The last thing standing in our way of bringing Brinkley home is bottle feeding. We had finally worked up to completing two bottles a day and then we progressed to trying three bottles. Lets just say that three is not Brinkley's lucky number. Not only did we increase the number of times we were trying to bottle feed, we also increased the volume. It was a perfect storm and now we don't complete any bottles.
Working with our team of doctors, nurses, and therapists we have tried some different things and nothing seems to be helping Brinkley finish his feedings. The poor little guy tries his hardest, but he wears himself out and just can't last long enough.
I have known for some time that the next step would be a G-tube. This is a feeding tube that goes directly to his stomach. He currently has a NG-tube which goes from the nose to the stomach. I was very hesitant about this type of tube and really did not want to go that route. This weekend, one of the nurses took time to sit down with us and show us the tubes and how they work. Let's just say I got a new perspective and feel very differently about it now. It is not nearly as scary or intimidating as I thought.
It's a good thing that she calmed my fears because I was greeted by a Neonatologist yesterday morning who wanted to talk to me about scheduling the surgery to insert the tube. Later in the day our Cardiologist came by and talked to me about the procedure and how it would effect things from his perspective. He encouraged us to proceed with it as it will help Brinkley to grow and be stronger for our pending heart surgery.
Today I met with our Resident and the Surgeon and Brinkley will be having surgery on Thursday morning. Please pray for him (and us). He will have to be put to sleep for the procedure and on a ventilator. When he comes off the ventilator we can begin using the tube gradually over a few days. During that time, the nurses will teach Bryan and I how to use and care for the tube. We anticipate this to be a one to two week process and then we will finally be able to bring our baby home!
We covet your prayers as any surgery is nerve racking, but it is even more so when it is your 5 week old 4 lb baby.
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