Asher Update and a new Botero!

Asher
Thanks to the ever selfless nature of my Momma, who watches my 2 year old son everyday so we can slip out to the hospital, we were able to spend some time with little Asher this afternoon. He was fussy when we came in the room....not sure why because they had resumed his feeds and he was getting his Methadone again. He should have been right as rain. I asked the nurse if I could hold him while he was being fed and he hooked the feeding contraption up by a chair so that I could soothe little man. He ended up falling fast asleep for the majority of our visit, but I didn't mind. It's so nice to hold a sleeping baby ;)

Asher's feeding setup over his bed. The pump is set to slowly drip his formula into the empty syringe which allows for the food to drain, as well as for gas bubbles to escape from Asher's stomach. This is temporary until they make sure his stomach is working properly. The nissen which restricts reflux, also hinders burping....which is going to make feeing him real interesting for a while!

After a while of holding sleeping baby, Andrea, the nurse practitioner came in to relax and chat a bit. I got quite a few of my questions answered today regarding Asher's immunodeficiency, his lacking a thymus and what that means as well as some good news about his eating. I had noticed that his breathing hadn't been as loud and raspy as it was previously...and when he cries it is getting louder. She said that his vocal chords are improving and with some work from an oral motor specialist, we may be able to order another swallow study in a month or so. That means there is still a CHANCE that he can nurse!!! After the stomach surgery, I had all but given up the dream of nursing my baby and dug in to the idea of pumping for as long as possible so he could at least get the benefits of the milk. But nursing directly from momma is so much better for babies. Did you know that the mother's body will actually read information from the baby's saliva and produce antibodies to boost babies immune system against an illness it is fighting off. You don't get that kind of specialized milk production when you just pump and I want Asher to be as strong as he can be in regards to his immune system. I'm probably going to be a little neurotic in regards to people touching Asher and just wanted to put it out there right now. If I seem a little snappy or over protective, it is with good reason. Babies with Asher's chromosome disorder usually have immunodeficiencies which can send them to the hospital over infections that would just slow a normal kid down a bit. So, I love you all, but you can't touch the baby when he gets out! Not until we know exactly what we are dealing with here....and we are pretty sure he is going to be deficient to some degree because of his missing Thymus (the gland which allows your T-cells to mature and which teaches them not to attack it's own tissues). So, please don't get offended...it is for his own good.

A New Botero
After visiting with Asher, we headed just across the street to Winnie Palmer hospital to visit some friends of ours and their new son. Aiden Samuel was born on Saturday and we wanted to stop in and welcome the new little guy to our church family. He is a beautiful little boy with thick dark hair like his daddy's.

Edwin, Heather and baby Aiden. (Heather, you look GREAT for just having a baby!!!)

Edwin, you already have the daddy look! ;)

Well, that's all for now. I'm tired and still have to pump before I can get some sleep in. Blessings!
~Erika~