Fabulous Firsts

It has been a day of good beginnings. We started by taking Ty to his first day of Kindergarten. He was so cute in his uniform and so excited to find friends in his class and a new playground at the school. Before school we had a little photo shoot in the front yard (don't you remember doing that with your parents?). Although the little ham gave us many poses to choose from, I have narrowed it down to one for you :).

As for Mr. McKay, he not only came off the ventilator today, but also started taking milk through his feeding tube. They have to start feeding heart babies through a tube for several reasons. First because they are not allowed to eat until after surgery because it would divert blood from essential organs to the stomach and intestine for digestion. Often there is not sufficient blood flow to accomplish digestion and the gut begins to shut down -- that's really bad. So they withhold feeding until it's confirmed that the heart is creating sufficient blood flow for digestion. After a solid echo cardiogram this morning, McKay was cleared to start receiving real food! They will see how he tolerates feedings directly into his intestines, then pull the tube up to his stomach, monitor that and then do a swallow study to make sure he's ready for a bottle. Hopefully he'll be able to get the hang of sucking after spending the first five days of his life with a breathing tube holding his tongue down. Many heart moms say the hardships of surgery are nothing compared with the ongoing challenge of feeding these babies. Cross your fingers for us that McKay will beat the odds and come home feeding like champ.

McKay got big visits today from aunties, friends, grandparents and one of his great grandmothers. Although he feigned sleep when his guests were there coaxing him to wake up and play, the minute they left he seemed to crack an eye, look around and then wake up for a good 45 minutes and make faces at Matt and me. What a crack up. He will definitely be able to hang with his crazy brothers. His sweet eyes made it very hard to leave tonight.