Wednesday weigh-in (9/3 and 9/10)

I just realized that I didn't "weigh in" last Wednesday! Sorry.

Well, in that case, I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is that Benjamin actually *lost* weight last week. He went from 12.03.0 lbs to 12.01.8 pounds, which is a loss of 1.2 ounces.

The good news is that he gained this week and weighed 12.04.2 pounds yesterday, a gain of 3.4 ounces from last week. So, yay!

We got our packet from Vanderbilt yesterday. Well, technically, I had to call (again) and she ended up faxing it to Matthew at work. It's a good thing, too, because in it, I learned that Benjamin is supposed to take vitamins w/iron beginning three weeks prior to the surgery. Ummm....yeah, that's today. I called the pharmacist at CVS (literally less than half a mile from our house) and talked to him last night. They have infant drops (over-the-counter), so that's what Matthew got last night. I am planning on starting them tonight. Problem. They STINK. Horribly. And I'm sure they stain. It pretty much looks and smells like iodine. Ick. Poor guy.

The rest of the information was pretty much what we already knew, but here are the highlights:

• The surgery is scheduled for Thursday, October 2. (Happy birthday, Dad, Uncle Peter, and Laurie!) We will find out the time of the surgery the day before.
• The day before, October 1, we have a pre-operative meeting at 8 a.m. This will take four to six hours. They'll run tests, take us on a tour, etc. We'll meet the surgeon and the nurse. We'll find out all the things we need to know.
• Because we have to be there so early on the 1st, Matthew, Benjamin, and I will go up to Nashville (about 2 1/2 hours away, but an hour behind us) on September 30. (Happy birthday, Elizabeth "Lizard"!)
• We are on the waiting list to stay at the Ronald McDonald House starting on Sept 30. We can call a day or two prior to see if there is room. There may or may not be. There are local hotels that give a medical discount if we cannot stay in the RMH.

That is pretty much all! Here is how you can pray for us specifically at this time:

• That Benjamin will continue to gain weight (even minimally) up until the surgery. The bigger he is, the better!
• That he will not go into heart failure before the surgery. (This would simply mean that his heart cannot work hard enough to keep up with his body's demands. He would be very lethargic and weak. He would not be in any immediate danger, as the surgery is already so close.)
• That we will get a room at the RMH for the entire stay of our visit.
• That Matthew will be able to get all his work tied up for the time we're gone. We won't know how long we'll be there until we see how the surgery goes and how Benjamin starts to recover. They say minimum three to four days, which would be from the surgery date. So that would mean the *earliest* we would most likely be home would be Sunday or Monday, the 5th and 6th. I would think we'd be there a little longer, but you never know. There could be complications and we could be there two weeks or more. We'll save those prayer requests for later. ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!!