The Halloween candy has been passed out and the porch light is off. It was the perfect kind of year for trick-or-treaters – just enough to take most of the candy and leave a little behind. Julia is resting comfortably on Jocelyn and we’ve decided that she likes sleeping on her belly the best (ed. note – that’s only when we’re holding her. We always lay her on her back to sleep according to American Pediatric Association guidelines!). It’s been a nice weekend since Julia’s discharge from the PICU on Friday. We’ve accustomed ourselves to a new course of medicine, which takes a little more intentionality on our part to keep the right levels of Digoxin in her system.

By the time we got home, the home chores had piled up pretty high; so the rest of the weekend was spent catching up on all the things that make a house run – groceries, cleaning and the like.

The three days in the PICU were a blur of visits from different doctors, medicine dosages and waiting to find the right maintenance levels. An Occupational Therapist gave us some great tips on supporting Julia’s feeding so that it’s the most efficient it can be. (btw Did you know it takes seven cranial nerves and dozens of muscles to coordinate the suck/swallow/breathe process??)

We also took advantage of the pulse oxygen monitor and did an impromptu car seat test to see how Julia had progressed since the last time. She passed this time with flying colors, never going below 93% oxygen saturation! That’s good news for Julia because that means there’s a visit to Grandpa Bob’s farm in her future!

We had a chance to better get to know Dr. Weinhouse’s partners while we were in the hospital as well. Drs. Cutler and Riggs are just as compassionate and knowledgable as Weinhouse; but it’s interesting that as informed as their opinions are, there is some variance in their outlook on how much time the Digoxin is going to buy us and when the ultimate time of the surgery is going to be.

No matter. We have our orders. Feed her, love her, and let God and Julia tell us when the surgery is going to be. Until then, Happy Halloween!