Baby Brennan Eckert

This blog is devoted to Brennan Charles Eckert, born November 16, 2007, to parents Kim and Jeff and big brother Tommy. On January 25, 2008, 10 week-old Brennan was admitted to T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital. He was severely dehydrated and eventually diagnosed with Slick Gut Syndrome. Brennan's doctors tell us he will be here about a month with a lengthy recovery at home as well. This blog is meant to update all those who are loving and supporting us and our sweet Brennan.

UPDATE: Brennan spent 21 days at TC Thompson and was discharged from the hospital on February 14, 2008. He began receiving food by mouth on February 18. His oral feeds were gradually increased as his tube feedings were decreased until he was shifted to 100% oral feeds on February 29. His feeding tube was removed on March 3, and his central line was removed on March 6. According to his doctor, Brennan is now a "normal baby with a recovering gut." He is home with us and doing great! 

Although we never could have prepared for this experience, we are more grateful than we ever could have been for the gift of our son. We have been so blessed by a community of folks who walked with us on this journey. Some were people we hardly knew, and others were lifelong loved ones, but we were given to abundantly at a time when our needs were great. And we are so thankful for how God met us in our need through the hands and feet and love of so many of his people.



"Let the Great Rabbi hold you silently against His heart. In learning who He is, you will find out who you are: Abba's child in Christ our Lord."
-Brennan Manning


Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Saying goodbye to tubes and diapers






On Friday, Feb 29, Brennan's tube feedings were discontinued. He struggled a bit with some vomiting over the weekend but actually did surprisingly well with 100% oral feeds, so on Monday, March 3, his doctor removed his feeding tube!!!

As Tommy told us, "His tube is gone! his bandaids are off!" On March 6 his central line gets removed. According to his doctor, he is now a normal baby with a recovering gut. I never thought hearing the word "normal" applied to my baby would be such a relief. He still seems to have quite a bit of discomfort and struggles with sleep (to put it lightly), but what a huge huge relief to have these very normal problems. We are grateful beyond words for his continued improvement and for the healing that God has done in his little body.

In addition to having Brennan on all oral feeds for the first time, we also engaged in full-on potty training with Tommy. We tried this last summer but he was not quite ready. And he did absolutely GREAT! He is loving his big-boy underpants; he loves his huge basket of Disney Cars that he gets when he accrues enough stickers even more. I've never seen someone able to poop and pee so much in such a short time to get toys! We used the naked technique so have some good pics for bribery in his adolescence, but we wanted to share this one with you.

Tommy continues to crack us up with his endless antics and touch us with his sweet spirit. Tonight he told me as we were praying, "We talk to Jesus up in the sky but we can't hear him. Thank you Jesus for giving us Momma." When he saw me with tears welling up, he then prayed that same thing over and over, ending with, "Cry, Momma!"

Finally, for those of you who know Tommy, you know he has a VERY strong attachment to his little bunny, "Bubba." So strong, in fact, that I special ordered a matching one when he was 10 months old. This double was immediately and continuously rejected and dubbed "fake bubba" by us. Tommy started giving Brennan his own bubba as well as "fake bubba" very early on, which we thought so sweet and tender, as Bubba is his most prized possession. And although I have tried every stuffed animal and blanket in our house, wouldn't you know that "fake bubba" is the one thing Brennan will snuggle? So apparently I can now look forward to searching for not one but two bubbas every time we leave the house. still, seeing our boys with their matching bubbas is quite a sweet sight...

I have been so encouraged by all the positive feedback I've received about this blog, and I am especially grateful to our dear friends, Greg and Joy Ryan, who suggested it and helped me set it up and provided endless support and love to us along this journey. They have a fantastic blog for their little boy, James, who was diagnosed with leukemia last summer. You can learn more about their hilarious and sweet boy at www.babyjamesgregoryryan.blogspot.com


Even though Brennan is doing so great, I'm going to continue to write about our boys and how they're doing if you're interested in getting updates. Thank you again so much!!!

wishing you every blessing in Christ,
Kim & Jeff

7 comments:

Jennifer said...

What great news!! Two huge accomplishments in your house!!I hope that they both continue to do well! Hope to see you and the boys soon!

The Hopkins Family said...

I'm so happy for all four of you! We hope to see you all out and about soon.

Alicia said...

I'm getting choked up, girl! Praise the Lord for all that He has done in your family! I'm so thrilled! I look forward to seeing you and your boys again soon!

Greg and Joy Ryan said...

so glad he is doing well and the picutre of Tommy cracks me up. we can't wait to see you!!!

stephanie said...

praise God for all of your good news and for life being more "normal" again! so glad you are going to keep blogging! those boys are too cute to not have some venue for showing them off!

the bubba and fake bubba love is priceless. what a blessing to have a big brother who is willing to share his most cherished possession. and i love the rain boots with underpants!! fun times!

Vanessa said...

So sweet and wonderful to see Brennan looking so healthy and Tommy such a big boy! I love your blog and hope you post frequently -it'll be a great way to follow and stay in touch. We'll have to get together for a play time sometime soon! - Vanessa

Christine W said...

How exciting to hear that Brennan will be getting his central line out! It was so good to see you all out and about (and Brennan with his chubby cheeks!) the other day, and even better to hear all the progress both your boys are making :) You all will continue to be in my prayers, and as always, let me know if there's anything I can do to help you out!