4 Weeks Old!!

Gibson is 4 weeks old today!! We're so proud of him and what he's accomplished thus far. He's such an amazing and strong little man. He spent the day just chillin and healing. Not much went on today. Which is good! We keep getting told that it's deceiving how great he looks because he is still so sick. But it's true! He does look great. The pneumonia is getting better and his chest x-ray this morning showed that his lungs are clearing up. They are continuing with the chest PT (which he loves) and it seems to really be helping him out. His Carbon Dioxide level has come down some since his lungs are clearing up so they were able to wean the oscillator part of the ventilator down a few settings. They're still keeping it slow and steady, just how Gibson demands things to be done. We definitely want him healed fully before they start pushing him and working towards getting off of this ventilator again. He's still so fragile. We're convinced we have the cutest and most alert baby in the Unit. Dr. Null comes in bright and early every morning and checks on him first. They hang out and talk for a little bit. Dr. Null says he's happy with how alert he is and how great he responds to voices considering the two brain hemorrhages he's had from being on ECMO. This is a great sign! They increased his feedings to 5ccs over an hour. Still no poops on his own, but they gave him two enemas last night and they helped him out. We keep hearing from everyone that babies just get backed up sometimes and it'll start working how it needs to, but what everyone needs to understand is that his insides were in his chest and it's a lot more complicated than a normal baby. He's 4 weeks old and still hasn't passed much of the meconium yet and he's getting milk now. The girth of his abdomen is measured every few hours to make sure he's not distended too much. Him being on morphine doesn't help his bowels move so we're kind of stuck. Hopefully he has all the connecting parts to aid him with the digestive tract. We're definitely learning to have patience. Or at least that's what we're working on having. Even Dr. Null. Still, we're so proud of Gibson and couldn't be happier to be lucky enough to be his parents! He has changed our lives and we know he's changed many of yours. Happy 4 week Birthday man!!


Gibson lost his umbilical cord today! Cute little belly button!



Finally got to hold him!!!

Yesterday Gibson had a pretty mellow day.  Things went well. It seems that the pneumonia is under control and he is starting to recover.  Our nurse Bonnie (one of our favorite primary nurses) said she was going to ask Dr. Null if we could hold Gibson because we all need that bonding!  Well, today when we got here Bonnie had gotten the approval!  Yes, we were able to finally hold our baby!  Tears of joy spread from the hospital up through Idaho and down to Arizona.  We each were able to hold him for about 40 minutes and Gibson did so well!  He was so calm and didn’t get anxious or scared the whole time.  It has been a really long first month of life for Gibson, but to cuddle with his parents just made the whole thing worth it.  Actually, holding and feeling his soft skin on ours was the most amazing thing ever!  We thought we couldn’t love him more than we already do, but being able to hold, squeeze and kiss our little baby for the first time just made us love him even more.  He is the sweetest little thing and even though it was only a few minutes it meant the world to us for the nurses and doctors to LET us do that.  We can’t wait for the next time we’ll have the opportunity to have him in our arms for those precious few minutes.

Gibson did have a rough morning however.  His right lung still has tons of secretions in there.  In an x-ray the lungs are darker grey with light grey lines running vertical. The top half of his right lung, so the good one, was white.  The white is all the mucus build up in there or the secretions.  His oxygen levels have gone up and some of the vent settings are higher to help him breathe easier and he won’t have to work so hard with the coughing. They are doing chest PTs every 6 hours. This is where they pound softly on his chest to help break some of that mucus up so they can get that right lung to re-inflate like it has been.  

                All in all things are on the up and up right now for Gibson.  They have turned his feeding up to 4ccs an hour in hopes that his digestive tract will all start working properly.  The amount of bile coming back up through his stomach is also going down so as soon as we get some bowel movements everything should start going the right direction.

