First of all, I need to apologize for not posting the last few days. These past few days have been a whirlwind, and we literally have not had time to post. I imagine that now that we are home, our postings will be a little less frequent, but we will still let everyone know what's going on every few days.
Mom spent the night with me in one of the hospital's family sleep rooms on Tuesday night. Max had the surgery on Tuesday, so I really wanted to be right around the corner from him while he recovered. Tyler went home to finish up a few things and get a good night sleep. We never wanted to be too far from Max while he was in the NICU and our thoughtful friends set us up in a really great hotel right down the street from the hospital for as long as we needed. It worked out great!
The next morning I went to see Max. He weighed in at 5 lbs and 14 oz and was eating and growing well. Tuesday had been such a whirlwind and we were expecting to have a few days for Max to recover and planned to head home on Thursday. When the physicians did rounds on Wednesday morning, they were so impressed with how Max was doing after surgery, they decided to send us home that same day. We couldn't believe it! I have to say, too, that Tyler and I were very nervous about taking a baby home that had heart surgery the previous day. I was also very nervous about nursing him with his sore incision. Max is such a strong little man. He didn't require any narcotics and just took Tylenol for pain and he seemed completely comfortable!! Can you believe that? Babies are so resilient; much more than adults. I can't imagine having heart surgery at 7 days old, going home 24 hours later and then only taking Tylenol for pain, but that was all he needed. This baby never ceases to amaze me!
So, we spent our morning getting ready for discharge (hearing screen, getting Hepatitis B Vaccine, and discharge paperwork). A pacemaker nurse came to do post-op teaching for the pacemaker and help answer any questions we had about Max's surgery. She was very helpful. I also attended an infant massage class; I thought it would be really therapeutic for Max if I learned how to give him a good massage.
Dad came to help us pack up some things and Mom went to our house to meet us there when we got home. It was such a good feeling walking out of that hospital with our brand new baby. I just wanted to tell everyone about how much I love him and how proud of him I am. He's such a strong kid already! The drive home went very well and Mom welcomed us home. We also introduced Annie (our Bichon Poo) to Max; she was very interested in him, but I think her feelings are a little hurt that she's no longer "top dog."
Mom graciously agreed to spend a few days and nights with us to help for the first few days. I took her up on it and the four of us had a great evening together. We celebrated our homecoming with a nice bottle of wine and a very tasty dinner provided by Ryan and Kerri Bauchiero. It felt so good to be home!
Love that you got to take him home.. He sure is a tough little guy.. Just realized he came home on my daughter's 30th birthday.. Hold him close, those years fly by..
ReplyDeleteNancy