May 28

We are definitely going to have to get all of Will's doctors together to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Today his pulmonologist told me that he wants to try taking Will off of CPAP for 30 minutes to see how he does. It's the first step in weaning him off of ventilator support, but we're concerned that it's too soon. He was going to consult with the ENT, so I'll be anxious to hear what they decided tomorrow. I'm also concerned about his trach. It still has an awful lot of drainage that smells pretty funky. They checked it for infection today, so I hope they'll get lab results back tomorrow. On a good note, he's doing really well with his bottle feedings. We're excited about that because we really don't want him to have to have a gastric tube.
Hays has a fun new trick of screaming his head off after his 3 am feeding. He'd been doing great about going right back to sleep after his feedings, but the last two nights he has just fussed and fussed. He cries every time the pacifier falls out. And he's hooked on these stupid soothie pacifiers that they give them in the hospital. I don't know why babies like them so much because it's almost impossible for them to keep the darn things in their mouths. I did some research online and found the things called "wubbanubs." They're basically small beanie babies with a soothie pacifier attached to them. They provide just enough support to keep it in the baby's mouth. So far it has worked pretty well, but we'll see if it passes the 3am test. I got a green frog for Hays and a red dog for Will, so hopefully they will solve our paci problems.
Finally, for the bizarre fact of the day- stress causes production of breast milk to diminish, so my supply has been dwindling. I talked to the pediatrician about ways to increase it, and he suggested an herbal supplement called fenugreek. Here's the weird part- it makes your sweat and pee smell like maple syrup! How crazy is that?? So now I smell like a stack of pancakes. Just call me Mrs. Butterworth!!!