Miraculous Guzzling!

Miraculous Guzzling!!!

Yup. He is drinking.  And quite frankly,  it's miraculous.

This morning we were told he drinks or he doesn't go home.

They sent us home, even though he wasn't drinking.  We were definitely apprehensive about that.

Get home, and he is still lethargic, not really wanting to eat or drink, but ate a couple of things.

Then tonight,  around 8pm,  trying to get him settled down for bed,  he took his bottle (only 2 oz since he hasn't been drinking) and downed it in like 4 gulps.

Maybe 30 seconds.

Keep in mind people,  a 4 oz bottle normally takes him about 15-20 min and he might get through 3 oz.  You can't suck with a hole in the top of your mouth.

Until the wonders of modern medicine get involved and you close the hole :)

Michael sucks!

-- You know what I mean!!   He learned how to suck tonight and he is now drinking!!

Kerri had a glass of water and Michael wanted some.  So we tried it.  And he easily drank 2 or 3 oz of water right out of a glass.

We made another 2 oz bottle and he got through about 1.5 oz in between bouncing on the bed, and acting more alive than he has since Wednesday.

During one of those bounces you could hear the liquid sloshing around in his tummy.

Yup.   Miraculous Guzzling.

I think he likes being home.

He lit up today when the kids and I showed up.  He loves his brothers and sister.   He lit up again tonight when the boys and I got home from Drew's baseball games.

There is sooo much to feeling better that is emotional and not just physiological.

He is sleeping now.  Sticking with the pain meds for a while.  He does still have a low grade fever, so we will be watching him closely.

Did I mention we are glad to have him home again?

I think he is glad too.

Ok,  bunch of iPhone pictures taken today, so please excuse the quality of these, but they do capture the moment(s)

Some pictures while still in the hospital (all taken today)

Check out those feet.  Too cute!

He is loving his Krispy Kreme doughnut. Just like GG Mary :)

Ok,  this was Thursday or Friday, but it was too cute to not include here...

All of these are since we have been home tonight.

 

I thought this was a cool shot.  He turned the music on by himself and was dancing :)

One of many sips of Water

 Lounging on Momma, playing with her phone

-Adam-

Surgery Day - Day 3 - the saga continues

Not much has changed since yesterday.  Michael is still in the hospital,  Kerri is still in the hospital with him, he is pretty fussy and not very comfortable, he will occasionally eat a little something, but rarely wants to drink anything.

I asked Kerri yesterday if there was a "Strong willed Child" section in the adoption paperwork that we somehow missed :)   This little guy without a doubt has a strong will.  I like to think of it as having fight.  He has a will and a drive to fight for what he wants regardless of what that is.  I love that he has that fight.  I don't like fighting against it,  but I love that he has it.  This hospital stay and his refusal to drink is yet another chapter in his story.   A chapter that I hope is short rather than long.

So,  unfortunately,  no reports of miraculous guzzling...

Please keep praying that Michael will turn the corner and decide that eating and drinking is a GOOD thing.  We just want him HOME!

The older kids and I are heading to the hospital in a few minutes to get Kerri some comfort items, and some coffee.  I'm hoping having the kids there will perk Michael up a bit too.  Andrew has a double header this afternoon so we will wait and see the best way to make that happen.   Our 'village' has stepped up in the last couple of days to help with the kids,  bring us food etc.  THANK YOU for your help.  We love you guys!

As I'm finishing this up, I just got a text from Kerri that Michael has a fever.  Please pray for healing for our little man!

Thank you!

-Adam-

Surgery Day - Day 2...

Here we are in Day 2.   Yesterday Michael drank about 6 oz of water and formula   Today he will be lucky if he has done 1oz..   He is sleeping right now, and we are going to try again when he wakes up,  but most likely will need to get another IV.   They had to take it out yesterday because it stopped working.  I think they let it run dry (help on the floor was not great yesterday - last night and today have been much better).

So that means another day for sure..  Bummer..  We were really hoping we would go home today, even if later in the day.  We miss the other kids, and would all be more comfortable at home.

Other than the not drinking thing he is doing pretty well.  He slept very well through the night, and has been in good spirits this morning especially when the pain med cycle has him feeling good.   He was jumping around, laughing and playing about an hour ago before crashing for this nap.  We see this behaviour as a good sign.

We are hoping for a miraculous guzzling of a bottle when he wakes up :)  

Surgery day - complete

Everyone is exhausted.

Michael is doing much better. Still is very cranky if he is awake and we are not holding him. He was able to drink more and eat more which is exactly what we need him to do.

He melted down when Kerri left his sight to use the bathroom. He was somewhat distraught when I went down the hall to get water( not nearly as much as when Kerri left) Attachment? Yeah, he is making good progress.

