so we decided that I will stay home with Owen, and Mary will spend the next two nights in Ivan's room at the hospital. That way, she can try to work with him more on the feedings and hopefully get him to nurse soon.

I may ask someone to watch Owen during the day tomorrow so that I can go be with Mary, but only if he doesn't "spill" again. I suspect that he may have gotten re-infected with whatever he had a couple of weeks ago, and whoever he got it from probably got it from him to begin with, so I don't want to keep perpetuating that cycle. It could be just a one-time problem from something he ate, though. Mary even wondered if it might be stress-related, from all the shuffling around and being away from us for so long. It's hard to know for sure.

So, we're getting near the end of this, but still need prayer for a couple of issues. Please pray that Owen will not be sick, and also that Ivan will start eating properly so they can remove the feeding tube and send him home.

Thanks.