NICU Day 39

Stacy and her mom went to see James today. Stacy said that he turned his head towards her when she approached the crib and said, “hello buddy”. She said that he seemed to be awake most of the day with his eyes open and his mouth closed.

Feedings were bumped from 80 ml to 85 ml of breastmilk.

We have a meeting tomorrow at 1:00 pm with genetics, surgeon and GI to talk about g-tube and fundoplication surgeries.

NICU Day 40

We had a meeting this afternoon with the GI doc and surgeon to talk about g-tube and fundoplication surgeries. The g-tube surgery is pretty straightforward. They will insert a tube through the abdomen and into the stomach. This tube can then be used to administer food and meds instead of the tubes that are currently in his nose. The g-tube surgery is reversable if he does learn to eat by mouth someday.

A fundoplication is a one-time surgery and is not reversible. A fundoplication is a laparoscopic surgery where the upper part of the stomach, called the fundus, is wrapped around the lower esophageal sphincter which increases pressure in the esophagus and makes acid reflux less likely. The fundoplication will grow with James and it will allow him to eat by mouth if he ever does. It will keep the stomach acid from coming up and possibly burning his esophagus and causing more damage. After the surgery he will be on a ventilator and pain meds for a few days. This is a big decision. We can make it now, or we can wait a week, but I think Stacy and I are leaning towards doing this surgery on Friday.