ARGH!!

And that isn't the answer to "What's a pirate's favorite letter?" It means we're a little bit frustrated. We had a chat with the docs a week ago about Carter's feeding issues and one of the things we discussed was that he is easily distracted. As soon as he begins to suck on the bottle, something else happens in the room and he moves his head around to check it out, thus losing any interest in the bottle. Additionally, when he gets overstimulated, he shuts down by sleeping or throwing a snit-fit. The docs decided that Carter needed to be moved to the back corner of a quiet room, where we can pull the curtains when we want to feed. Subsequently, he was moved to such a place. And a day later, moved to another room, in the front space adjacent to the busy hallway that was missing a curtain. And a few days later (this would be today) moved to yet another room. Only this time, he was moved into a room with 4 babies, that accommodates 4 babies, making him the 5th baby. So he's on the wall, between 2 babies. NOT in a space intended for a bed; NOT in a quiet space; NOT in a space with a curtain. How do they think we're going to get him to feed in this kind of situation?? Thus, ARGH!!!!

We also had a meeting with some of Carter's doctors on Friday to discuss the option of a G-tube. While initially we were set against it, after speaking to many families and people in healthcare, we've decided to get the g-tube and hit the road. Carter still has elevated blood pressure (which has no explanation at this point), but feeding is basically what's keeping him in the hospital. After much thought, we decided that the G-tube is going to be the best option for him. We will be able to get him home and on a regimented schedule; we'll be able to feed him in a quiet, calm environment; he'll be getting outpatient and possibly in-home feeding therapy; and he'll be HOME. He'll be three months old in a few days and keeping him in the hospital will only continue to set him back developmentally. Although we're not thrilled with the thought of another surgery, we think this is the best option for him. We're supposed to begin the process of evaluating him for the G-tube this week with the GI team and the pediatric surgeon who performed his CDH repair. It will still be a few weeks before we begin the process of going home, but this puts us back on the "yellow brick road."

For those wondering what the heck a G-tube is, it's a Gastrostomy Tube--basically a feeding tube surgically placed directly into the stomach. The tube exits through the abdominal wall and is accessible outside the skin. We would hook up the external tube to feeding pump, much like what he's on now. The food then goes directly into his stomach through the tube. It's essentially the same way he's being fed now, except we won't have to put the tube into his nose, threading it down his esophagus into his stomach to feed, which makes him very angry. It will be there all the time. Assuming Carter will get the hang of eating orally, the G-tube is not permanent.
For more details, check out http://oce.sph.unc.edu/phnceac/babyguide/gastrokeep.pdf

Thanks to those who have helped us make this decision. We still welcome your thoughts, suggestions, etc. You can leave them as a comment here or email me directly kbzagorski@yahoo.com

And one more thing. We had dinner with the Vierigs last night and Bodee is doing wonderfully. Dakota is being a great big sister and still cute as ever. For a memory refresher--we shared Parker's House with the Vierigs while Bodee was at Duke for his CDH repair. They got Carter the cutest USMC Superman shirt. It's in the wash and we'll have him dressed in it very soon! Thanks for visiting and we can't wait for the little guys to have a play date :)