A new hope

So far it appears that the ACTH injection has been doing its job. Finn has not had an infantile spasm since saturday night. The doctors say this is very promising. Ethan and I are trying to stay positive. This just has to work. It needs to work. Since Finn has been on the injection I have noticed a change in his demeanor, and I am not sure if it is related to the drug or if its the hospital crib he loves so much, but he has been able to be set down in his crib without crying. Usually Finn wants to be held 24/7. If try to set him down he freaks out. It doesn't matter if its a swing, bouncy seat, his play mat, or his crib. The kid just always needs human contact to feel safe. But since we have been in the hospital he has been loving his crib. I am sitting here using my laptop to update this blog and he has been sitting in his crib for the past 1.5 hours just cooing and smiling. I almost don't know what to do with myself. I havent been able to use my 2 hands together for the past 9 months! I hope this trend continues when we get discharged tomorrow! Today I have noticed his appetite increase. Usually Finn eats a 6oz bottle every 3 hours, but today he took a 9oz bottle!! He could use a few more pounds on his skinny little body so that part doesn't bother me. Other than those 2 things he is still the same old Finn.

So it looks like we will be discharged tomorrow. But first they want to do another CT scan just to get an updated look at his brain. I can't wait to go home. I have cabin fever so bad. But we will be back at the hospital next tuesday to do a swallow study. Apparently kids with extensive brain injuries like Finn have difficulty swallowing. He does fine on the bottle, but we have been having serious issues with solid foods. Finn is almost 9 months and he does not eat solids. I have seen him be successful at swallowing solids, but it takes a lot of mouth stimulation before he understands what he has to do. So hopefully these tests show positive results because if not than the doctor said we will need 'to find other alternatives to get nutrients in him'. I don't even want to have to deal with that. I am hopeful that if we continue to work closely with his occupational therapist we will get the hang of solid foods. I think Finn is smarter than the doctors are giving him credit for. I see changes in him every day. I see him learning. He actually looks at toys and reaches for them, smiles at them and grabs them. This might sound trivial to a parent with a 'normal' baby, but with the brain injury and on top of his vision problems this is huge progress.

Well Finn is just now starting to call for his mama. I will leave you with this cute little video.