A Long Week

Having a sick baby makes for a long week no matter where you are, but being in a hospital seems to extend the week. It's hard to believe Drake and I are about to spend our 5th night here at Medical City Children's Hospital. We are both ready to be discharged and reunited with Kennedy and Brian. Brian had planned on spending the night with us at the hospital tonight but he is feeling a little under the weather. He's pretty sure it's just allergies, but that's not a chance we can take. We'll just have to wait a little while longer before we get to see him. At least we have FaceTime.

We are beyond fortunate to have Drake's At-Home nurse! She has gone above and beyond for us this week like she always does. She arrived every morning at 7am with coffee and stayed with us until 9pm M-Th. She even came up here this afternoon on her day off and brought lunch to spend some time with us. She has made our hospital stay much more bearable.

Drake is doing so much better! This is absolutely wonderful and makes me incredibly happy. I'm frustrated at the same time because I know he is ready to be home where he can get some much needed rest, but they are not ready to release him. I completely understand where the doctors are coming from, but they don't know our little Drake on a good day. He has CLD (Chronic Lung Disease), paralyzed vocal chord and a nasally breathing sound. 100% for Drake is never going to sound like 100% in your average baby. Drake's pediatrician called to consult with his hospital doctors and I think they have a better understanding now. I haven't been told that we will be discharged tomorrow, but I have been told it is possible.

Drake has been getting quite a workout in each day as he puts up a fight against every nurse, respiratory therapist and PCA who come into his room. Each new person is taken by surprise when they realize just how strong he is for a baby. I think he is constantly on the lookout for medical staff, but because of this his head and neck control have really improved! I wish this had improved under different circumstances; regardless, I am still happy for this milestone. He has also getting better control using his hands, especially his right hand. When he was in the bouncy seat last night, he was using his hand to interact with the toys. Earlier tonight when I was fixing his cannula on his little nose, he reached up and grabbed my hand to move it away. This is definitely a 1st!!! I have also seen him swat at the RTs when they are giving him treatments. He's definitely our little fighter.

Kennedy is continuing to improve every day at Gran and Poppy's. They said she is really missing Drake and me. When Gran said she was playing with her bottle, she wasn't kidding. She blew bubbles into her bottle yesterday. This was a 1st for her, and I'm pretty sure this is not a typical behavior for a baby. We sure seem to have some unique babies!

Below is a picture of Kennedy in a little chef hat surrounded by groceries. We entered this picture into the Brookshires Baby Club photo contest. The winner gets a $10,000 savings bond so we thought it was worth a shot. Her photo has been chosen as a finalist! You can vote from the link below. One vote per day is allowed through May 3rd. You have to create a brookshires username and password in order to vote, but it only takes a second :)

http://brookshires.promo.eprize.com/babyclub/