Coburn Kids

Caden’s feedings have actually been going better.  He’s back to taking a full bottle about twice a day now!  Nothing’s really changed other then we put the feeding tube back in and I suppose he’s calmed down more now.  He loves to suck on his arm now, no idea why not the hands, fists, or fingers.  Just turns his head and get’s that arm up there to suck on.  It’s funny because it’s the most uncordinated thing you’ve ever seen.

This week was actually pretty quiet, we only had the OT come. Besides that didn’t really have to rush around to get out of the house or anything like that.  It was a nice break. Next week is more craziness but it happens to be a good thing as I’m getting bored!

I have about 40 boxes to ship out this week to across the nation and international. I run a web community and am sending some presents to my staff.  It’s kind of cool that I get to love what I do so much… I talk to people from Honk Kong, Singapore, Italy, Poland, Israel, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Denmark, the UK and from the east to west coast of the US every day. Just to even give you a better idea of who I get to work with I’ll give you a little snapshot of them. My staff consists of people from ages 14-52. Both male and female. Both gay and straight. In every time zone. Income ranges from $0 (college kids, and… well a 14 year old) to a multi-millionare. Yes, it’s my great pleasure and pride to actually be able to say that I get to tell someone who makes money I could only dream of what to do on a daily basis. Just to give you an idea, he bought himself a helicopter for his birthday (they cost $400k if anyone was wondering) and has a house staff of 40. My staff has jobs ranging from a college professor, computer analyst, consultants, a chef, college students, unemployed, engineers, steel worker, writers, graphic designers and more! They are married, single, divorced, have partners or are engaged. Some have children others childless (and some childless by choice).  They come from diverse religious backgrounds ranging from hindu, buddhism, atheist, wiccan, baptist, catholic, methodist, lutheran and agnostic. 

I’m pretty blessed to be able to communicate with and diversify myself with such a broad range of people that I truly respect. To hear their ideas, talk with them about their lives. Some have such different viewpoints on the world and values, I have to step back every day and realize that they come from different lifestyles, upbringings and environments. It’s one of the reasons I love what I do so much. Puts me in my place, certainly opens my mind and truly let’s me see the world from a different perspective.

So first off, Caden’s Cardiologist appointment. He did not have an ECHO but did get an x-ray and an EKG. Results? He’s okay in that department.  There is a left-side heart and ventricle enlargement but nothing we need checked until he’s 3. So scratch that off the list as a possible problem.

Which brings us back to sqaure one on his eating. The OT wanted us to take out his NG tube during the day and just put it in at night. Which is torture for Caden. So then we went to his Pediatrician on Monday and he recommended to just take it out completely and we could monitor his weight closely. Yeahhhhhh….. that hasn’t worked. He’ll take 1/2 his feeding then stop. Can’t even force more into him. So I figured, fine, we’ll wait for him to get hungry. Nope. He works himself up to a frenzy being so hungry that he just chews on the nipple then cries, chews then cries. It got so bad that he was screaming for hours straight. He’s too hungry, he won’t calm down.  But he also won’t eat! Which is something I have no experience with as my 2 girls have never had any problems. I really feel for all those parents of babies and toddlers that have to deal with this issue 6-8 times a day. The frustration is high. So we put the NG tube back in today, Thursday. It settled him down some.  But now he’s back to the crying while the food is going into his stomach. Apparently eating is optional to him.

He’s still gaining well though, 12lb. 10oz. at 6 months old. Still not on the charts but gaining nicely. (This week could be a setback who knows.) He’s 24″ long now, not on the charts there either. His head size is going a bit too well though, he’s on the 4th percentile which is a HUGE jump. So we’ll be watching that. When we left the NICU he still had his brain bleed that had not yet absorbed and some fluid up there. I don’t think it’s a concern but we’re watching it. He’s a great night sleeper though, we put him down between 7-8 pm, give him a midnight feeding, then he sleeps until 7 am.

Genevieve and Adessa are doing well, not much to report on that front. They’re sisters… so there’s fighting and hugs and screaming and dancing around. The both love school and karate. They both love their computer games and Spongebob. Adessa tries to do a “Patrick” impression that’s hilarious.  Sounds nothing like him, but the attempt is what can have you rolling and laughing. They both want to see the Spiderwick Chronicles.  I told them one of us would have to preview it first.

So next week Caden has his preemie follow-up on the 14th. Which means I’ll be spending the day up at the U of U. At least 4 hours, take driving into account and it’s up to 6. But it will be interesting to have him seen by all the doctors and maybe get a better clue as to how he is progressing and what we can do about his feeding.