Things are Looking Up

Things are looking up. Our worst night with Caden was last Friday night. He just couldn't be comforted and was awake and crying all night long. But on Saturday afternoon a friend came over and held Caden for me so I could take a nap. Greg took Kyler on a bike ride, so it was nice and quiet at home. And, Saturday night, Caden slept really great. We didn't know if it was a fluke or not, but Sunday night he slept well also. Monday night wasn't quite as great, but not bad. And, Tuesday night was fantastic! Last night I had to be up with him more but overall I'm still getting more sleep than I was last week so that is great news!

Today, Caden had a cardiologist appointment. He weighed in at 8.8! Big boy! Of course he's still very small for his age. But he's gaining weight and that is the important thing. Dr. Van Gundy recommended increasing the volume on his feeds because now that he's getting bigger, he is needing more calories. And the last couple days he has been getting hungry awhile before the next scheduled feeding. So, it's good that we're increasing the amount. We want him to gain weight!

Also, his pulmonary pressures and his blood pressures are looking really good. The echo Caden had last week showed very good results! We are so happy about that. So, that means we are weaning down the medications now. One of the diuretics is going down to once/day (from twice/day). The other diuretic is going down to twice/day (from three times/day). And, the blood pressure medication is going to twice/day (from three times/day). So, there is only one medication that we are still giving three times/day and that is for the pulmonary hypertension. But he is weaning on that one simply by gaining weight and us not increasing the dosage.

We have an appointment at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital on April 13 with a pulmonary hypertension specialist to see what his evaluation is of Caden's progress. He might do an echo while we are there. If not, we will have another one at Dr. Van Gundy's office in the next month..

But we are so happy that things look as good as they do. We are so blessed. And, when we're not so sleep-deprived, we are able to recognize that fact a little easier! He is recovering so well from all he has been through. What a miracle!