Lucas and I have been so worried, but luckily the anticipation was much worse than the actual process. Henry is such a little trooper, he made this much easier than it could have been.
Here we go... We woke Henry up at 0515 to go to the hospital. He was in such a good mood. Didn't complain of hunger or the early wake up call.
After check-in, we waited. For some reason, the PJs that fit Henry are pink. Granted, they had dinosaurs and whales on them, but they were pink. Luckily Henry looks good in pink, but he was called a girl a few times.
We waited some more, and paced. Henry kept putting his hand in Lucas' mouth, as if to ask, "so I'm going to get one of those?"
After getting ready in day surgery, we headed downstairs to pre-surgery. While Henry was drugged up on Versed, Lucas and I were getting very nervous.
The tubes were placed in about 20 minutes (including time to intubate and place an IV), the palate took a bit longer, closer to two hours. But, everything went smoothly, and we were told it looks great. Luckily, I have friends that work in PACU, so both Lucas and I got to go in while he recovered (policy is only one parent). When we went back, he was crying, but quickly calmed when I got to hold him. It looked like he was in a bar fight.Cotton in his ear from the tube. Blood from his nose from the palate repair.His face was swollen, and the inside looked like Frankenstein: lots of stitches. He got his first (and hopefully only) tongue piercing: a stitch placed through his tongue and taped to his cheek. We pulled this when he would start choking on his tongue, pulling his tongue forward. This was placed because of his small jaw, and the fact that by closing his palate, we made his airway smaller. We used it a lot for the first two hours after surgery, and then didn't need it any more. But, it stayed in over night for safety reasons.
We moved to our room about an hour after surgery. He just slept in our arms for a long time. We would stir, cry and settle right back down when he saw us. He looks so big!
Cute feet.
Cute baby.
He has to wear "no-nos" on his arms for two weeks. These are soft boards that wrap around his elbows so he can't bend them. No hands, or other objects in his mouth for quite a while.
Our first roommates were less than ideal. Sharing a room was a strong probability, and we were prepared for that... but sharing a room with a large, loud, non rule abiding, cursing, bacon throwing (not joking) family was NOT going to be OK. After a few hours, they were able to move us to another room. While we were in another shared room, luckily they didn't have to admit another kid. So we had a private room the rest of our visit. We slept and relaxed much better here.
He started waking up for longer and longer periods of time. He needed a couple doses of morphine and Tylenol with codeine every four hours... so he was pretty groggy... but he would try to wave at the nurses. Such a sweet little guy!
"Hi Daddy"
Showing off his new arms.
The three of us. Look at that little smile!
We got home at noon. 35 hours in the hospital... not bad.
Henry is sleeping upstairs right now. He has managed to escape the restraints twice, so Lucas and I are taking turns watching him sleep, making sure the restraints stay on, and the thumb stays away from his mouth. It's going to be a long two weeks, but again, luckily we are blessed with friends and family to help.
We moved to our room about an hour after surgery. He just slept in our arms for a long time. We would stir, cry and settle right back down when he saw us. He looks so big!
Cute feet.
Cute baby.
He has to wear "no-nos" on his arms for two weeks. These are soft boards that wrap around his elbows so he can't bend them. No hands, or other objects in his mouth for quite a while.
Our first roommates were less than ideal. Sharing a room was a strong probability, and we were prepared for that... but sharing a room with a large, loud, non rule abiding, cursing, bacon throwing (not joking) family was NOT going to be OK. After a few hours, they were able to move us to another room. While we were in another shared room, luckily they didn't have to admit another kid. So we had a private room the rest of our visit. We slept and relaxed much better here.
He started waking up for longer and longer periods of time. He needed a couple doses of morphine and Tylenol with codeine every four hours... so he was pretty groggy... but he would try to wave at the nurses. Such a sweet little guy!
"Hi Daddy"
Showing off his new arms.
The three of us. Look at that little smile!
We got home at noon. 35 hours in the hospital... not bad.
Henry is sleeping upstairs right now. He has managed to escape the restraints twice, so Lucas and I are taking turns watching him sleep, making sure the restraints stay on, and the thumb stays away from his mouth. It's going to be a long two weeks, but again, luckily we are blessed with friends and family to help. While we were at the hospital, Owen got to spend two nights in Salem with my mom and dad. He got to see cows, eat popcorn, go on a flashlight walk, and I think he's coming home with a few new dinosaurs. He had a great time, and I'm sure a little more rested than the rest of us! Lucas and I can't wait to see him...
1 comment:
Thanks for the update! I had tears in my eyes reading this... happiness knowing that Henry has a palate and tubes (and bragging rights that he has had plastic surgery before he was ONE!), and that he was a trooper in surgery... and a tightness in my chest thinking about how hard it must be for his parents during this time - oh, the worrying, the anguish over making decisions for someone else, the sleeplessness, the love, all jumbled into very full hearts and heads. Thanks for your honest post about the presurgery - we have been thinking about you guys lots, and sending good thoughts your way. You are both wonderful parents, and together you make a fab family of four!
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