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!