Today we went to the Pumkin Patch with Samuel. I still posted the family picture even though I think I look awful! Oh well, better to have pictures as a family that I don't like than to have no pictures at all!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
What Happened?!?! The Long Answer...
So I have had this question quite a bit in reference to Samuel's birth so I figured I would finally write it all out. You can skip this post if you already know!
David and I found out we were expecting a baby on August 30, 2007, and we were thrilled. We had our first little ultrasound on October 2nd and it was just amazing to see little Samuel bean. He was only 4.9 cm head to rump, but we loved him. He was completely worth the morning sickness.
My pregnancy seemed to progress just fine and on December 19th we had our "big" ultrasound and found out our little bean would be a little boy and everything looked perfect.
In January we found out that I had gestational diabetes (GD), but that was no big deal. I just watched my diet and pretty well forced myself to eat, and eat a lot. I had to eat 2400 calories/day which was significantly more than I really wanted, and I still didn't gain any weight. However, I was fortunate to never have to go on insulin, I could control it completely with diet.
Because of the GD I got to have another ultrasound on February 27th to make sure everything was fine. I wasn't scheduled to meet with the OB that day, but he happened to be the office and the tech ran out of the room to get him - it was at that point that David and I realized something wasn't right. The doctor came in and told me that I had a condition called polyhydramnios which means that I had too much amniotic fluid. He wasn't too concerned but wanted me to have regular non-stress tests (NST) from now on and he would refer me to a high-risk doctor so that we could have a higher resolution ultrasound to see how Samuel was developing.
At that point I started going to the OB's office twice a week for an NST....these are really quite relaxing I think. I mean, I would just sit, belly exposed, in a nice recliner with the monitor on my belly and it seemed that where ever they placed the monitor pads, Samuel would go to town kicking the monitor until they finally had to move it to a new place so they could hear his heartbeat and not him kicking. The room had dim lights and so I would just relax for about 20-30 minutes. Samuel always passed these with no problems so the OB believed that the polyhydramnios was just related to the GD.
On March 12, 2008, we went to see the high-risk doc. He did the high-resolution ultrasound. Things were looking good and then the doc got quiet and kept looking at the same area over and over again and trying to get Samuel to move so that he could get better pictures. After quite a little while the doc told us what he found. Samuel had a duodenal atresia and it also appeared that Samuel had a problem with his heart. The doc told us that with those two abnormalities that there was a very high likelihood that Samuel would have Downs Syndrome.
The doc then said something that I don't think I will ever forget, and it makes me cry every time I think about it. He told David and I that while I was too far along for it to be legal in Florida, it would be legal for me to go to Kansas to abort the baby.
We made it very clear to the doctor that we loved Samuel and regardless of what any tests may show, we would NEVER consider not having him in our family.
The doctor explained that he is required to let us know of our options and that he would never bring it up to us again. He did however talk to us about having an amniocentesis done so that we could know before the birth and make any preparations. He left the room and had all patients that were waiting for him go to a different area so that David and I could talk.
Can I just say that I am so incredibly grateful for David, he is such an honorable priesthood holder and I am thankful that he had so much strength that day and on the days, weeks, months to follow. Anyway, we decided to go ahead with the amniocentesis. I was nervous, but it really wasn't bad at all. Samuel was typically such a wiggly little guy that I was afraid of him bumping the needle, but he was on his best behavior and stayed very still while the doctor was drawing the amniotic fluid. We then met with the genetic counsellor. He was awesome - he didn't have any openings that day, but he said he would skip lunch and meet with us. He assured us that there was nothing I did or didn't do during the pregnancy that would cause any of the issues. We talked about our families and he said that there didn't seem to be anything in the family history to show that there would be a genetic abnormality. After that appointment we left to wait....then on Friday we got the results that Samuel was definitely a boy and he did NOT have Downs Syndrome.
