Happy Birthday Daddy

Gabe turned the big 3-7 today!  What?!?!? THIRTY SEVEN?  I know, he doesn't look a day older than 23, just like when I met him!  We celebrated with our families over for dinner and a delicious cake made by the boys.  Blind wine taste testing was the entertainment of the night and the Opus One bottle brought by Luke was the runaway winner!  Here's to another wonderful year for our favorite dude...I best get started on party planning the big 4-0, it will be here before we know it!

ER Visit

Today was a long day...Walker did not tolerate any position other than in my arms at all times.  The older boys were craving attention and we were very lucky Gigi was around to help play!  I ventured out of the house with the baby for the first time just to take the boys to music class and get us both a little fresh air.  I am pretty sure he cried all day except for the one hour we were in class.  Well, when daddy got home he was alarmed at the side of his head which I hadn't seen all day because he was wrapped on my body.  I sent a picture to the nurse of his head at 5:00 pm and one from two hours earlier....they were concerned enough to tell us we could either go to Vacaville ER and get an ambulance transfer or try and drive ourselves...we hit the road within minutes, and for the first time since the surgery, I lost a bit of my composure.  We were admitted into the ER, elected not to sit in the waiting pod that just looked like it was filled with super sick people, and eventually saw a doc that called the on call peds specialist and with our luck, it was Dr. McNatt!  We were so excited to see a familiar face and have someone who was actually familiar with Walker's case working on him.  We prepped to drain the lump and by the time we got him secured down, it was almost gone.  We still managed to get some fluid but the doctor was almost 100% positive based on the quantity and color that it was not spinal fluid and probably just a clump of dried blood under the skin.  Nonetheless, he's back in a turban and I will follow up with Roseville on Friday.  Our sweet baby was so tired from the all day crying and lengthy ER visit that he feel asleep sitting up with his head in my hands.  Oh buddy, you are one tough dude!  This top picture is the photo at 3:00, the following ones show the lump by 5:00pm.

Welcome Home

We arrived home to two very happy older brothers, homemade signs, and a brand new walker toy for our brave baby.  The boys took a little reassuring that Walker was a-okay and then they were off to their next light saber battle without missing too much of a beat.  Here are some pictures from our first few days home- you can see how quickly the incision is healing up and the swelling is going down.  We would like the swelling to be gone all together, it's really disconcerning to push on your baby's scalp and feel water underneath.  You could actually hear the water moving under his skin when we were still in the hospital.  They assure me that's normal and it's actually encouraged to wash his incision and really scrub the dried blood off...I am not sure how much scrubbing I am capable of doing, but he is getting bathed and I do pour water on his head...then I quickly need a glass of wine to calm me down.

4 Months Young

Cranial Restructuring Surgery...

Today we had Walker's cranial surgery.  I am not sure how, but we've managed to keep it together all these weeks leading up to today, and throughout the morning we did remarkably well.  We left the house early to arrive at the hospital by 7:00 am.  We checked in and he was immediately a hit with the nursing staff.  He was all giggles and smiles and naked baby fat rolls!  We met with the surgical team and were reminded that his adorable pudge made it harder to find veins and arteries so we needed to be prepared for the chance that the surgery could get postponed if they weren't able to get the lines going.  He was carried off by the anesthesiologist and we headed to the waiting room to wait.  Heather brought us snacks, magazines, and conversation, and Katie met us to be our ears for all the medical jargon.  We were relieved when we hit 10 am and figured they must have been able to get his lines in or else they would have already been back to tell us the surgery was postponed.  Surgery lasted just over four hours and around noon they came to tell us he was being wheeled over to the PICU and everything had gone just as they had hoped.  Doctor McNatt was pleased with the surgery and couldn't see anything to be more concerned about.  We headed to the PICU and while I had some idea of what it would be like to see my sweet baby hooked up to machines and lethargic from drugs, it was still a shock to the system and something I am hoping was a one time experience.  Walker was not nearly as drugged as we thought he would be and he was protesting the lines and wailing- it sounded like a sick seal and it broke my heart!  A nurse shift change allowed me to hold him, but as comforting as I thought it would be, it was VERY challenging to hold him with two iv lines, an arterial line, a catheter, heart monitors, a blood pressure cuff, a splint to keep his arm straight and unable to pull anything out, and an oxygen/pulse monitor on his toe.  I wasn't sure where to put my hands or how much slack I had before things would be pulled out, but he nursed and seemed comforted, so we sat and rocked for a while.  He eventually kicked both his ankle lines out and then his arterial line collapsed so he was without any lines and switched over to oral pain meds.  I advocated for his pain meds as frequently as I could, some nurses were more understanding than others, and rejoiced when the catheter came out and he was cord free!  It was amazing to see his head, literally hours after the surgery, already round and a completely different shape!  After spending 24 hours in the PICU we were transferred to the pediatric floor.  Not only did we have a bathroom and shower in our room, but Walker was only monitored every four hours (versus every one hour in the PICU) and we had two places to sleep, so everyone got a little more rest the second night.  Walker's personality came back a little bit at a time and by the third day he was smiling at his nurses when they weren't taking his vitals or drawing his blood.  He developed a black eye on day two but we were assured that was normal and Dr. McNatt took off the dressing so we could see what the incision looked like...I would have liked the gauze to stay on for a few more days, it was a little much for this mama and I wanted the extra layer of protection, but the doctors assured us it all looked great.  We were discharged with our pain meds and our at home care instructions on Saturday and we headed home to see our two bigger boys and start the recovery process on our own at home!

PJ day at PEP

What a fun way to welcome everyone back to school...pjs and pancakes!  Wesley was so excited to wear his dog jammies and bring his favorite cuddle to school.  His buddies Noah and Wyatt met us in front of the tree for a few quick pics!  I can't get enough of PEP, I love the excitement in my boys and the love from the teachers...oh stay little forever, please!

And baby makes 4!

My sister is going to be a mommy AGAIN!  Katie, Mark, and Peyton are getting ready to welcome baby #2 this August and we couldn't be more excited to have another sweet baby to love on!  Boy or girl, we will see come August 2016!

Snowtime

We headed to the snow for a little family get away and hoped by leaving a day early we would miss the storm and potential road closures...well, we did miss driving in the storm, but we also missed sledding because no one in their right mind wanted to be outside in the storm!  The boys didn't care, we headed to the local kiddo museum, which was a great way to spend a snowy afternoon, and had a chance to watch another installment of the Star Wars trilogy!  We always love family time away, even if Mama ends up a little sick and Daddy has to man the trio and pack up on his own!  Until next time snow!

Welcome 2016

We hosted our annual NYE bash with a little twist this year- crab was hard to come by so we opted for Himilayain Salt Block cooking and while it was fun and different, an exploding salt block made for more memories than we had bargained for!  Aside from the explosion, everyone had a blast and we even made it until MIDNIGHT!  Our boys hung out upstairs and went to bed like champs so Mommy and Daddy could spend the evening toasting an incredibly blessed 2015 and making plans for a wonderful 2016!  2015 brought new jobs, new babies, new homes, new friends, and new adventures....we can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for everyone!