                After being able to hold him we know there are so many more positive things to come in his future.  It makes the thought of being here till July or later a little easier to accept.  We love our little man so much and are so proud of the example he has been to us.  We are always looking forward to each day to see him and to the day we can introduce him to his real home.  We love and appreciate all of you that have helped us out with your love and support.



Gibson's just hanging out in his snuggy.



Recovery Day

Gibson had a pretty steady day today.  Some labs came back and his white blood count has gone down.  Dr. Null is fairly confident that they have found the right antibiotic for the pneumonia. It’ll just be a while now for that to really get out of his system.  Very good news though!  Once the pneumonia gets out of his system they feel that Gibson will start making really good progress.  This was just a small dip and twist in the roller coaster that we are on.

The real stumper now is why there is still bile coming back up from his suction tube in his stomach.  He seems to be holding down the feeds well; just can’t figure out why there is so much bile coming up.  They’ll put down 6 ccs of milk into his intestine and get 16 ccs out of bile.  No one really knows what’s going on with that. They’re just going to keep trying new ideas.

                Gibson is learning what he needs to do that is best for his health.  Just like a kid when they’re hungry they’ll let their parents know, Gibson will let the nurses know when it is time to suction out his lungs or his stomach.  He doesn’t panic anymore just tries to cough and waves his arms a little to get our attention.  Then by watching him we know if it’s his stomach that’s bothering him or the mucus in his   lungs bothering him.  He is doing awesome. He’s doing what he needs to  get stronger, but not too much and not over doing it.  We know he’s only a month old but he already has such a big personality and has changed our lives in so many ways! We love our little Gibson!

Happy Easter

This weekend was many ups and down, few steps forward few steps back.  Good steps first.  Gibson is handling his feeding pretty good.  His anatomy in his abdomen is just different than the normal and the doctors are slowly trying to figure out the best thing for Gibson.  The NJ tube seems to be working but his bowels are moving very slowly.  They have been giving him enemas, suppositories and an oral form dripped into his stomach to try and get his bowels moving.   It is working very slowly but it is starting to produce bowel movements.   The main problem with the feeding is for some reason it is causing Gibson to throw up bile.  This is a huge concern because of aspirating into his lungs.  Today they have put the Andersen Tube back down in his stomach (that’s the one that suctions his stomach constantly), to prevent him from throwing up but are still dripping the milk into his intestines.  Just little adjustments here and there in hopes that everything will start working normally and move to an OG tube that just puts the milk straight into the stomach.

We’ve had to go up some also on the ventilator settings these last few days.  Gibson has been having a ton of secretions coming up out of his lungs and they have sent those to have cultures done.  The doctors are saying that it’s a form of pneumonia.  To what degree they aren’t sure right now, but they are treating it heavily with antibiotics.  They have sent a new sample of the secretions down to get a recent culture to see exactly what is in there.  A respiratory infection like pneumonia is very serious in anyone and especially in Gibson’s case with his one good lung and small lung the doctors are taking this very serious and doing everything Gibson needs.  You can tell Gibson is very tired all the time and just wants to get better and come home.  His sad little eyes are so hard to look at, they are just saying pick me up and help me.  One of the toughest things for a parent is to look into those sad eyes and not be able to do anything about it.  We have all our trust in the doctors that they know what is best for Gibson and have faith he will keep fighting.  It is just a waiting game again, trial and error. 

Gibson had a great Easter!  The Easter Bunny was so good to him.  He got books, stuffed animals, clothes and blankets.  All his little stuffed animal friends are all hanging around his bed keeping him company all the time.  His favorite still seems to be the disco ball. We can’t move that or he’ll stick his little pouty lip out and look all over for it.  Gibson had some grandparents come visit today.  He was such a strong little boy through it all.  He knows he is very loved and to make sure that love (and presents) keeps coming his way, he would open his eyes for each of them.  They just fall in love a little more each time and he knows that means more presents.  He’s already learning how to work the grandparents over for presents and goodies.

