8-20-06 Surviving the Hospital

Well...we're still hanging in here at Children's and trucking along in the right direction (homeward bound). We're still just "talking" about going home so there are no official plans yet but we hope it will be sometime later this week. Burke's official due date is Aug 24th so we hope to be going home around then! In order to get there, Burke must gain weight steadily and have stable breathing. His weight gain has been slow but is on the rise and he weighs 6lbs as of yesterday! He continues to have 1 to 2 episodes of oxygen desaturations during the early morning hours which has been somewhat concerning as the doctors can't quite figure out why they're occuring. Burke hasn't been negatively affected by these episodes and doesn't require extra breathing support/oxygen which means his body is strong enough to recover nicely on his own. An expert plans to visit us tomorrow to help uncover the meaning behind these episodes and we pray she'll be able to tell us they're no big deal and we can go home!!! Burke is also being tested for respiratory viruses just in case these episodes might be related to possible development of a cold or infection. So far, he hasn't shown us any major signs of being sick (this would be a real bummer as it would keep him in the hospital longer).

Nate and I had a great weekend with family and friends who came to help us while we continue to get ready at home for Burke's official arrival! Nate and I had our first date night on Friday thanks to Jeremy & Larissa's babysitting help. The Nelson clan came over Saturday for a visit and to celebrate Grandpa Gary's b-day with baby Burke. We were also able to get some sleep for a few hours at home while Elysia & Kelvie babysat on Sunday! It's been so wonderful to have the support here in the hospital so we can leave for a few hours here and there. We love spending all day with baby Burke but being in a hospital setting can be quite stressful day in and day out. Just getting fresh air and sunshine is a real treat these days.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we anticipate another exciting but challenging transition to going home. Nate will also be starting his new job the first week of September so we have lots going on that may cause extra stress in our lives both with time management and finances...we trust that this new chapter will be full of hope, joy and peace as we trust God to provide in all ways (as He already has!)

Love to you all...and thank you for keeping up with the blog...we LOVE getting your encouraging messages!