Day 24

Today my mom and I went in to see Landry in the afternoon.  He slept the entire time she held him but was awake and alert by the time I held him.  He hadn't had any morphine since 7am and this was around 2:00 so it was just like he was back to the same Landry as he was before the surgery.  He is starting to look like George Costanza these days.  I don't know if it had something to do with the surgery or just normal baby stuff but ever since he got back from surgery he has lost nearly all his hair on the top of his head.  It's pretty cute.  His nurse today thought his stomach was feeling a little hard so he had an x-ray to see what was going on.  He showed a lot of air in his stomach so he had a tube put down his nose and into his stomach to help suck it out.  It is connected to a machine that sucks air out every few minutes.  It will run for the night then he will have another x-ray tomorrow to see if he still needs it.  Yesterday, the neonatologist ordered to have this same tube put in because she thought the surgeon over looked putting it in after surgery but the surgeon actually felt it wasn't necessary so they ended up taking it out.  It's too bad they didn't just leave it in since he ended up needing it anyway because he was VERY upset that he had to have it put in.  The nurse said that he threw a fit for a good hour afterwards so she had to end up giving him more morphine to settle him down.  By the time Tyler and I got back in for our evening visit, he was calm and relaxed but definitely a little out of it.  I hate seeing him like that and hopefully he won't need it at all soon.  We talked with the nurse about what is involved in pulling out the broviac which is the internal line that goes up his groin where he has been getting all his nutrients from since he can't eat.  The nurse told us that parents usually don't like to be there when this comes out.  It is attached to a clamp of sorts that remains in his body for the rest of his life but to remove it they have to break it off the clamp.  I guess the surgeon has to pull pretty hard to make this happen and the babies get pretty upset because of the pain.  They do give them morphine ahead of time for the procedure.  It doesn't sound fun....  I just have to keep reminding myself that everything they are doing is to help him and make him better.  Sometimes it seems like he is just getting tortured there though.  Counting down the days til he gets home.....  but it feels like an eternity.

Day 23

Today was better day for Landry (and us too!).  Last night, his night nurse felt that his block from the surgery had worn off and he was in a lot more pain that could not be controlled by the pain ball alone so she gave him morphine.  She said that the day nurse did not give him the morphine because his respiration was still a bit low from surgery and she didn't want to have to put him back on the ventilator.  By evening, it had gone up so he could tolerate the morphine.  She also said that tylenol alone was not enough to control the pain from an abdominal surgery.  I was glad she was able to give it to him because he seemed much more relaxed today.  I am not sure how many more days he will be getting the morphine but I don't think it will be many.  Tyler and I were able to hold him today.  He seemed pretty out of it from the drugs as well as just being tired from the surgery but he wasn't crying out in pain anymore which was great.  He was pretty puffy in the face due to surgery but that too will go down in a few days.  When we changed his diaper, he had some mucus in it which means that his intestines are "waking up" and passing through what is left over in it.  As soon as the surgeon gives the ok, he will be able to start feedings.  They will be small at first but hopefully increase quickly.  The doctor said this would probably happen on Monday.  I can't wait to start nursing him again - I hope he continues to do as well as he did the first few times.

UGH!!!  Can't I go home yet?!

Day 22

Well today was the big day - his second surgery.  We got to the hospital around 7:30 and he was scheduled to go back at 8:30.  We were able to snuggle him up before he went back.  He had a surprisingly good night considering he was off his food completely starting at midnight.  The nurse told us that he pretty much slept through the night - wow!  We met with the surgeon and anesthesiologist briefly and then he was wheeled off to surgery.  We waited in the waiting room and were called periodically by our nurse, (who we love by the way) throughout the procedure to update us on his progress.  She first called to tell us he had gotten a late start and didn't actually go to sleep until 9:25.  Later she called to tell us that the surgery was taking longer because there were many adhesions that the surgeon was cauterizing.  We were told that some people develop adhesions more easily than other people and apparently Landry is one of those people.  This was a little disappointing to hear since he will be developing more adhesions after this surgery and they could potentially lead to another surgery - but perhaps not.  Waiting for the surgery to be over felt like an eternity.  Once he was done, he was sent back to the NICU to recover.  We saw him pretty close to when he first got back.  Luckily, he was able to get off the ventilator right after surgery so we didn't have to see him back on that.  What was most startling about seeing him initially was how pale he was.  Because of the adhesions, he had lost a lot of blood and needed a blood transfusion.  After that was finished, his color was much better.  For the remainder of the day, he was pretty out of it.  He would have moments where it looked like he was about to fall asleep only to start crying out in pain.  His pain ball gave him localized pain medicine and he was also given tylenol.  There was a bit when morphine was discussed again but he settled down and didn't end up needing it as of yet.  His nurse spent most of the day just trying to keep him as comfortable as possible.  He seemed pretty miserable to me so I hope his recovery this time is just as quick as the first.  We are all pretty exhausted around here tonight, it was a long, draining day.  We can only go up from here though.  The guess about when he can come home is 10 days to two weeks.  I hope it flies by and he is home in no time.

