Got Milk?

The nurses in the Special Care Unit have been so wonderful over this last day and night. Gail, our favorite nurse by far, is pictured below and has been assigned to Gus both day shifts he's been there. She reminds me a lot of Scott's aunt, Wendy. Give thanks for Gail! She's been a God-send.


Yesterday afternoon they said that it would be OK for us to come and breastfeed Gus in the NICU after we told them that we didn't want them to supplement his IV with formula. So we are trying to get all that figured out...it's pretty complicated as some of you may well know. We fed him at midnight, 4 am, 8 am and then again at 11 am so far today. It's actually going fairly well and my milk is already starting to come in. We'd really like to be able to get some pumped to leave here for him before we have to go home (which will be at some point tonight), but I'm not quite able to get that much into a bottle yet. Please pray that it would come in quickly, so that we don't have to supplement with formula. The plan is to check out of the room around 8 or 9 pm, watch the Cards/Cubs game in the lobby (I love listening to Joe Morgan and John Miller) and then give him a midnight feeding before we head home. If we've got enough milk to leave, we'll come back in the morning. If not, I'm not sure if we'll come back at 4 am or not...and from where. We've talked about getting a hotel room so we don't have to drive from home in the middle of the night. The NICU nurses have been calling us when he starts to get fussy, so getting a call and then making him wait 20 minutes isn't ideal. We may have to let them give him some formula if the logistics just don't make sense.

As far as Gus goes, he seems to be showing signs of improvement. His fever is gone and his breathing has slowed down some, but not to the ideal level. The biggest hurdle to clear Monday morning will be his bloodwork. We don't really understand what they'll be looking for, but those results will determine whether or not he stays for another round of antibiotics or whether he comes home with us. So, please be praying for a positive reading. More than anything, we just want him to be healthy so if he has to stay another few days that's obviously best, but it sure would be great to get him unplugged and take him home.