I haven't updated since before Tripp came home.. sorry about that for those of you who check for updates on him! Hopefully, you took the notion that "no news is good news" .. but lots of good things are happening!:o)
Tripp came home on October 15th and its been all about him since that day with the weekly Dr's visits here and there. When he came home his weight was around 7 1/2lbs and he's now almost 13 1/2lbs.. he's finally starting to catch up with other babies close to his age! After he came home we had 3 overnight stays at the hospital for esophageal dilation, which is where they go down his throat and stretch the scar tissue from his surgery to open his esophagus a little wider. He had his last one in December and so far has been doing well, even taking some solids now. But he'll eventually have to have another series of dilations once he starts to take table food. We also spent a week in the hospital at the end of January because he got RSV with pneumonia. Luckily, it didn't get too terribly bad. He was on oxygen for a few days and was able to wean off it as the virus ran its course. Thankfully, he's been getting the synagis shots monthly.. I think that helped it to not be as severe as it could've been. The ROP in his eyes totally cleared up around November but he had to start wearing glasses due to being farsighted. As strong as the lenses are you would think the poor boy is blind! lol But after he started wearing them, he began reaching and grabbing for more things in his line of sight!
Developmentally, he's doing amazing! The only thing he's delayed on is sitting up by himself. This is mainly due to the fact that he still has his mickey g-tube in his belly, so he HATES tummy time and will immediately roll to his back if you put him on his tummy. But therapy started to come working with him 3 weeks ago and we are trying some other exercises to strengthen his core muscles so that he can sit by himself. He's wanting to talk so badly its killing him. He'll look at you while you're talking and try to mimic what you are doing with your mouth but hasn't quite figured out how to make the different sounds yet, but he will jabber your head off when he wants to!
His next surgery is on April 12th.. he's getting his incomplete cleft lip fixed and also finally getting circumcised. Poor boy isn't going to know what happened to him! :o( I'm excited and nervous about this.. I'm ready for it to be over, but I sure am going to miss his big beautiful smile.. He'll still have a beautiful smile, but it will be different from the one I've been getting each morning when he wakes up for the past 5 months. But I know its for the best for him!
I'll try to be better about updating in the future! Thanks for keeping our little miracle man in your thoughts and prayers! We are so blessed to have him.. he has such a happy spirit! I know he's going to do wonderful things in his life as he grows! <3
