Best Valentines Day gift ever... Finley came home! We've been home a couple of weeks now and Fin and family are settling in... again. We were finally discharged after a MONTH in the hospital. Here's a rundown of his adventures in the PICU... after 10 days on the ventilator (this is in addition to the 6 weeks he was on the ventilator when he was first born), he decided to remove the tube himself and thankfully, after some serious chaos and a near "code blue" the docs got him stabilized and he remained off the ventilator with just a small amount of oxygen through a nasal canula. We spent the next week recovering and waiting for the next hurdle. He then had surgery to place a G tube (gastric tube) in his tummy, a nissan fundoplication to correct his severe reflux and an inguinal hernia repair. Four hours of surgery all together! Long story short, his recovery took longer than expected, we went back and forth on his feedings, weaning off the pain meds... it was tough, but Fin was tougher!!
That last week in the hospital was probably the hardest. Maybe even a bit harder than the time we spent in the NICU when he was first born. He's so much more aware of his surroundings now and during that last week, he had just had enough! Every time a doctor came in the room he would just start crying... he got so tired of being messed with and poked and prodded. By the time we got out of there, he was a bit of a nervous wreck just like his mommy! But, I'm happy to say that after being home for almost 3 weeks, our little man is flourishing!
He truly amazes me on a daily basis. I've learned not to worry about typical milestones and growth charts because Fin is a special baby with his own ideas about when he's ready to do things like rolling over and sitting up. The moment I start to worry about his progression, he will do something to remind me that all I have to do is be patient, wait and watch.... something miraculous happens almost everyday.
I will never take for granted every little forward movement he makes because in my eyes, he has already climbed a massive mountain. According to many doctors, we should have terminated our pregnancy... his omphalocele combined with other defects that were found on ultrasound led doctors to believe that Fin would either not make it or at the very least, would travel on a very rough road. Well, here we are rambling down that rough road and Fin is leading the way like a true warrior!
Rick and I want to thank everyone for all your kind and loving support. It means the world to us! Fin has fans all over the world... I know that he can feel the love coming from all of you! Here's a cute little video of our super hero... please enjoy!
Love to all! xoxoxo