On Monday, March 17th, we went in for our regularly scheduled NST in the morning. Samuel and I were both doing great. My blood pressure looked wonderful and Samuel was acting just a any little growing baby should. The doctor was so shocked to hear that Samuel had an abnormality, but because we were doing so well he said he thought it pretty likely I would be able to go to full term!
That afternoon after eating lunch I started to have a pain. It was awful and I just felt sooo tired - not normal pregnancy tired, but something more. I called David and he said maybe I should just go to the hospital. I thought that was silliness because the doc had just said I looked great. I told my friend at work that I was going to just go home and rest. The next day we had a statewide conference so I knew I would need to be feeling better for that even though I truly didn't feel like going.
I got home and the pain was getting worse. We took my blood pressure on the home machine that we bought and it was high, but I thought it was also unreliable. So David gave me the options of calling 911, going to CVS to use that blood pressure machine, or him driving me to the hospital. All very silly in my book because I just kept thinking that it was likely just my lunch not settling well. Finally I gave in and told him we could go to CVS. We got in the car and as we were driving the on-call nurse called us back. I answered and she asked to speak with David. She told him that he was to not stop anywhere but to take me directly to the hospital. I was annoyed and felt very tricked!!!! Then the pain got worse and I agreed that we should just go to the hospital.
So we got to the hospital about 5:30 PM and it was soooo busy! Lots and lots of preggo women waiting to be checked-in. The pain kept getting worse as we waited and then the nausea set it. Poor David didn't know what to do to help and I was getting cranky and more nauseated because of the pain. I went to ask the nurse if there was a bathroom close by because I felt I was going to be sick, unfortunately before I could say anything I just grabbed her trash can and lost it. I just knelt there on the floor hovering over that trash can for about another 30 minutes and every time I would throw-up again, the receptionist would say how sorry she was and assure me that they are trying to get me back to a room.
Finally at 7:30 PM I got a room in triage. I got to change into a hospital gown, had to give a urine sample, and then they hooked me up to the monitors. Samuel was luckily doing very well. As they ran the preliminary tests the high risk doctor decided I needed to be admitted to the hospital. I called my dad to let him know and then we called a friend (John) who is also the Elders Quorum president in our ward to come up and help in giving me a blessing.
I am very grateful for the priesthood and that John was so willing to come up to the hospital. I don't remember what was said in the blessing but I do remember feeling peace. Around 9:30PM I was moved to a room on the long-term stay floor. My blood pressure continued to rise and the pain was still getting worse. They did however give me something for nausea. They also gave me an injection to help Samuel so that if he had to be born it would help his lungs. The nurse came in and checked on me regularly and the monitor kept loosing Samuel so she would have to come in to adjust it so we could hear him, but the doctors weren't sure what to do. They were thinking that perhaps they would just keep me for observation for about a week or longer. The assured us that nothing would happen that night so around 1 AM David and I decided it would be good for him to go home and get things for us (we hadn't brought anything at all).
At about 1:45 AM the doctor came in and said that with my condition it was urgent that they prepare me to have an emergency c-section; I had severe pre-eclampsia and the baby needed to come out now. I asked if they could wait until David got back and he said that David needed to hurry, because they would not wait for him.
I called David, but I didn't want him to panic so I simply asked where he was at and I told him to hurry because I was lonely and didn't like being there alone. About 30 minutes later the doctor returned and asked if David had arrived yet because they were getting ready to take me to the OR. I called David again and asked him where he was. He was right by the parking terrace so I told him to really hurry because they were getting ready to take me in.
Then we waited. The nurse kept giving me injections of something and finally I asked her what was going on. She said that they were worried because my blood pressure had gotten so high that it was too dangerous to take me in to surgery but that it was not responding to the medication.
Finally after the 5th injection my blood pressure came down enough. They took us down to the OR where we were introduced to a team of doctors. As they wheeled me in to the OR though there was a shift change so then as they were starting the preparations I was introduced to a whole new team of people....needless to say I don't remember many names.
