James couldn't eat anything after 5:15 the morning of his surgery, so he needed to have his last bottle at about 4:30 to make sure he was done eating on time. Luckily that's right when he got up, so we didn't have to wake him. He ate his bottle right up, and then needed a diaper and clothes change (the diaper had soaked through a bit). We got his diaper changed and he was being so pleasant that I decided to put him in his blessing outfit and get some pictures. We didn't get any pictures of him on his blessing day, so I really wanted some pictures of him in his blessing outfit with his cleft. We didn't get around to it yesterday, so I was really glad that he was so happy this morning. Not only did we get some pictures of him in his blessing outfit, but we also got some smile pictures as well! This made me doubly happy as we hadn't been able to get his smile on camera yet, and his cleft smile is super cute. :D
By this point it was about 5:15, so I just got in the shower. We got ready and packed up and left just before 7.
We didn't hit much traffic on the way up, and we got to the hospital around 7:45, then waited around to check in.
James dozed off for a while, then woke up and realized that he was hungry, and didn't appreciate that he wasn't being fed. They finally called us back and got him weighed and got James changed into his hospital clothes.
Once we got him changed we let him have his binky, and that calmed him right down.
He relaxed and chilled with dad, and at around 9:45 they took him back for surgery. I teared up a bit when we handed him off anesthesiologist, but she was very sweet and we knew he was in good hands. Then began the waiting. I went and pumped while Chris got us some breakfast from the cafeteria downstairs, we ate, and then Chris worked on writing a test while I just hung out and gave people updates. About 11:45 the Dr. came out and said that everything had gone well and that as soon as he woke up a bit we'd be able to go see him. They only let one parent come back to the recovery room, and I went back so Chris could finish things for his class. When I got there he was sleeping pretty well, and he was doing well enough that they very quickly moved him upstairs into his room.
Once we got to his room we gave him some snuggles and loves, and he did really well. He had a dose of Morphine right then, and then another right before his first bottle, which he took at about 4:30. He drank the whole thing without any trouble! We spent the day hanging out and helping him relax, and then Grandma and Grandpa Y. came up to visit and brought us some dinner. Right before they left Grandma gave him his second bottle.
He took it really well, but wasn't so sure about being burped...
After his bottle everyone headed home but me and James. We had a pretty good night, but James did have some troubles keeping his oxygen levels up. The nurses suspected that it was because the narcotics were relaxing him too much, so we decided to try him out on just Tylenol to see how he did. Because of the oxygen issues we ended up staying at the hospital until around 3 in the afternoon, but he did great once we took him off the heavy painkillers. Dr. Warnock came and checked him out, and then we were good to go home! The nurse helped us get him dressed, arm restraints and all.
James has been doing great since we got home! We've given him a couple doses of Lortab, but mostly he's just been on regular Tylenol. He's eating great, and has even given me some good smiles. He's not so fond of the arm restraints, and has managed to wiggle out of them several times! Overall he seems to do better being swaddled instead of wearing the restraints, though he sometimes gets out of the swaddle too. I'm so glad that he's being such a trooper, and I feel very blessed that we live at a time and place where he can be so well taken care of.
Mariah has always loved to play with the phone, but she doesn't usually talk much. One day she pointed to the phone and said "Grandma". I asked if she wanted to call Grandma, and she said yes. So for fun we did (luckily my mom had just gotten home). Mariah chatted to her for at least 5 minutes, telling her about everything around her.
We went up to the cabin for a day with Matt and Mirriam, and Mariah's favorite thing to do was to run along the road. She'd take off and yell, "run!". It was very cute. She also collected some rocks.
This is just an adorable picture of Mariah running with her daddy. It was so nice to be up at the cabin, it was beautiful!
Mirriam came over to get a bunch of apples, and Mariah helped her pick them. She spent a good minute trying to put this apple in the bag through the bottom, but she didn't want any help!
James is in general a very happy, sweet boy. He loves to be talked to, and as long as he's not hungry or tired he'll give out smiles, coos and giggles. He loves it when Mariah talks to him.
One night at FHE while the adults were playing a game, Mariah and Krista helped themselves to the donuts that were left on the counter. Between the chocolate on her face and the hat crammed on her head we thought she made quite the cute hobo.
James's newest trick the last couple of days has been trying to roll over. He has gotten quite close, but he hasn't made it all the way over yet. I'm sure it won't be long!
Very cute picture of James and Grandma Y playing together after Sunday dinner.
James and his great-grandma Shepherd. He had been cranking and fussing at me, but as soon as Grandma took him he went right to sleep. Such a sweetie!
Mariah's favorite game right now is "Ring Around the Rosie". She will play over and over and over again if you can handle it! Here she's asking Chris to play again, and you can see the circle they have stomped down.
Mariah giving our snowman a hug. This was Mariah's first time to really play in the snow. We went out a couple of times last year, but she didn't really get it and didn't like being wet. She thought it was awesome this year!
