Westfall Web

I really like it here, although I am still settling in.  In this picture I am laying on something called a “changing table”.  I’m not sure what that means but usually I get poked in the neck while I’m here.  My parents tell me it’s trach care and I have to have it, I try to be good and not squirm too much when they are doing it, but sometimes it hurts a little when my skin gets pinched!  I like to take naps in the afternoon so that I am well rested for night time, then I want to play when my mom and dad try to put me to bed.  I stay in my room at night, and some days, but usually go out to the front living room for the daytime.  That is where I can rest in my pack-in-play, look out the window, swing in my swing, play on the floor, or cuddle on my boppy or in someones lap (which is way better than my boppy!).  I really like people and love it when I get to interact with them.  Mom and dad tell me I should stay inside most of the time until it gets warmer and the bad bugs go away.  Since I had a couple of them in the hospital I think they are probably right!

I really like all the messages everyone has sent me while I was in the hospital and since I’ve been home.  I think they are neat.  I like all the prayers too.  Mom and dad pray with me every night.  I’m not really sure why they close their eyes and stuff, personally I just look at Jesus and talk to him that way.   Well I just finished getting food so I need to have that tube thing put back in my stomach so I can get rid of the gas.  If I don’t I get really fussy because my tummy starts to hurt.  After that I think I will go to sleep.  Night everyone, I love you!  Greyson

Today was a good day at home. Stacy said Greyson played a lot and did really well. His secretions were down a bit so we did not have to suction as much and he seemed to be doing great. We Did up his oxygen last night as he seemed to be satting lower and was working a bit harder with his breathing. I’m pretty sure we will be able to turn it back down again soon. His peep (pressure that is always there to keep his lungs inflated was down a little, so that could be why he was working harder to breath. Anyway he seems much better tonight.
It was funny when I got home from bible study tonight, Stacy was rocking him in the chair in his room and we were talking about how he was doing. All of a sudden he flopped his head over and started looking at the vent like “so what are my pressures right now?”

God is certainly good and we are very blessed. Thanks for continuing to follow our progress and keep us in your prayers. As we’ve seen over and over, prayer works!

Well today Greyson went to his first pediatricians office visit.  He did very well until they had to draw some blood.  The first attempt was unsuccessful (you can see the orange dressing he got after he was stuck) so they had to try his other arm.  Not very fun but he cried a lot less than I do everytime I have to have my blood drawn.  Not to mention I always get to go have ice cream after, all he got was mom’s milk (not that I am discrediting mom’s milk in anyway you understand). 

So while at the visit they weighed Greyson and he weighed in at 14 pounds!  At the end of the visit when I was loading Greyson into the stroller he gave me a big old smile as if he knew it was over.  Then when we got him home his bugs bunny band aid was coming loose so I took it off him and he gave me the same big smile.  There is just nothing like seeing that boy smile. 

I think Greyson is liking riding in the car more and more.  Today he was looking out the window as we drove and seemed to be interested in looking at everything.  He is still not a big fan of the cold wind, which is kind of ironic since he is such a hot body all the time, you would almost swear his car seat is heated the way he gets sweaty so fast in it!

Didn’t get around to posting an update for yesterday.  Just thought I’d let everyone know that we are fine, just busy being a family.  While I plan to update the blog regularly, it is quite possible that I will not get it done daily as I have in the past.  The good news is if I miss a day I’ll have that much more to report on when I get back to it!  Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!  This morning we are off for Greyson’s first pediatricians visit, so it should be a fun outing.

Greyson gets quite a few meds at 10am and 10pm as seen in the picture.  The good news is in a couple more days he will basically just get these with one other med at 4am and 4pm. 

So the fishing was fun (although I didn’t catch anything) and Stacy said they had a good day.  We are a little concerned as Greyson’s secretions were a bit on the yellow side and he was running a little warm.  We are keeping an eye on him and he seems to be OK.  Pray with us that he doesn’t get sick or develop an infection as that is not the direction we want to be heading.  You can also pray for us since we are on our own again as of 7pm tonight.  We will not have nursing again until Monday morning at 7am.  This wouldn’t be quite as drastic if I wasn’t a pastor (Sundays are kind of a big day for pastors) and could help out more.  Soooo……I’m taking the evening shift and allowing Stacy to sleep hopefully till the wee hours of the morning when she will take over for me so I can catch a few winks before heading off to church in the morning.  Hope the sermons good tomorrow to keep me awake!

So as I’ve stated before one of the hardest things with Greyson is knowing what is wrong.  Many parents have told me you learn quickly which cries are for food, which are for diapers, which are for pain, and which are because you kid is a baby.  Well if you have any resources on how to learn the differences we would love to have them!  It might be because of the trach, or because he doesn’t actually cry much, but it is really hard to distinguish exactly what the problem is with Greyson (gas pain?).  While it is not life threatening as parents we want to address those needs which are real, and allow him to work through his “personal preference” issues on his own.  Oops got to go I hear a buzzer……………….

Today was a really fun day.  As I mentioned yesterday we didn’t have a nurse today, so we spent the day chilling at home, just the family.  Greyson did really well and there were no incidents at all.  His g-tube sight is looking a little better and we are very happy about that.  I’m not going to write much tonight as I’m actually going to get up and go fishing tomorrow.  Ironic I know but this time I’m not using code to talk about Greyson coming home.  I’m literally talking about going fishing with some guys from church.  After this fishing trip I’ll have to work on getting Stacy to go out of the house sometime soon. 

So the pictures from today show dinner at the westfalls, Greyson after bathtime in his bathrobe, and a picture Stacy took yesterday of Greyson playing/sleeping on his boppy (the name of the pillow he’s on for those who aren’t sure what I’m talking about!)