However, I do remember Dr Alexander. He came over to me and introduced himself. He told me that he was the neonatologist that would be caring for my baby. He told me that because of Samuel's age he likely wouldn't cry and that they would have to intibate him to get him to breathe. He told me to not worry, that he would take good care of Samuel. He was so nice, so calm, that I did trust him.
Finally, they allowed David to come into the room. I was so glad to see him, and he was quite relieved to be back in the room with me. While he was in the waiting area he received no updates on what was going on and he was getting very worried.
At 7:22 AM on March 18th Samuel was born (he was 8 weeks early) and he immediately started crying. It was an amazing feeling - I felt no pain of course, but I could feel when he had been taken out. They examined him and discovered that Samuel had an imperforate anus, but other than that he was perfect and so beautiful. He weighed 4 lbs 9 oz, and measured 18 inches long. After they did the preliminary exam and before they took him to the NICU, they laid Samuel on my chest. I don't think there are words for the feelings at had when I was looking at him and he was looking at me for the first time. He was only allowed to be on my chest for about a minute before they had to rush him to the NICU, but it was one of the most memorable minutes of my life.
Post-op was kind of funny. Like I mentioned before, there was a statewide conference at work and I was suppose to be there. I asked the post-op nurse if there was a phone close by that I could use thinking that I would just get up and make the phone call. However, I was also pleased to report to the nurse that I could wiggle my toes. Needless to say I was heavily medicated and very sleep deprived (David and I had been up for over 27 hours at that point). Luckily my worry about calling my work was needless, as David, while waiting for the nurses to allow him to come back to be with me, called my work and our families to let them know the news. Finally that afternoon we were put in a room and we both slept for a few hours.
David would also go back and forth to visit me and Samuel. I think that the nurses would have nominated David for Daddy of the year award for how attentive he was to Samuel and I. He really did an excellent job.
On March 19th I got to go down to the NICU to see Samuel. I only got to be there for a little bit because I was still very weak. Then on March 20th Samuel was taken in to surgery to correct the duodenal atresia and also get an ostomy (that was the first step in the 3 part process of correcting the imperforate anus).
I was released from the hospital on March 22nd, but Samuel still needed to stay in the NICU. While there Samuel did really well. We had our ups (Samuel smiling, gaining weight) and downs (he got RSV while there), but on May 16th he finally got to come home. YAHOO!!
David and I found out we were expecting a baby on August 30, 2007, and we were thrilled. We had our first little ultrasound on October 2nd and it was just amazing to see little Samuel bean. He was only 4.9 cm head to rump, but we loved him. He was completely worth the morning sickness.
My pregnancy seemed to progress just fine and on December 19th we had our "big" ultrasound and found out our little bean would be a little boy and everything looked perfect.
In January we found out that I had gestational diabetes (GD), but that was no big deal. I just watched my diet and pretty well forced myself to eat, and eat a lot. I had to eat 2400 calories/day which was significantly more than I really wanted, and I still didn't gain any weight. However, I was fortunate to never have to go on insulin, I could control it completely with diet.
Because of the GD I got to have another ultrasound on February 27th to make sure everything was fine. I wasn't scheduled to meet with the OB that day, but he happened to be the office and the tech ran out of the room to get him - it was at that point that David and I realized something wasn't right. The doctor came in and told me that I had a condition called polyhydramnios which means that I had too much amniotic fluid. He wasn't too concerned but wanted me to have regular non-stress tests (NST) from now on and he would refer me to a high-risk doctor so that we could have a higher resolution ultrasound to see how Samuel was developing.
At that point I started going to the OB's office twice a week for an NST....these are really quite relaxing I think. I mean, I would just sit, belly exposed, in a nice recliner with the monitor on my belly and it seemed that where ever they placed the monitor pads, Samuel would go to town kicking the monitor until they finally had to move it to a new place so they could hear his heartbeat and not him kicking. The room had dim lights and so I would just relax for about 20-30 minutes. Samuel always passed these with no problems so the OB believed that the polyhydramnios was just related to the GD.
