Hello all!  

I hope everyone is enjoying gearing up for Christmas like I am! Seems like a welcome distraction during this never ending pandemic. 

I know I haven't updated everyone in a while, but I definitely don't have as much time to sit down these days between these two wild boys! Graham is a crazy man and is super busy these days. He's so sweet with Teddy and calls him: "TE-DAY". He somehow understand not to mess with any of Teddy's wires or equipment...it's like he somehow knows Teddy is sick and he is respectful, he is such a smart and sweet boy. 

Teddy is doing well these days. He is gaining weight every time we go in and he's now up to 10 lbs! Doesn't sound like much, but he feels large compared to how tiny he started. Since I updated you last we've been to the doctor quite a few times so I'll try to write all that I can remember. (The pulmonologist in STL is who I'm referring to when I saw his doctors unless I state otherwise.)

The doctor thinks that Teddy's lungs still sound clear which is good. However, he ordered another x ray during one of our visits recently and there is still some haziness in his lungs. What is this haziness you ask? Well, that's what we're trying to get to the bottom of. The doctor wondered if maybe Teddy is aspirating milk while he's eating and it's going into his lungs and creating trouble. He ordered what they called a swallow aspiration test that we did a few weeks ago. It was basically a live x ray where Teddy drinks a dye through a bottle and they track it as he swallows. It was pretty cool to watch actually. They determined that he is mechanically sound with his swallows and that he isn't breathing it in. There is a chance that he could be refluxing his milk, but it's hard to determine if that's the true issue in babies because most reflux at least some. 

The doctor decided to order a round of steroids to see if it could help give Teddy a boost to fight whatever he's battling and kind of kick start his forward momentum. He ended up doing 8 days of the steroids which was sort of a nightmare at home. Roid rage in babies is apparently a real thing and let me tell you, he was baby hulk. In babies the steroids create an increased appetite and they prevent them from feeling like they can fall asleep. That being said, he pretty much had to be held around the clock which was...well....something I'd like to not have to do again. 

Teddy is off the steroids now and the hope is that if we give him a couple of days rest that we'll start to ween his oxygen and he'll handle it well. We're giving him the weekend as a break then hopefully starting the change on Monday if all goes well. He's had a few blips here and there, but I'm hopeful he's ready. 

Thanks again to all for following along and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I'm still feeling full! 

All our love, 

The Greenbergs