Gabe Me a Code

For some reason, I remember reading this Garfield cartoon  as a kid, and it has really stuck with me.  I guess I thought it was pretty funny!  Well, poor sweet Finn is struggling through a cold!  He is just so congested! He can’t eat, he can’t sleep well.  *sigh*  It is really heartbreaking! And tiring for Mommy and Daddy, too.  He is only eating about ½ at one sitting of what he was, so he is also eating 2x as often.  Add to that the getting so congested in his sleep that it wakes him up, and you get the picture…  This started about a week ago, so we are really hoping we are on the downhill side.  

In the meantime, there is some good that came of all this!  When you are congested, and your oxygen flow is only 1/32 L, there comes a point when the cannula in your nose plus the swelling is more of a fight than a help.  So, after asking about that Monday night when we saw our pediatrician at a school function (I know, I’m *THAT* mom), we started weaning him pretty aggressively.  He was off oxygen support most of the day Tuesday – only putting it back on for feedings, then was on overnight on Tuesday.  Wednesday, we followed the same routine, but I know I forgot to hook him back up for at least 2 feedings.  Plus, he had completely removed the cannula and tape in time for his middle of the night feeding, so we just left it off the rest of the night.  Thursday, we went on another excellent adventure (more on that in the next paragraph), and we had him on O2 in the car to and from, but the rest of the day he was off – including overnight!  So, by Friday, we has COMPLETELY OFF OXYGEN SUPPORT!  He has done great since then – even with fighting the cold!  So, here are the first few pictures of Finn with no oxygen support!  No more cannula and no more adhesive on his face!

Room Air test on Tuesday

 

No Cannula on Wednesday

 

So, Thursday was one of the BEST days I have had in a very long time!  After we got up and got around to get the big kids off to school, Britt, Finn and I loaded up and headed for Edmond.  First stop, my friendMel’s house!  Melissa is a sorority sister of mine and thanks to facebook we have been able to keep up with each other over the last few years.  She had agreed to watch Finn for a couple of hours while Britt and I got to go to a special event for our church.  I am so thankful for loving friends who care about our family!  She and Finn has a good time getting to know each other – and the treats we brought for her and her 1 year old to share helped, too!  Next stop, LifeChurch.tv Edmond.  Pastor Steven Furtick  (author of Sun Stand Still, lead pastor of Elevation Church in North Carolina, my own personal spiritual leader) was scheduled to tape two sermons on God’s Favor, and the host team coordinator at our Stillwater campus MADE SURE we had a spot for this taping since we are both such HUGE Furtick Fans (Finn is the result of many Sun Stand Still prayers)!  It was everything we expected, and more.  He is such an amazing man of God, and excellent preacher, and just plain fun to be in his presence!  The first week of his talks, “Finding Favor” can be found this week on Church Online.  Don’t miss next week, when he talks about “Walking in the F.O.G.”  It’s incredible!

After we came down off that spiritual high a little bit (I have heard week 1 twice now, and I’m still high – might watch it again this afternoon), we went back to Mel’s house to get our baby, and just chatted for a bit.  It was nice to be in the presence of another Mommy and to just talk about our kids.  But after some time there, it was time to minister to another Mommy I have recently been introduced to.  Next up – Mercy NICU – Finn’s old stomping grounds.  We had alerted a few of the staff that we were coming (and bringing treats; that seems to be Finn’s (Britt’s) trademark), but we were also there to meet a new friend who had just started her long micro-preemie NICU journey 2 weeks ago.  After much ooh’ing and aah’ing over Finn in the little lobby area of the NICU by nurses, nurse practitioners, and one of his neo-natologists, I scrubbed up to head back and meet little baby Savannah.  She is so tiny, and has such a long way to go.  Being in that room immediately flooded me with memories and reminded me just how far Finn has come.  After just a few short minutes in her room, the door opened, and in walked Britt.  Without Finn.  My first question (as, I am a GOOD mom) was WHERE IS MY BABY???  Well, the nurse practitioner said she had a report to write, so she just took Finn from Britt, and off she went with him!  It was really nice to have Britt in the room, too.  We asked lots of questions about Savannah, prayed over her isolette and for her family, gave her the book Finn had brought for her, and spent a long time just being in there with them.  I know how much I cherished visitors to help the long days go by faster.  But, we had to be getting back to Stillwater, so it was time to find my baby.  Which was a little harder than I thought!  I went out of the baby’s room, looked to the nurses’ station, and did not see him.  There were several nurses there (none I recognized, of course), So I just said “Um, Where’s my baby?”  He was around the corner with the nurse practitioner and one of the doctors.  Just chilling out, being a big boy!  I forget how far we have come until I see a tiny 1 pound 9 ounce baby in an isolette with all those wires and tubes, then a few moments later see my big 10 pound son sitting up in someone’s lap, watching the flickering screen of a computer.  Savannah’s Mom thanked us for coming and said seeing Finn gives her hope.  That makes me happy.

On Friday, we did take Finn to the doctor to make sure he didn’t have RSV or the flu (which he does not) He weighed in at 10 pounds 13 ounces, and we captured this cute giggle on camera:

After a pretty lazy weekend, and suffering through the dreaded time change, today it was back to routine.  SonnerStart was here earlier for Finn’s evaluation, and he is right on track!  Even showed off a bit by “dancing” and smiling to his favorite song:

 

Here’s to another week!  Knowing I cannot ACHIEVE favor, I have to RECEIVE favor (-Steven Furtick).  Finding Favor with God in the things I do, nurturing my family and making sure they are all where they need to be when they need to be there, and watching Finn grow (and get over this cold), preparing him to be a world changer in the future.  Easy, right?