Holy frijoles Skippito Friskito! (That's what Adam and I say all the time...comes from a book we read to Cael - Skippyjon Jones) It has been a long time since I have written a blog. I thought I would be one of those who kept up with it so well, but apparently not!
Christmas was great. Cael ended up with presents from some amazing people this year. Thank you to all of those who sent presents. He has been non stop playing since Christmas. And he has a whole new wardrobe, it seems! It only took him about 3 presents before he really got the hang of the opening idea. Then, any box he saw, he assumed was a present for him to open. And bags....he just ripped the tissue right out of those and threw it to the side. He had such a fun time. We got a lot on video, at least until the battery died. When will I learn to charge BEFORE big events like that? I'm so glad we were able to spend this Christmas with family and out of the hospital. Just being out was present enough, but to be able to help Cael open presents and have a great meal with family made my day that much better.
Since then, we started to reduce the number of trips to clinic each week. We were going 3 times a week before Christmas, and now we are down to twice a week. That makes things so much nicer! Going to clinic is always such a deal. We have to get up early, deal with traffic, wait in clinic for hours, then deal with it all on the way back, too. (Small price to pay to be out of the hospital, but still not enjoyable)
Cael is finally negative for both RSV and parainfluenza 3! This means he is no longer on isolation at the hospital. He still isn't able to go anywhere except the hospital and the house, but this is such a big step. He doesn't have a cough any more, and no more runny nose. That might not sound all that impressive, but Cael has had a runny nose and cough since he was 2 months old.
Today is one of the biggest, best days since he left the hospital. Today is the last day of IV nutrition!!! They started him at 50% of his nutrition being IV, then last week it was dropped to 30% by IV. He did so great after the drop. He increased his formula and baby food intake perfectly to make up the nutritional difference. Since he did so great, they have decided to stop the TPN! I am so excited about this. No more backpack and tubes to deal with at night time. And no more getting out late in the morning because we didn't start the TPN on time the night before! I feel like this is such a monumental day for Cael!
I hope the new year has brought all of you as much good fortune as our has so far. It is only the second day of the year and we already have had 2 great days. I am so looking forward to a new year and all the new things it will bring. I think it will be a big one for Cael. He is doing so well that I think it will be his best yet. :)
Happy New Year everyone!