We were trying to get Gibson to look at the camera but he just won't take his eyes of the Disco Ball.

Thanks again for everything!!  Happy Easter.

Three weeks old!!

Gibson had a great birthday present today, the NJ tube went in! He started feeds today at 2pm and every three hours they'll continue to feed.  They'll slowly up the doses as his digestive tract starts to work properly.  He is handling the feeding well right now, little gagging but nothing has come back up yet.  All good things!

They gave Gibson a blood transfusion today.  Sadly they had to give him another IV too. They found a vein at the bottom of his left foot above his toes, it almost looks like a 6^th toe. His hematocrit count was a little low, which is why they needed do to a blood transfusion. Usually they would just wait for the body to take over and start making it, but where he is still very sick they want to keep the count higher than most.  He is also having very heavy secretions coming out of his lung into the breathing tube.  They have sent a sample of this to the lab to get a culture. It’ll still take a few days but there is a lot of bacteria and white blood cells in the sample they sent.  They are treating him with more antibiotics to prevent any sickness from reaching him.  This is always a concern when you are intubated for long periods of time, and he can’t afford something reaching his lungs.  He still looks very healthy and isn’t showing any other signs, but they are taking every precaution to prevent this from turning into something.

Gibson’s CO2 levels have been getting too high over the last 24 hours, and he was breathing really hard trying to ventilate his body of the carbon. He shouldn't have to work that hard while on the ventilator. It should be doing most the work for him.  Doctors were worried that the added pressure from the fluid and air in his chest cavity might be preventing him from ventilating and causing him to work harder than needed.  When they did the x-ray they learned that this theory was true and also that the left lung had a very small hole in it.  The hole was caused from the ventilator settings being too high for the left lung but perfect for the right side (a very fine balance the doctors are always working on).  This will heal itself but they had to put a small chest tube in through his left side between a couple ribs to drain out some of the air and fluid. It will give the left lung some extra room to expand and help Gibson out.  Where he doesn’t have much lung in the left side of his chest, the body will want to fill that space so it fills with fluid. It’s a normal, natural thing to happen in an empty space. The body wants it to be filled and protected. Gibson did awesome through the surgery and is feeling much better.  His CO2 levels came down instantly and are within range of where they need to be.  His breathing is much calmer and he looked very relaxed when we left.  We were worried about having to put a tube into his chest to keep it drained, sounds scary! Seeing Gibson after made us very relaxed and happy that they did it.  He never ceases to amaze us!

NJ Day

                We got his bed all decorated with some Easter stuff to make it festive for Gibson.  Every Wednesday they have a lunch for parents with kids in the NICU and mom won a soft stuffed bunny so Gibson got to take his picture with the Easter Bunny today too! 

At the NICU parent lunch they had a family come talk to us about their experience and it just so happens that their son had a left sided diaphragmatic hernia just like Gibson.  It was great to hear their story and what they went through.  So far our experiences have been very similar.  He had to do ECMO and his left lung was also very small. They were worried about his endurance once he gets older.  Their boy is now 8 years old, loves to play basketball, soccer and other sports.  The only lasting effects that he has from his hernia are the scars and he loves to show them off.  Running and playing is no extra effort for him.  It was great to talk to them and see their boy running around and laughing.  He was excited to know he is helping out a baby that had the same thing he did. He also thought “Gibson” is a cool name. We know from talking with them it is still going to be a long up-hill battle, but it’ll all work out in the end.

