One Day Old

What an adventure we have been on since P's arrival (on pi day)! We've learned so much, and have had to keep up with constant change, thankfully almost all good and moving in a positive direction. I have of course taken a million pictures along the way, and it's still not over!

Being in recovery without our newest little guy was rough. Ryan got to run up to the NICU with Parker while my c-section was completed. After a couple of hours of monitoring me, I was finally wheeled up on a stretcher to see my second baby boy:

Here one of the nurse practitioners went over everything they're watching out for in him, and thankfully ended her list with, "Everything is treatable."

Thank God! I think my eyes just kept getting bigger and bigger.

I've already listed everything P needs to accomplish and get through in my last post, but here's how he's done since his arrival:

Not even a full day old and so many tubes and wires! He was puffy from the fluids they were pumping through his system, too. But he was getting a break from the lights and the CPAP machine every four hours to be sure nothing was reshaping his head.

In his first day out, he got what's called a pneumothorax (not sure I spelled that correctly...). Basically, the high pressure of air from the CPAP machine was too forceful for his little lungs, resulting in a hole in his lungs that made a huge pocket of air which restricted his breathing. Thankfully it was to the side of his lungs, so they could easily aspirate the air with a needle in his chest without the risk of further punctures to his lungs. This also meant he was taken off the CPAP and put on just a regular oxygen tube that has the prongs that go in his nostrils. Lower pressure too. 

Today I walked the two to three feet to the wheel chair from my hospital bed. It's amazing what the body is capable of after being sliced wide open! I think it's moreso that I am extremely motivated to see this wonderful little human whom I've been blessed with getting to have here with us right now. The physical pain is there, but I can ignore it so much more easily this time around. I just want to see and touch my baby boy.

I was afraid to at first, to touch his foot, or part of his little hand. But he's my baby boy, I'm allowed that bit of physical contact, despite all the lights and tubes and wires. I need to remember that going forward and not hold back being here for him.

Because I got a lotta love to give.