On March 12, 2008, we went to see the high-risk doc. He did the high-resolution ultrasound. Things were looking good and then the doc got quiet and kept looking at the same area over and over again and trying to get Samuel to move so that he could get better pictures. After quite a little while the doc told us what he found. Samuel had a duodenal atresia and it also appeared that Samuel had a problem with his heart. The doc told us that with those two abnormalities that there was a very high likelihood that Samuel would have Downs Syndrome.
The doc then said something that I don't think I will ever forget, and it makes me cry every time I think about it. He told David and I that while I was too far along for it to be legal in Florida, it would be legal for me to go to Kansas to abort the baby.
We made it very clear to the doctor that we loved Samuel and regardless of what any tests may show, we would NEVER consider not having him in our family.
The doctor explained that he is required to let us know of our options and that he would never bring it up to us again. He did however talk to us about having an amniocentesis done so that we could know before the birth and make any preparations. He left the room and had all patients that were waiting for him go to a different area so that David and I could talk.
Can I just say that I am so incredibly grateful for David, he is such an honorable priesthood holder and I am thankful that he had so much strength that day and on the days, weeks, months to follow. Anyway, we decided to go ahead with the amniocentesis. I was nervous, but it really wasn't bad at all. Samuel was typically such a wiggly little guy that I was afraid of him bumping the needle, but he was on his best behavior and stayed very still while the doctor was drawing the amniotic fluid. We then met with the genetic counsellor. He was awesome - he didn't have any openings that day, but he said he would skip lunch and meet with us. He assured us that there was nothing I did or didn't do during the pregnancy that would cause any of the issues. We talked about our families and he said that there didn't seem to be anything in the family history to show that there would be a genetic abnormality. After that appointment we left to wait....then on Friday we got the results that Samuel was definitely a boy and he did NOT have Downs Syndrome.
On Monday, March 17th, we went in for our regularly scheduled NST in the morning. Samuel and I were both doing great. My blood pressure looked wonderful and Samuel was acting just a any little growing baby should. The doctor was so shocked to hear that Samuel had an abnormality, but because we were doing so well he said he thought it pretty likely I would be able to go to full term!
That afternoon after eating lunch I started to have a pain. It was awful and I just felt sooo tired - not normal pregnancy tired, but something more. I called David and he said maybe I should just go to the hospital. I thought that was silliness because the doc had just said I looked great. I told my friend at work that I was going to just go home and rest. The next day we had a statewide conference so I knew I would need to be feeling better for that even though I truly didn't feel like going.
I got home and the pain was getting worse. We took my blood pressure on the home machine that we bought and it was high, but I thought it was also unreliable. So David gave me the options of calling 911, going to CVS to use that blood pressure machine, or him driving me to the hospital. All very silly in my book because I just kept thinking that it was likely just my lunch not settling well. Finally I gave in and told him we could go to CVS. We got in the car and as we were driving the on-call nurse called us back. I answered and she asked to speak with David. She told him that he was to not stop anywhere but to take me directly to the hospital. I was annoyed and felt very tricked!!!! Then the pain got worse and I agreed that we should just go to the hospital.
So we got to the hospital about 5:30 PM and it was soooo busy! Lots and lots of preggo women waiting to be checked-in. The pain kept getting worse as we waited and then the nausea set it. Poor David didn't know what to do to help and I was getting cranky and more nauseated because of the pain. I went to ask the nurse if there was a bathroom close by because I felt I was going to be sick, unfortunately before I could say anything I just grabbed her trash can and lost it. I just knelt there on the floor hovering over that trash can for about another 30 minutes and every time I would throw-up again, the receptionist would say how sorry she was and assure me that they are trying to get me back to a room.
Finally at 7:30 PM I got a room in triage. I got to change into a hospital gown, had to give a urine sample, and then they hooked me up to the monitors. Samuel was luckily doing very well. As they ran the preliminary tests the high risk doctor decided I needed to be admitted to the hospital. I called my dad to let him know and then we called a friend (John) who is also the Elders Quorum president in our ward to come up and help in giving me a blessing.
