Officially counting down now, we are in disbelief that we actually have a goal date. Of course, it may also still change. But we will count down anyway. We are in a full scurry, trying to find time to get the house in order, finish our training, get all the paperwork and business done and still spend quality time with both boys.

Trevor went to a garage sale this morning to visit with the neighbors while it was still cool outside. He did an exceptional job with his sunglasses, they didn’t bother him one bit.

The 20 miles of freeway to get to see Brendan is too much for Trevor, it knocks him out every time!

Brendan was also asleep when we arrived so I just sat and appreciated the brief quiet moment.

Brendan is making improvements in his play time and reaching for toys.

Daddy gets some play time with Brendan

Trevor has another few new sounds he loves. One is to yell out a happy “ahhhhhhhhhh” and see if he can get a nice steady crescendo to maximum volume. It is loud! The other is a gargling sound that makes him laugh at himself. I can’t even do it.
This video is full of funny sound, flexibility and unfortunate angle.

And for something completely random, I do not understand this extreme palm tree trimming, it looks so stupid!

I didn’t take my camera with me yesterday to the hospital so I had to use my phone for pictures. Today I made up for it by taking far too many pictures! It took me forever to pick out which ones to use for the blog. Trevor is sleeping very restlessly tonight and has woke up twice crying, it is very unlike him. The way that he is squirming and rubbing his head, I can only guess that his little soon-to-be-teeth are bothering him. So he sits asleep in the bouncy seat near me as I finish the blog late.

Brendan had a great day today, without too much drama! He did a one hour sprint on the trach collar, Daddy gave him a bath and then did a trach change. He spent a few hours in a swing and a few hours with his brother entertaining him in bed. Our nurse interview went well and it looks like we should have someone to start the day he comes home, which will be very good! Little by little, it all falls in to place.

So on to tons of pictures!

Trevor is such a big boy now and makes sure that I know it. He is starting to sit stronger every day!

Quinn really likes Trevor.

See? Big! Thinks he can do it all by himself!

On to the hospital – Brendan has his name on the door all pretty!

Brendan was in the swing. Trevor moved in with his pack n play. (I like the monkey and lizard chain hanging from the bed, so does Brendan!)

Just me and my squid swinging!

Some kids just never learn… Not sure if you can tell in the photos, his new tube is one size larger than before so hopefully there won’t be clogging issues anymore. He did not pull this one out again.

Peekaboo

Look Ma! No hands!

There were so many pictures of the boys together today. I snapped a ton to try to catch them both being cute at the same time. I ended up with too many cute ones, it was hard to pick my favorites!

And lastly, a short video. Brendan loves to watch Trevor, Trevor just wanted Brendan’s lion!

All the changes have gotten me totally exhausted. Brendan had a fantastic night, slept well and was very smily with the nurse. He had a very fun physical therapy evaluation with Trevor. They lie in bed and kicked each others feet and played with some really fancy blinky rattles.
The staff in the new place has been very friendly and helpful, but it is a constant struggle to get all the supplies that Brendan needs. They are ordering his ostomy stuff after two people had to fully investigate what parts is he using and ask me what he needs. You would think that it would be recorded somewhere like is his giant chart. At his 9am medication deployment, the feeding tube got clogged again. They tried the Cola trick, they tried putting the guide wire back down through it and nothing would budge the jam. They did not have the right weighted tube to replace it. So he was put on IV fluids and a new tube was ordered to be sent from the old hospital.
Three hours later he was behind on several of his medications. The tube finally arrived.
Nothing gets Brendan more upset that peeling tape off of his cheeks and putting a new tube in his nose. Once I got him calmed down, he got meds and some food in his belly. Within 30 minutes, the food pump was alarming that the tube got clogged again. The last one was because some of his meds are tablets and the nurses don’t crush them up enough. This time there were no tablets to blame.
After fighting with it again, the tube got pulled out and checked. It was not a clog this time, but a defect that made it kink.
A second tube down the nose and an hour of rocking and patting a very unhappy baby and then everything was fine. (He gets a pretty aqua colored bead for each removal and reinsertion of the tube)

After all that chaos, he was back to a smiling happy Brendan again. He should sleep very well again tonight. In all that craziness, Trevor managed to get a 2.5hr nap in!

Here is Brendan’s new temporary home:

It is a smaller room than his other one, and it is setup for two patients with a curtain in between. There is no guarantee, but they will not put a roommate in with Brendan unless it is absolutely necessary. Right now there are other beds available.

Trevor says, “Brendan already has a roommate!!”

Poor Brendan’s meds plus his cola that didn’t save him this time.

All better!

Time for a nap

We found out today that the 28th being the holiday would not be a possible going home day because the delivery companies won’t be working to bring his oxygen and supplies. So we have to shoot for the 29th instead. No baby home for my birthday!
Bill and I will be taking our CPR training this weekend and checking off our training progress sheet to see what else we need to do to get ready. In the morning we are interviewing a nurse for the night duty once Brendan is here.

check check check.. getting everything together bit by bit!