Dr.  Null is really anxious to start feeds with mom’s milk.  The feeding tube to his stomach isn’t going to do the trick right now so they decided to do what is call an NJ tube.  This goes in through the nose through the stomach and actually into his small intestine.  His stomach still needs some time, but they want to get his intestines started with consistent feeds to get him ready.  Milk will be the best thing for his healing and to eliminate some of the drips that Gibson is on.  Usually NJ tubes are fairly easy and slide right into the small intestine from the stomach.  However, nothing is easy with Gibson, due to his flip flopped anatomy in his abdomen the NJ tube wasn’t going in.  They tried once around 4pm. Thought that it felt in place. After two x-rays they determined that it was just kinked in his stomach.  So they pulled it out and retried about an hour later.  Guess what?  Same result!  Gibson, like any of us, absolutely hated them threading a tube through his nose and trying to push it into his bowel.  We were told there’s a nurse on at night that is “the pro at NJ’s” and never misses.  Well, the pro couldn’t get it in either!  So they tortured poor Gibson three times trying to get the tube down with no luck.  It was so sad for us to have to hold him still and watch him have to go through that discomfort over and over again. Unfortunately for Gibson they are going to take him downstairs to radiology where they will use a Floral X-ray method to get the NJ tube in the right place.  They can watch through x-ray where the tube is going and maneuver it from there to insure it’ll be in the right place.  Assuming that all works out, Gibson will be getting food tomorrow into his bowels.

Everyone here has a hardship and problems with their babies and children. Since we’ve been here Gibson has been one of the most critical newborns. It’s been super hard and we’re so grateful to be his parents even though it isn’t exactly what we had in mind for our sweet baby. We met a couple today that had to let their baby go because her quality of life wouldn’t have been great. They had to say good bye to her and our heart aches for them. We told them what we have heard so many times. “You have given her the best gift you could have by giving her a body. It is the greatest thing you can do for your child. We’re so sorry you have to go through this, but families are forever and you’ll see her again someday and raise her when the time comes.” We’re so thankful for our little miracle baby and the progress he has made and will continue to make. We have faith that we will take him home and be able to raise him here in this life. We can’t help but cry for them and feel so sorry that we have our baby and they are going home without theirs. You grow close to these families even though we’ve never met before and come from different places. When you think you have it hard someone else has it much worse. We all need to count our blessings and be thankful for what we do have and try to be happy for our own situations.

Chillin

It was a pretty calm day today for little Gibby.  He just slept most the day and tried to get caught up from his busy day yesterday.  The barium from the Upper GI test passed all the way through and mom was able to change his first diaper in a few days.  It seems like everything in his digestive tract is good. It’s just slow from being moved around a few different times.  It’ll still be a few days before they do any feedings, but they want to get that in as soon as they can.  Mom’s milk really is the best thing for him and once they can get a good consistent feed going they are confident it will help Gibson heal and speed some of the weaning process up. 

They pulled his catheter out today too. We’re excited for one less cord tying us up from getting to him and worrying about.  Now we just need to master the art of getting a little boy’s diaper off, cleaning him and getting the new one back on without taking a shot of pee right in the face.  Mom did a great job today of protecting herself and Gibson from getting wet.  I (dad) didn’t get a chance to change him after the catheter was out but I am sure by morning he’ll have brewed something up special, just for me.

All in all, Gibson had a really good calm relaxed day today.  Mom bought some Easter decorations for his little bedside to make things look a little more appealing and festive around the NICU.  We love all of you that have sent your thoughts and prayers our way!  Still a long road/rollercoaster  ahead of healing and getting stronger but with all your love and support we know that we’ll get through this.  Thanks again for everything. We love you all!

Long day for Gibson

Saturday: Things were pretty calm all day Saturday.  They were able to wean a few more things on his ventilator.  We are getting closer to thinking about changing to a different type of breathing system.  However, we did hear today that they are concerned about his pulmonary artery going to his left side. They will check if there is an artery formed and whether or not there is great blood flow getting to his left lung. If there isn’t blood flow getting to his lung they will have to remove it to avoid any infection.  It will continue to expand, but without any blood flow it won’t be oxygenating anything so it’ll be taking air away that should be going to the right side.  They will do a test for that on Monday to see what they need to do.  We just want to get the weekend over with so Dr. Null is here.  He knows Gibson the best and knows when he’s ready for change and the doctor on for the weekend doesn’t understand how sensitive Gibson is to change. Dr. Null is brilliant and helped invent the oscillator part of the ventilator that helps get rid of CO2. No one knows pulmonary hypertension like he does. We’re so lucky to have him as our Dr. and friend. He’s great and hugs us every day. He’ll even call in the middle of the night when he’s not on to check on our little man.