I am very grateful for the priesthood and that John was so willing to come up to the hospital. I don't remember what was said in the blessing but I do remember feeling peace. Around 9:30PM I was moved to a room on the long-term stay floor. My blood pressure continued to rise and the pain was still getting worse. They did however give me something for nausea. They also gave me an injection to help Samuel so that if he had to be born it would help his lungs. The nurse came in and checked on me regularly and the monitor kept loosing Samuel so she would have to come in to adjust it so we could hear him, but the doctors weren't sure what to do. They were thinking that perhaps they would just keep me for observation for about a week or longer. The assured us that nothing would happen that night so around 1 AM David and I decided it would be good for him to go home and get things for us (we hadn't brought anything at all).
At about 1:45 AM the doctor came in and said that with my condition it was urgent that they prepare me to have an emergency c-section; I had severe pre-eclampsia and the baby needed to come out now. I asked if they could wait until David got back and he said that David needed to hurry, because they would not wait for him.
I called David, but I didn't want him to panic so I simply asked where he was at and I told him to hurry because I was lonely and didn't like being there alone. About 30 minutes later the doctor returned and asked if David had arrived yet because they were getting ready to take me to the OR. I called David again and asked him where he was. He was right by the parking terrace so I told him to really hurry because they were getting ready to take me in.
Then we waited. The nurse kept giving me injections of something and finally I asked her what was going on. She said that they were worried because my blood pressure had gotten so high that it was too dangerous to take me in to surgery but that it was not responding to the medication.
Finally after the 5th injection my blood pressure came down enough. They took us down to the OR where we were introduced to a team of doctors. As they wheeled me in to the OR though there was a shift change so then as they were starting the preparations I was introduced to a whole new team of people....needless to say I don't remember many names.
However, I do remember Dr Alexander. He came over to me and introduced himself. He told me that he was the neonatologist that would be caring for my baby. He told me that because of Samuel's age he likely wouldn't cry and that they would have to intibate him to get him to breathe. He told me to not worry, that he would take good care of Samuel. He was so nice, so calm, that I did trust him.
Finally, they allowed David to come into the room. I was so glad to see him, and he was quite relieved to be back in the room with me. While he was in the waiting area he received no updates on what was going on and he was getting very worried.
At 7:22 AM on March 18th Samuel was born (he was 8 weeks early) and he immediately started crying. It was an amazing feeling - I felt no pain of course, but I could feel when he had been taken out. They examined him and discovered that Samuel had an imperforate anus, but other than that he was perfect and so beautiful. He weighed 4 lbs 9 oz, and measured 18 inches long. After they did the preliminary exam and before they took him to the NICU, they laid Samuel on my chest. I don't think there are words for the feelings at had when I was looking at him and he was looking at me for the first time. He was only allowed to be on my chest for about a minute before they had to rush him to the NICU, but it was one of the most memorable minutes of my life.
Post-op was kind of funny. Like I mentioned before, there was a statewide conference at work and I was suppose to be there. I asked the post-op nurse if there was a phone close by that I could use thinking that I would just get up and make the phone call. However, I was also pleased to report to the nurse that I could wiggle my toes. Needless to say I was heavily medicated and very sleep deprived (David and I had been up for over 27 hours at that point). Luckily my worry about calling my work was needless, as David, while waiting for the nurses to allow him to come back to be with me, called my work and our families to let them know the news. Finally that afternoon we were put in a room and we both slept for a few hours.
David would also go back and forth to visit me and Samuel. I think that the nurses would have nominated David for Daddy of the year award for how attentive he was to Samuel and I. He really did an excellent job.
On March 19th I got to go down to the NICU to see Samuel. I only got to be there for a little bit because I was still very weak. Then on March 20th Samuel was taken in to surgery to correct the duodenal atresia and also get an ostomy (that was the first step in the 3 part process of correcting the imperforate anus).