Our before surgery snuggle

I think Landry is trying to hide so he doesn't
 have to go to surgery.

Day 21

We met with the surgeon this morning.  The surgery is scheduled for 8:30 tomorrow morning.  It should last an hour to an hour and a half and will hopefully be much less invasive than the first one.  He will be intubated during the surgery but might not need the ventilator afterwards, which would be great.  The incision will be in the same place as the first but will be smaller.  He also might not need morphine at all, or perhaps just a little.  They will treat his pain with a "pain ball"  which is a localized ball that will slowly secrete medicine into the incision site as well as tylenol.  This way he will only be getting the medicine where he needs it and not his entire body will be affected.  He will be off his food completely starting at midnight tonight and once he poops they will slowly start the feedings up again.  This should be on about day 4.  He will be a very, very hungry boy by this point.  He will still be getting his nutrients through the broviac but just like before, he won't feel like he is getting food since it isn't going into his stomach.

Today the nurse allowed us to take Landry into one of the OB rooms to have a private visit with him.  It was nice but I can't wait to have him in our home.  Hopefully in eleven days!

Day 20

Today was a much less fussy day for Landry.  He even slept most of the night the night before!!  I wonder what kind of sleeper he will be once he is home....  I know he will not be a light sleeper, thats for sure!  The surgery is a day away so we are meeting with the surgeon tomorrow morning to discuss the procedure.  I am so happy that he will be all put back together and have the colostomy off.  All of his gains after the surgery will be for good which will be nice but it will be awfully hard to see him back at square one.  I am hopeful that the recovery will be easier this time around since the surgery is less serious.

We gave Landry a bath today since after his surgery he won't be able to have one for a bit.  Tyler gave him his botttle too, which of course he loved.  It won't be long now and he will be able to eat all he wants!

Day 19

Landry had a good but fussy day today.  He is so hungry so if he isn't getting held, he is very fussy.  I am going to try and get over there for a good portion of the day tomorrow so that he can be held and more content.  His colostomy bag is having a terrible time sticking which causes it to leak.  It has be be changed every time it leaks and his poor skin around it is just so red and raw.  I can't wait to have it gone on Thursday so his skin will have a chance to heal.  Tyler finally felt good enough to come in and see him today.   I think they both missed each other a bunch!

Cade's new favorite treat!!!!

Day 18

There were a few adjustments to Landry's feedings today.  The original neonatologist has been on vacation for the past ten days so a part time doctor who also works part time in Chicago was filling in.   Apparently, the original doctor had different opinions about what was the best plan for Landry's feedings and changed what had been happening.  I am no longer nursing him, he is back on the feeding tube, and he is only getting two bottles a day now.  The feedings have been up'd to 42cc's every three hours or 14cc's every hour in the feeding tube.   She is also mixing the breast milk with a certain type of formula that is essentially already digested by the time he eats it so all his body has to do is absorb it.  The reasons for the changes are because she didn't like how with breast feeding she didn't know exactly how much he was getting.  They not only measure the input but also the output so if they didn't know the exact number of cc's that were going in - the number that was coming out was basically worthless.  She is also mixing the breast milk with the special formula because breast milk is not homogenized so it sticks to the feeding tube.  She said she wanted to get him in the best possible shape for Thursday and she felt this was the way to do it.  She also said that she didn't necessarily disagree with what the other doctor was doing, she just had a different opinion about what was best.  I agree with her that this makes more sense, even though I am sad to not be able to breast feed him again for a while.  She is still hopeful that Landry will be able to come home in about ten days after the surgery.  I hope she is right.

Landry's "brand"....in case they forget who he is!

I have to have the feeding tube again?!  NOOOOOO!