So, golly, WHEN is he getting rid of the trach?

Ah, the question on everyone's mind is- When is Evan going to be off the trach?

That's the question foremost on my mind today, because we'll be going to see his pulmonalogist in a few hours.
We've been working steadily to get him off the oxygen (still not quite there) and have him on his speaking valve more often (the word frustration doesn't even cover THAT).
He can be off the oxygen for hours and be fine. Other days, he needs that tiny bit to help him out.
The speaking valve has been the hardest- he does so great some days, but others.... Well, he might as well have NOT HAVING IT stamped on his forehead.
I truly believe that he will do fine without the trach.
But I have a biased opinion because the sooner that thing is gone, the sooner we can try to live a little closer to "normal". And boy, do I want "normal"!

So many problems and frustrations stem from the trach- secretions causing him to cough, coughing up more secretions, causing him to gag, gagging causing him to retch, and retching causing him to spew his food all over. Which means, I'm usually smelling like half-digested formula, he's always got a hint of it as well, and I change his clothes 3 times a day, and mine at least 2 times. Not to mention the burp cloths, covers, sheets, pillows, etc that need washing afterward. As it stands now, I'm doing 4 loads of laundry every 2-3 days.
And poor Evan, he gets so upset when he coughs and gags. I bet I spend at least 2 hours total every day just suctioning his trach , 1 hour total changing his clothes, changing mine, cleaning him up, and cleaning the spots we didn't catch the puke in time, and 1 1/2 hours comforting him when he's upset about it all.
That's not to mention the time taken for his trach care in the morning, trach tie changes and care in the evening, and trach changes every week. And the time I spend moving his equipment from his room upstairs to the living area downstairs, and back up again, or loading him into the car and unloading him! That's easily an hour of moving stuff and loading/unloading if we have an appointment somewhere (which is why I NEVER schedule two appointments in one day)
It's no wonder I never have enough time to take care of much of anything else.

So now that I've gotten that off my chest, let me just say that Evan's physical therapy is going great- things clicked for him a while back, and he's sitting on his own for 10 minutes at a time, grabbing and reaching, rolling over and pushing up while he's on his belly. He's also been trying to figure out how to scoot backward on his bottom while he's sitting. Very cool.

Despite any frustrations I feel, I love being home with Evan and getting to see everything, good and bad. I can't get over the feeling that I am the luckiest Momma on the planet, because my son is so amazing.