I was released from the hospital on March 22nd, but Samuel still needed to stay in the NICU. While there Samuel did really well. We had our ups (Samuel smiling, gaining weight) and downs (he got RSV while there), but on May 16th he finally got to come home. YAHOO!!
He Likes It
Samuel is loving food now. Here are the pictures from dinner today
I also think he is really loving his new little chair. Such a good little boy!
Friday, October 17, 2008
A Busy, Fun Week of Firsts!
Samuel is doing so well! It seems like it has been a lot longer since he had surgery. Here is a bit of review of the past week.
David's mom came arrived on Sunday evening and then his dad arrived Wednesday evening. Samuel has LOVED spending time with Grandma and Papa and it has been wonderful having them here to help with watching Samuel while David and I go to work.
We received Samuel's first "school" pictures this week. I am working on getting them scanned in so that I can share them. I must say that he sure is a cutie.
On Saturday Samuel had his first taste of food! We tried to feed him some baby oatmeal. He looked at me like I had lost my mind when I put the spoon in his mouth. I did put some oatmeal on his binky and he still thought I was odd. He looked at David as if to say, "Dad, do you see what Mom is doing? Are you going to let her just get away with this?" So, here is a picture of Samuel's first experience with food!
I am making his baby food right now and I am pretty excited about it. It seems like it wont be too hard and it also seems like it will be a lot cheaper. I did buy the baby oatmeal, but I made the sweet potato. Next I am going to try avacado - all I have to do for that is peel it so I can't really claim that I am going to make it, but I did pick it out from the store and I will peel it!
Also this week, Samuel discovered a new way to play with his play mat....here's the video!
This evening we went to EPCOT with David's parents. It was their first time at Walt Disney World!
Friday, October 10, 2008
A Song
I heard this song shortly after Samuel was born and I really like it so I thought I would share it here. It is In My Arms by Plumb. Here is a YouTube video for those who would like to view it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARAJ7uwnhYU
It has reminded me of Helaman 5:12
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
Right now Samuel is overcoming medical challenges and in the future he will need to overcome challenges of a different nature, but hopefully he will have a good foundation so that he will be just as strong then as he is right now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARAJ7uwnhYU
It has reminded me of Helaman 5:12
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
Right now Samuel is overcoming medical challenges and in the future he will need to overcome challenges of a different nature, but hopefully he will have a good foundation so that he will be just as strong then as he is right now!
We're home!
Samuel was discharged from the hospital today and he is now home and sleeping soundly in his crib. He is such a happy little boy and it is so nice to have him home!
While we were in the hospital the chaplain who works at the NICU were Samuel was for 2 months came for a quick visit. We love Chaplain Gayle! She was always wonderful to come support all of the parents in the NICU and it was so nice to see her again.
We also saw the two ostomy nurses (Teri & Sally) that helped teach us about ostomy care while we were in the NICU. They are wonderful ladies and it was also really nice to see them.
While we were in the hospital the chaplain who works at the NICU were Samuel was for 2 months came for a quick visit. We love Chaplain Gayle! She was always wonderful to come support all of the parents in the NICU and it was so nice to see her again.
We also saw the two ostomy nurses (Teri & Sally) that helped teach us about ostomy care while we were in the NICU. They are wonderful ladies and it was also really nice to see them.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Movin' on Up
Samuel had a rough time last night. He was having lots of pain so he was just moaning and had a hard time breathing. We finally got the pain regulated better for him so he rested well this morning and now he is back to acting just like his regular self. He really does want to get up and play, but when he wiggles to much he hurts. Plus he has the catheter that has to stay in there for a week (the surgeon said that there would be lots of trouble if it came out - apparently they had to surgically place it in there and if it comes out he would have to go back into surgery to get it replaced) so we need to be super careful with picking him up. Plus, he's not so much wanting to sit on him sore little bum!
