Mister Matthew, as he is known in the NICU, is one week old! He has definitely had the most eventful first week of any of our babies. He continues to amaze us with his strength and spirit.
Matthew had a whole fan club in town this past weekend to meet him. My brother's family came in from Tulsa and J.P.'s sister and future fiancé came in from Dallas (no pressure, Aric). J.P.'s parents also brought the boys up from Tulsa. It was a weekend full of family, which was so good for our souls. Everybody got to spend some time with Matthew, and he showed his eyes to a lucky few. He likes to keep those under wraps for the most part. We had a big pizza party in Matthew's honor on Saturday night with my sister and her family and everybody else in from out of town. Getting out of the hospital for even a couple hours is necessary for our mental well-being. Being surrounded by family means more to us than anybody will ever know!
Since surgery, Matthew has been very stable and doing well for the most part. He had to have an additional chest tube put in the morning after surgery, but those minor setbacks are to be expected. The nurses have done a wonderful job of managing his pain and making sure he is super comfortable and well taken care of. Can I just gush on NICU nurses for a second? They are the most amazing people in the world! Every single nurse Matthew has had has been so sweet and incredible both with him and J.P. and me. We are still so new to this NICU thing, and there is SO much to learn. They have all been so wonderful about explaining everything they are doing and why they are doing it. They listen to us if we think something isn't right and keep us informed on all of his progress. We are getting to know a few of them quite well, and it is so comforting to know that he is in such good hands when we aren't there.
The goals for Matthew this week are to wean him off the ventilator, get him eating real food (through a tube that goes straight to his tummy) and get those chest tubes out. Those are some lofty goals! I will be the happiest Momma in the whole world when he gets his breathing tube and chest tubes out. Those are the major barriers to us being able to hold him. And I am also dying to see his whole face without his neobar (which holds the ventilator tube) being in the way. To this point, I have only gotten to hold him twice, and J.P. hasn't gotten to hold him at all. Being able to hold him whenever we go up there will be like heaven! So keep the prayers coming that he can meet some of those goals this week.
We had our whole Szafranski Seven together on Sunday for the very first time. It only lasted about five minutes, but it was a little reminder that someday we will all get to be together. Matthew has the best big brothers in the whole world! Ben read him a little book that he wrote. Jack and Luke were so sweet talking to him and touching him wherever they could lay a finger on him (which isn't very many places because of all he has going on). A.J. blew him a hundred kisses during the short time he was back with him. Matthew is so loved, and we can't wait to bring him home to our crazy house!
While we try to stay as positive as we can, I have to admit that this is SO hard! It is hard to be away from home, hard to keep saying goodbye to my big boys, hard to take care of myself while trying to spend every second I can with Matthew, hard to see him cry and not be able to just scoop him up in my arms and comfort him.
It has been a rollercoaster of a week, but we are definitely on the right track. Every day is a day closer to bringing him home. We are trying to celebrate the little victories along the way and keep our eye on the big picture. We still have no idea when we will get to come home, but hopefully it is a matter of weeks and not months. We just need him to eat and breathe on his own and get stronger every day.
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