Kaydi read books to Gibson today and he loved it.  He was moving his arms all over the place and looking at the books and back at Kaydi.  It was so cute!!!

Sunday: Today the weekend doctor made some extreme changes to his ventilator.  Gibson tolerated it ok.  She just doesn’t understand Dr. Null’s thinking behind everything and wanted to speed the process up.  We got upset but Gibson did well with the changes that were made.  Gibson did have a little episode this afternoon.  We need his head to be adjusted every few hours to move some of the edema out and help prevent bed sores.  Gibson just doesn’t really like changing positions so he started getting nervous and started to breath over the ventilator.  When he does this his sats go way down and he gets really pale and blue.  Once he is turned back to his left side his sats come right back up and he mellows back out.  We both have been in the room when he does this and it is one of the scariest things to watch as a parent.  Seeing your kid change colors and struggling and knowing you can’t do a single thing is so hard. 

Other than that things went well and we’ll wait till tomorrow to see what all needs to happen.  They are worried about Gibson’s intestine having some sort of obstruction.  They are getting a lot of bile out when they suction his stomach and we haven’t had a bowel movement in a few days.  They are thinking that his intestine has developed some scar tissue from being moved around so much and is blocking anything from flowing through.  We will learn more tomorrow and what will need to happen with his lung and intestine.

Kaydi started to read to Gibson again today and soon as she started he just closed his eyes and acted like he was sleeping.  It was so funny.  Once she put the book down he would open one eye to see what was going on.  He’s already picking on his mom. Look out mom!

Today:  8:00am Gibson needed his ET tube that goes into his mouth that breaths for him changed out so they wanted to see how he would do on a High Frequency C-pap.  They tried putting him on the C-pap but he didn’t do well so they re-intubated him and he is back on the ventilator that we have been on.  Not a big deal they just wanted to see how he would react to it.  He just needs more time. We’ll get there.

12:30 The concern with blood flow to his left lung has been checked and the pulmonary artery is developed and there is good blood flow getting to his left lung. YAY!  Dr. Null said this means that his left lung will continue to grow and develop and will be able to help out some with the oxygenating. 

Next concern is his intestine.  What is blocking fluid from moving through?  Dr Null has scheduled an Upper GI test to be done.  They put some fluid down through his stomach and watch it move through to see where the blocking is happening.  There are several different options to solve this problem.  If there is scar tissue formed causing the blockage they will have to do surgery to cut that portion out.  They are going to transport Gibson downstairs for the testing and while they are down there they are going to do a CT to see how bad his bleeding was in his brain.  Appointments are set to start at 3:00 to look at his brain bleed and blockage in his intestine. 

Results are back from the CT and Upper GI test.  The Upper GI showed that the Anderson Tube that suctions his stomach was actually down into his small intestine.  The reason for so much bile coming up is because that tube was right where bile is produced in his intestine.  They are hoping that was the problem but will need to wait for the barium to pass through his digestive tract completely.  They will monitor this through the night with x-rays and if everything passes though ok without any problem  and the output is clearer in the Anderson tube, they will put a feeding tube back in and start feeding in the next few days.  The CT was also good.  They confirmed that there was a bleed in his Cerebellum and in his Ventricles.  Nothing too serious was found, so they will continue to watch the swelling in his Ventricles.  The Cerebellum is a part of your brain that is located at the back of your head and at the top of your spine.  It controls coordination and balance.  How it will effect Gibson is unknown until we reach that point in his life. The bleed however only occurred on one side of the Cerebellum so there could be no long-term effects.

