The first few days we were just getting into a routine. We still had rules (that the Dr's suggested we carry out) that we hoped would help to keep Bricen as healthy as possible. We were right in the middle of flu season. No school age kids were allowed to hold Bricen (they can just be a carrier for so many germs), and everyone was asked to wash their hands when they came in the house. Of course, no one with any cold symptoms was welcome and if we had several people over no one was allowed to hold Bricen. It just is not good for him to be passed from person to person. Bricen adjusted well. He didn't sleep very well the first night. The nurses warned us that it can be a little shocking to their system to go from the noises of ICU to a quiet house. The second night was better. Still to this day Bricen doesn't sleep well or for long periods and if he does I start to worry. :)
We came home with the apnea/bradycardia monitor, all his NG feeding supplies and a suction machine. Bricen would projectile vomit out his mouth and nose and then he would try to breath in through his nose and there was fear that he would end up with aspiration pneumonia. Hence, the suction machine. Also, because of his anatomy it was better to have a means to suction out that nasal passage. We change his NG tube every week (this is horrible to say the least). As a nurse I knew how to do this on adults, put more than a few in, but it's different when it's your baby. Sucks. That pretty much sums it up. But, I realize he could be so much worse. For example, we could be suctioning a trach from home.
I'm gonna take a moment to point this out. I realize Bricen is not the worse case scenario. There are parents out there that face so much more than what we face. Most days I am able to keep that in perspective. But when it comes down to it, our situation is still hard in it's own way. With that being said, our blessings do not go unrecognized.
We had to make some adjustments to Bricen's formula. It seemed like more was coming up than going down with his feedings and projectile vomiting. It takes him a good 5-10 min to recover from those vomits. He pretty much gasp for air until he gets calmed down. Then it wears him out so much he is super sleepy after. And if he didn't actually vomit he would just sit there and dry heave. Hate watching him go through that. We went from Neosure 27 calorie to Pregestimil (that vomit smelled like raw potatoes and made me wanna puke) back to Neosure 22 calorie (which is how it comes) and finally we switched to Enfacare 22 calorie. This along with some high dose Prilosec fixed the majority of the vomiting/Reflux. We would of course keep his head elevated and not move him after he eats for awhile. Poor kid wasn't getting much sleep. He would eat, vomit and get a short nap in and then wake up before time to eat again cause he was hungry. We feed every three hours till we get this baby fattened up! :)
Lots of thought went into Thanksgiving, if we should have people over or not. I asked pretty much every nurse and Dr that came my way before we were discharged what they thought. Family came over, no one came if they were sick and only Bri, Marty and I held him that day. Bri pulled her weight and mine. Marty's family stopped by for short visits as well. Enough writing, lets see some pictures!
None of Bricen's younger cousins have held him and this was the first time Brett had seen Bricen. 
Love the pictures between tube changings. Can't wait for the day we can see his little face with nothing on it everyday.
Papaw Dennis holding Bricen for the first time :) 
Bricen with his great (and we do mean great) Grandma Delpha.
Happy Turkey Day!! (Thanks for the outfit Aunt Jodi!)
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