The Amazing Twin Adventure

We still don't have a definite answer on when Will is coming home, but his doctor says she thinks it will be more than two weeks. We've finally settled on a plan for his bottle feedings. He's currently taking as much as he can over a ten minute period. He took 20 cc's in the morning in about three minutes and would have taken more. Last night he took 48 cc's in ten minutes. They'll evaluate him to see if they should increase the time or the number of feedings so he can slowly work his way up to full bottle feeds. They're giving him until the middle of next week to see whast kind of progress he makes before we make a decision on the gastric tube. If he shows good progress they'll likely send him home with an NG tube for a little while until he's up to full feeds. They don't really want to send him home with the NG tube because it can cause problems, but if it's only going to be for a short time it's better than doing an invasive surgical procedure.
The doctor still has to discuss things with the trach nurse, the discharge coordinator and the other nurses before she can give us a planned discharge date, but she said at this point we should not cancel our beach reservations. I was really upset at the thought of not going to the beach, because that is what truly signifies summer to me. My whole family goes with several other families at the same time every year. And we've been doing this since I was a little girl. St. Simons is my favorite place on earth- I've told everyone to scatter my ashes down the beach when I die so I can be there forever! But yesterday morning I had an epiphany. If we don't go this year, it's not a big deal. There will be other years, and not going will mean that our baby is finally home. Our boys are all together and we are a complete family under one roof. I've been very scared about bringing Will home, but yesterday I finally felt the assurance that everything will be fine. we can do this, and even though there will be times that things are hard, there will be more times that everything is fine and normal (as normal as we ever get!)
I did Will's trach care yesterday and it went beautifully. I was confident that I knew what I was doing and it was easy. We got it done in 10 minutes without a hitch. Will was calm and relaxed and I felt infinitely more assured about my ability to care for him. It went so much faster and smoother with me doing it than when a lot of the respiratory therapists do it. The RT helping me said that I did a great job. She said she was impressed with my confidence and speed and thought I would have no problems at home. Let's hope so!