Very busy day today with a lot going on for poor Gibson, he did well through all the tests. Gibson is such a trooper and is doing great through this all.  He makes us keep fighting and stay happy and upbeat.  Every time his little eyes look at you, you can’t help but get the chills and want to pick him up and cuddle him.  Our nurse put a little disco ball above his bed and he loves it!! He can hardly take his eyes off to look at us. He is so, so cute!!

Again, thank you for all the support, phone calls, texts, comments, FB messages/posts, cards, money, food, thoughts, prayers, fasts, and love!! The three of us appreciate it all so much!

April 15, 2011 Two Weeks Old!!

                Yesterday was Gibson’s 2 week birthday!  He loved his birthday and had a pretty good day.  He is very picky with the way his head is positioned and when the nurses move him to the wrong position he lets them know.  Around 5:00pm the nurse decided to try and move him a little to get some of the edema out of his head.  He didn’t really care for that and his way of telling us is to drop his oxygen levels and they were in the 50’s. Had a little scare but moved him right back to where he was and problem solved.  He definitely knows what he wants and likes.  What really causes this is when the bevel at the end of the breathing tube gets turned slightly and more oxygen is being pushed into his left lung and it can’t handle that kind of pressure from the ventilator right now.  Good news though, his left lung is slowly growing and will eventually be able to help out some. 

Gibson’s therapist said that giving him a positive oral experience might help prevent oral aversion because everything that has gone into his mouth has been traumatic.  She recommended getting flavored chap stick as a positive thing for him.  He seems to really enjoy this and loves licking his lip and drooling everywhere.   

                Today they removed the ‘Anderson Tube’ that goes into his stomach.  The AT suctioned his stomach so that his bowels didn’t get backed up.  They have replaced the AT with a feeding tube in hopes that the bile will now start working its way through the intestine.  Once his digestive tract gets back to normal from being moved around so much they will start giving him small amounts of mom’s milk.   This might not happen for a few more days but he’s making great progress.  The Dr. says that giving him milk will help him heal faster and could potentially speed up the weaning process because he will be getting stronger.  We were able to start giving him a binky too.  He didn’t really latch onto it but it is a start in helping him realize not everything is bad that is going to happen to him.  They like him to get used to sucking on a binky especially while they are feeding him through a tube so that he associates sucking with filling his belly.  Hopefully this will help him learn to feed when we get to that point.  Learning to eat because of oral aversion is a very timely process and is a high concern for babies that have been intubated for long periods of time. 

We got to put on booties!  His little toes are always so cold.  Dr Null (Gibson’s doc) said he is very happy with his progress and especially with how little of oxygen they have to give him at such an early point in the journey.  We are bouncing around 28-32% which is where any baby with two lungs that needs a little help would be at.  His one lung is definitely very strong and is willing to carry most of the work load.

He’s been our inspiration, hero, and example for the past 2 weeks. He’s been through so much in his life already. More than most people ever go through their whole lifetime. He’s truly a superhero. He’s our little Superman! Our friends from St. Anthony mailed us this onesie and Dr. Null said it’s the perfect outfit for him to leave the hospital in.

April 13, 2011

 Today started and ended great.  This time dad got to hold Gibson as they changed out bedding!  Just that little bit helps fill our void of wishing we could snuggle him.  He is starting to build some ‘reserve’ as the nurses call it.  This means as they do their cares on him like moving his head, suctioning out his mouth and lung and cleaning him up to look good, he is holding his oxygen levels well.  They were able to wean another one of the drips today and turn down a few more settings on his ventilator.  He is handling all of this really well.  They also have turned down his morphine and versed drips (pain med and sedative).  The doctor would like to start seeing him wake up a little more to move and breathe some.  This would help get some of the swelling from fluids off and strengthen his lungs for when it is time for them to take over.   Gibson is such a little fighter and he knows when he needs to start fighting.  The hardest part of turning down the pain meds is seeing him with discomfort.  His eyes get so sad and he sticks his little lip out.  It is the hardest thing to see as a parent when your kid is in pain and you can’t do a single thing about it.  We have had the best nurses these last few days and that really helps us to relax a bit.  They also changed out his tape that has been over his upper lip that holds the ventilator tubing down.  We were able to see for a split second what his face looks like without tape.  Let me tell you, he is even cuter!!  Can’t wait to kiss those little lips!  It is going to still be a few weeks till there will be any talk of changing to a different ventilator where Gibson will do more of the work but we are moving in the right direction now.

