Blessed

We are reminded every now and then about how blessed we are each and every day.  Several examples include the sicker babies that Hudson shares a room with, many with severe heart issues.  One such baby needed both parts of the left side of her heart reconstructed because they were not working.  Another example occurred today while I was in the elevator.

A gentleman asked me how my baby was doing and I responded, "Pretty good, its been a long but quick 7.5 weeks and we only have about 6 more weeks give or take."  I then explained to him briefly the situation and he just told me how sorry he was for me having to go through this and kept shaking his head in disbelief at the amount of time we have spent at Riley. 

I then asked him how was his little one, "Ok, I guess, we just got put on the heart transplant list on Friday so its a waiting game now.  Due to his type of blood and other specifics, the heart he needs is a rare one so it may take awhile, about 3 - 8 months or so."  By this time, the elevator door had been open for sometime and I wished him the best of luck and went to see Hudson. 

No matter how rough a day Hudson may have, it is reassuring and comforting to know that he will come home and does not have major organ issues.  He also has all of his limbs and all we need is time for him to grow big enough to reconnect his intestines and then get big enough to come home.  We are very blessed and fortunate that Hudson is going to be alright and we are constantly reminded how fortunate we are,

Onto today's progress..... He gained weight and is up to 2280 grams or 5 pounds 0.5 oz for those of you who do not like the metric system.  He is doing well after going back onto Vapotherm (we didn't think he was quite ready yet but gave it a try).  He grew about 1/2 an inch and measures 16 3/4 inches long. 

The best news of all.....he passed his 24 hour crib test.  What did that all consist of you ask???  Keeping his temperature up on his own for 24 hours while having his isolette top opened up resembling that of a crib.  Now Hudson has moved from his isolette to his big boy bed in the crib.  We are very proud of him.  The doctors rounded this morning and said he "is on cruise control". 

Enjoy the following pictures from today.

 

"I can't believe Mommy is smiling with a Purdue blanket wrapped around me. Daddy told me Purdue beat Iowa and IU lost to Wisconsin. Boiler up!!" - Hudson

 

"I can stare at Mommy for hours, I told her no monkeying around today." - Hudson

 

"I love my new home and pacifier. Look, no hands!! It's one of Daddy's tricks he taught me." - Hudson

 

"It' so loud in the crib. I have worked hard for this!! My parents told me I was a good boy today and passed my test.  I don't think it will be the only test I have to pass before I get to go home. Just a couple more, but first its nap time so I can grow some more." - Hudson