Great news is that we are being moved to a new room. Samuel is in the special care unit right now, that is just one step above ICU. Any time now they will be moving us out of special care and into general pediatric. Samuel is doing so well! He is really getting active and keeping me on my toes because he just LOVES pulling on the wires and tubes. He has already removed all of his leads and keeps picking at the tape holding his IV in place. Such a stinker! He will look over to see if I am coming and then he will smile - I'm pretty sure he knows he shouldn't be messing with the tape, but thinks it fun for me to stop him.
David will be spending the night here with Samuel tonight. I am going to work on Thursday & Friday and will come up to the hospital so that we can eat dinner together and visit. Then Friday night I will be back up here to stay so that David can get a good night's rest at home. After that we will see - Samuel is doing so well he may not have to stay past Saturday!
Great news is that we are being moved to a new room. Samuel is in the special care unit right now, that is just one step above ICU. Any time now they will be moving us out of special care and into general pediatric. Samuel is doing so well! He is really getting active and keeping me on my toes because he just LOVES pulling on the wires and tubes. He has already removed all of his leads and keeps picking at the tape holding his IV in place. Such a stinker! He will look over to see if I am coming and then he will smile - I'm pretty sure he knows he shouldn't be messing with the tape, but thinks it fun for me to stop him.
David will be spending the night here with Samuel tonight. I am going to work on Thursday & Friday and will come up to the hospital so that we can eat dinner together and visit. Then Friday night I will be back up here to stay so that David can get a good night's rest at home. After that we will see - Samuel is doing so well he may not have to stay past Saturday!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Out of Surgery
Samuel is out of surgery and in a room. He did really well in the surgery. He is back to breathing on his own and will hopefully be awake enough to eat something soon.
Here are the pictures of him getting settled in his room.
Today's the Day! Pre Op Update
Samuel was taken back to surgery at 10 AM. The anesthesiologist listened to Samuel and said he sounds great and she had no concern about him. Samuel was getting a little sad that he couldn't eat, but would still smile and charm each doctor and nurse that came in to see him. Such a cutie!
Here are some pre op pictures:
This is one that was taken on Sunday after Samuel was given a blessing.
Before we went into pre op we waited in the surgery waiting room. In the background you can see Winnie Palmer - that is where Samuel was in the NICU.
Waiting for the doctors to come see us.
All ready! Samuel in his little hospital gown.We just got a call from the surgery nurse - they started surgery about 15 minutes ago (10:30 AM). He went under very well and is looking good. We will keep you posted!
Here are some pre op pictures:
This is one that was taken on Sunday after Samuel was given a blessing.
Before we went into pre op we waited in the surgery waiting room. In the background you can see Winnie Palmer - that is where Samuel was in the NICU.
Waiting for the doctors to come see us.
All ready! Samuel in his little hospital gown.We just got a call from the surgery nurse - they started surgery about 15 minutes ago (10:30 AM). He went under very well and is looking good. We will keep you posted!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Surgery Time
Samuel's surgery will be at 10:30 tomorrow morning! He is doing pretty well right now. He has some congestion so that may change plans (if the anaesthesiologist feels its not safe then we will have to re-schedule), but right now we are going forward as planned. This morning we had to start Samuel on clear liquids only. At 4:30 AM tomorrow we have to stop the liquids. We will check in at the hospital at 8:30 AM. I will try to keep everyone updated.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
October!
I can hardly believe it is already October. This will be a great month. Samuel is scheduled to have his second surgery on October 7th and then Grandma and Papa are going to come visit! We are all very excited to have company.
Plus, it will be Samuel's first Halloween. We haven't decided on a costume yet. We are really hoping that the ward will have a Halloween party because we wouldn't take Samuel trick or treating so he needs somewhere to show off his first costume.
Plus, it will be Samuel's first Halloween. We haven't decided on a costume yet. We are really hoping that the ward will have a Halloween party because we wouldn't take Samuel trick or treating so he needs somewhere to show off his first costume.
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