We are so grateful for everyone who is supporting us!  You guys make this time a little easier.  We appreciate it so very much and hope that one day we will be able to repay you in some way.

April 12, 2011

Gibson is doing great.  He is finally getting some consistency with his nurses and it seems to make everything a little easier for him and mom and dad.  Last night our nurse, Jan, wanted to change his bedding and put a scale under him.  Very exciting time for us because mom got to hold Gibson while they moved the old bedding out and put new bedding in.  Mom was so excited!! Having a kid and not being able to hold him has been one of the hardest things in the world!!  Just touching his cute little feet or hands really isn’t enough.  Since they have placed the intestine back into his abdomen Gibson is a little more temperamental with his positioning and touch.  You can’t really blame him though. It seems like every other day they have to do something extreme and I think he is finally just sick of it and wants to get better. 

Today they moved his IV out of his foot so both feet and right hand was free of IVs.  This allowed us to do molds and stamps of his feet and hands.  It was a little hard with all the wires and cords everywhere, but I think they turned out great considering the circumstances.   They also have turned off two drips he needed for his blood pressure so we are down to 7 drips instead of 10.  Tomorrow morning they are planning on taking one more away.  Fewer drips means fewer IVs and fewer IVs means fewer times they have to stick him because the IV has gone bad.  Just a rough estimate on how many IVs they have put in, 4 in his left foot, 5 in his right foot, a pick line and 4 IVs in his right hand and 3 in his head. L Poor guy.  Currently we have an IV in his right hand and head.  He has what they call an art line in his left wrist and a Broviac going into his chest.  Slowly, we hope to see some cords disappearing.

The idea that we will have to be doing the NICU seen for several more weeks and months is really getting to us.  You don’t know how much all the love and support we have felt from family and friends have really helped us.  We appreciate it more than you know!

Thanks to Grandpa Jones for keeping the blog updated during these last few crazy days we have had with Gibson.  Gibson really appreciates all the love and support from his grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.   We love you all.

Things are going very well here in the NICU.  Gibson is always looking out for everyone else already.  Last night he was looking at his mommy while she was telling him stories.  He got a serious look with his eyes, opened his hand and looked at his hand then his mom.  Once she put her finger in his hand he gave it a good squeeze, closed his eyes and went to sleep.  He is just so dang cute!!

Today the surgeon was planning on reducing his silo by putting some of his intestine back into his abdomen.  The plan was to push as much in until it got tight and leave the rest on the outside.  When the surgeon started to press his bowel into his abdomen it all ended up going in and they were able to completely close his incision.  This is a great thing! Less chance of infection and makes the healing process a little faster.   Gibson did awesome through the surgery and held his sats where they needed to be.  The weaning process is still slow and steady just the way Gibson wants it.  The Doctors say they will just listen to Gibson and when he’s ready they will wean.   He has had technically 4 surgeries in his young age (on and off ECMO, the repair on the diaphragm and the closing of the incision today). He’s already getting what he wants and he’s only 11 days old.  Hopefully he doesn’t make this a habit.

Swelling in his ventricles has gone down a little from the other day and today’s x-ray shows that his right lung is actually growing!  Dr Null said he probably won’t be doing the Tour De France but he’ll be able to get out and run around the neighborhood with his buddies.