Post Op

So far so good. Bryce is still a little out of it from surgery this morning but it's like he's a different baby than the one who had this same surgery three weeks ago. He's still on low vent settings and oxygen at 24%, he's maintaining his blood pressure all by himself and his heart rate tells me he's not in pain. He's back on his tummy and peacefully sleeping.

I can't believe what a trooper he's been today. I have renewed faith once again as to what a fighter he is. And that he'll continue to surprise us all by how well he can bounce back.

They're giving him a transfusion right now to help keep his blood pressure up (and since they are always taking but rarely giving) and holding feeds for today. But maybe tomorrow he can get some more mommy milk. Hopefully he will and hopefully he'll be able to pass it more efficiently now that he's moving things all the way through all on his own.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and support - we felt them helping us all three to be brave in the wee hours of this morning and I know the doctors all felt them helping them to be precise and confident in their work. Thanks y'all, we love ya!

Back to Surgery

Well Bryce is scheduled to go back to surgery early tomorrow morning to have the shunt in his head either replaced or a new one put in. They won't know exactly what they'll do until they see what everything looks like.

The follow up ultrasound that neurology does every week showed on Monday that Bryce's ventricles were slightly more swollen than last week. This is not an emergent issue but since he is doing so well otherwise and before it becomes an issue for him they want to go in and take care of it.

We're obviously not thrilled at the idea of our baby going back downstairs for surgery but at least we've been through this once already and know what to expect. Also, we have the tremendous peace of mind that comes with how much healthier Bryce is now than he was three weeks ago. It's really hard sometimes to either believe he was that sick just a couple of weeks ago or to believe that he is doing this well today. I thank God many times a day for how well he is doing right now.

Both Caleb and I feel good about the surgery but I think we're both concerned, for good reason, about the recovery. We've been warned that he's likely to need more support post operatively but you never know what that really means until they see what he is going to do.

Since we don't know how he will be afterward, and because we love it, we've been trying to get as much skin to skin time as possible. I was able to hold Bryce yesterday, though only for an hour because he had a dirty diaper (even though it was changed not once, but twice immediately preceeding the hand over).

Caleb is holding him now and they're already past my hour from yesterday. All cozy and comfy, they might be there all night long.

We also took advantage of Bryce's health to give him a good rub down last night. I even got to shampoo his hair with some Johnson's and Johnson's for the first time. I admit he didn't care for it one bit - but what baby does? He turned all red in the face and threw all four limbs around in defiance but came out with silky, golden locks and no more cheese under his chin!

If I don't get a post up tomorrow, post surgery, to update the blog check the Baby Bryce Tweets on the right side. Due to Caleb and I jointly breaking my phone I haven't been able to text the blog in a week but I can still Twitter.

And of course, please keep us, and especially baby Bryce, in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow morning as Dr. George works his magic on our tiny baby's tiny brain.