We are pooped, we miss the other kids and we are prayer hard that we go home tomorrow.

We caught a glimpse of his first smile late tonight and I happen to catch it in video. He was mimicking us raising our eyebrows.

 

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers

Posted with Blogsy

Surgery day - recovery

After 3 hours we just got to a room. Michael is doing well as long as he is being held and as long as he has his bottle in his hand.

The past 3 hours have been up and down with pain management and trying to get him comfortable. He did drink some of his bottle, but primarily took formula from a syringe.

In my earlier post I said the hard part is done. I should restate that the procedurally hard part is done but the hard part for Michael and us is just starting.

Off to figure out a way for Kerri and I to eat something. We are a little hungry.

Thank you again for the prayers. Please keep them coming. We have a bit of a journey ahead of us.

Surgery Day - All's Well

Surgeon just came out and said everything went fine.   He is still sleeping so we can't see him yet, but the hard part is over.

Thank you everyone for the prayers!

Surgery Day - Pre op

Today is the big day.

We had to wake up at 4:15, and get on the road by 5:15 to make it to the hospital by 6..   My Mom came down and spent the night so she could get the big kids to school today.  Huge thank you for the help!

Michael went back on time at 7:30.   ENT came out 15 min later to say the tubes went in just fine, her job here was done :)

We are currently waiting in the waiting room for results of the palate surgery.  Doc Brown is well known for this surgery and we are confident he is in good hands.

A couple pre-op pics:

He is able to find a smile even when he is hungry and not wanting to be awake yet

 As long as he has his pillow,  he can be comfy anywhere

 Just before heading back

More updates to come as the day progresses

-Adam-

3 Months

Today marks 3 months since "Gotcha Day" when we first held Michael in our arms at the civil affairs office in Zhengzhou. A quarter of a year, about 90 days. While it is still very easy to remember what life was like before bringing him home, we don't long for that. All 3 of our older kids love to play with Michael, they come up with ideas of fun activities to do as a family that Michael would enjoy. They all don't hesitate to pick him up and comfort him when he is upset.  He truly brings joy to our family each and every day.

We have been working on testing the waters of separation without jumping in too deep. He has hung out with a couple of dear friends for a couple of hours, and with my Mom and Dad a couple of times and has done very well. He did great the first couple of times in the child care area at the gym (Christopher was in the room with him) until this last time where Chris ended up having to hold him for the duration of Kerri's workout -- So Chris got one too.

This Thursday 4/25 is Michael's Cleft Palate surgery. We have be there at 6am, surgery is scheduled for 7:30 and should take about 2 hours. We don't know exactly how long he will stay in the hospital, but we are told to plan on a couple of days. We are not looking forward to putting him through the pain and recovery, but are looking forward to giving him the opportunity to eat normal foods and to be able to say consonants.   He is trying so hard to talk, but is put at an obvious disadvantage with his palate being open. We will post updates as we get through the surgery.

We do ask for prayers for a successful surgery, minimal pain ( this is known to be an incredibly painful procedure), and Speed recovery.   We are anticipating a week or 2 of rough going as he recovers.

He has become enough a part of our regular routine that we no longer have hundreds of pictures each week to sift through to put on the blog :) Kerri did get this awesome video of him ready and willing to show off his vocabulary.

He has been feeling a little off today,  we are not sure if it is teeth, or fighting a bug, or just anticipating having surgery in 4 days.  He woke up after falling asleep tonight,  which he rarely does.  So we put on a show to try to calm him down.   Ended up as a good opportunity to get some good iPhone pictures.  It is hard to tell from the pictures that he is feeling out of sorts :)

-Adam-

The Gift

 

Easter is a gift.  The most treasured gift was given many years ago on a cross.  I am humbled and forever thankful.  This Easter, I was surrounded by more gifts than I could have ever dreamed would be mine. 

 

Enjoy the pictures!

 

 

 

We colored eggs.  Michael wasn't quite sure what on earth we were doing.   "Explain this to me mama!"

 

No, I would not recommend tasting the vinegar.

 

This is pretty fun

 

That is, unless you are thirteen

 

Chris was a good sport.  He was going for vibrant colors.

 

My girl always have fun when it involves a craft of any sort. 

 

Notice the water.  I wouldn't use "graceful" as a word to describe this.

 

And of course, the aftermath.  "Now what?"

 

Easter morning, before church, Michael decided to acquire the new skill of turning on the bath water.  Very fun.

 

The look below needs no caption.

 

And the pure joy when successfully turning the water on for the fifteenth time.

 

 

 

 

Yes, my son is as tall as I am. 

 

It was so much fun to put together the baskets for these four gifts of mine.

 

"Do my eggs open too?"

 

Christopher is the master egg hunter

 

 

Hoping you had a wonderful Easter!

With love,

The Junges