UPDATE: AUGUST 20, 2009...A PLAN!!!

Sorry for the long delay between posts. It's been a week since Carter was moved to the Pediatric Unit and things have gone very well. We made a big decision this past week that Carter will be getting a G-Tube. This is a feeding tube that is put in through his abdominal wall and into his stomach. It is "permanent", in other words it is there until the doctors decide to remove it. It will be used to supplement feeds. We will continue to feed him with a bottle, but if he cannot get enough nourishment that way, we will have to give the rest via the G-Tube. We are still working on getting him to feed from a bottle and we have seen some great improvement in Carter's ability. Last week he was barely taking 3 mls. Alicia, our speech therapist decided to thicken his feeds with a gel like substance that makes it easier for Carter to coordinate the sucking, swallowing and breathing. This has helped, A LOT!!! Last night our nurse called us about 6:30 and told us that Carter had taken 66 mls by bottle and today when we arrived we found out that he took an additional 50 mls at his 10pm feed and 65 mls during his morning feed. This was a joyous time for Tracy and me. Tonight he is having an acid reflux test done and it will take about 15 hours. They have a tube down in his esophagus measuring for reflux. If it is found out that he does have reflux, they will tighten the connection between his stomach and his esophagus during the G-Tube procedure. The surgery is being scheduled for Monday, but our nurses tell us to not count on it. If any emergencies come up, then he will get bumped. He will then need about 5 days of recovery, then he will be coming home!!!! We are very excited that we now see Carter at home in a short amount of time.