Wilson is snot coming home today

Sometimes a picture says it all. So instead of metaphorically letting you know that once again the wind was taken out of our sails, we just figured it was easier to show you the helium is literally out of our balloons. For the third day in a row we woke up and got ready to bring Wilson home from the hospital. We weren't overly confident because of our experience yesterday, but when the doctors called it sounded like a sure thing. Then Wilson decided to have a bradycardia ("brady") and let his heart rate drop below 80 beats per minute. A brady is an automatic disqualifier for sending a preemie home, so Wilson will have at least a couple of more days in the comfort of the NICU before he gets to leave. (Although the neighbors are probably starting to wonder why we keep putting up blue balloons outside our house). 

Brady's are not all that uncommon with preemies and typically occur when they are feeding or having trouble breathing. We're not exactly sure what caused Wilson's brady today, but we are blaming it on the gunk they were able to pull out of his nose. One of the nurses used what can only be described as a preemie vacuum cleaner (seriously, it is part power tool) and was able to suction away adult-sized boogers. Of course we took pictures and below is a shot of one of the offenders.

That's one heck of a booger for our little guy
He probably lost weight after they suctioned his nose

We're hopeful Wilson will still be able to come home in the next three to five days, but are fine to wait until he is ready. We would much rather him have these episodes in the hospital than at our house.

In other not so positive news, Wilson continues to have a PFO -- a defect in the wall between the heart's two upper chambers that can allow unfiltered blood to bypass the lungs and circulate through the body. This condition can self-correct or be fixed surgically. Regardless, Wilson will have to see the cardiologist in six months to see how he is progressing. We think Wilson's PFO is completely unrelated to today's brady, but it does serve as a good reminder that coming home is really the starting line, not the finish line.

The last few days we've spent a lot of time talking about Wilson, but our sweet little Clara is doing what she can to grow and feel better. Her breathing is improving and she is gaining weight. She is also having an easier time accepting food from a bottle and nursing. The doctors started her on special breathing treatments and we'll have more of an update on that tomorrow. 

Hey everybody, don't forget about me!