Hello everyone... Gwenn here.
I am doing this morning's update! :) Josiah had a good night. He really didn't have any complications. There was a little bit of "tweaking" medications and things like that, but it was not really a big deal. He woke up at about 2AM and has been awake on and off since. He's on a lot of pain medication (as you can imagine) so he's comfortable.
It was very upsetting for me to see him after his surgery. We knew what to expect-- we had been taken in to see a post-op baby a day or two prior, but it was so different because it was MY baby... know what I mean?
I am not going to post a picture because I think it's too upsetting, but he has:
- 3 chest tubes
- a ventilator
- 4 IV's + one PIC line
- an oxygen monitor (I can't remember what it's called)
- 2 temperature monitors (one for internal, one for skin)
- 3 pacemaker wires
- a catheter
- 3 stick on respiration sensors
Nick and I are doing fairly well. I have been really hanging in there, but last night I finally hit the wall. I just FINALLY broke down and realized I need to slow down a little more. Now that the surgery is over and he seems to be doing well, I think it will finally be possible. We got a room at the hotel across the street last night and came over here to sleep for a while. No one is allowed to visit the PICU between 7-9:30AM as doctors are doing their rounds, so Nick and I came back here to sleep, pump, check email, etc... We will head back at 9:30. Nick is going to stay here today, and I am going to go home for the afternoon. My mom is in town, so I am going to have her take care of me and Nia today. :)
One bit of news that made me happy this morning... One of the things I was really sad about was that I haven't been able to breastfeed Josiah. I have been pumping like a mad woman, but he's only actually eaten 4 times in his short life (from a bottle obviously), the rest has been through an IV tube. They are putting a feeding tube in him probably today or tomorrow (which will go through his nose down to his stomach) and they will give him breast milk in that... BUT, the good thing is that once he's ready to actually eat again, the nurse thinks he will be able to breastfeed fairly easily. He's not attached to a bottle so as he's "learning" how to eat for himself, he can learn by breastfeeding. I know it probably seems like a small thing, but I really want to nurse him, so I was glad to know that they think it will be not only possible, but likely.
Anyway, I am going to go catch a few winks before we have to go back. I posted a few more pics here of Josiah yesterday right before going into surgery. The nurse had him all wrapped up and you couldn't even see any tubes or wires... I love these pics because he just looks like a normal baby...
http://picasaweb.google.com/ng.mangine/JosiahAtDuke
More later-- thanks for reading!
