Post-op

Saw Dr. Wendy from Neurology today and she looked at Luka's back to make sure it's healing okay.  She said it looks great and that the tissue they removed was indeed just fatty tissue and nothing harmful.  They've ordered one more MRI for January and one more follow up visit to conclude that this operation was successful.  Almost done!

Crib? Bed? Crib? Bed?

I've firmly decided that Luka is no longer to sleep in our bed.  Co-sleeping is great and it made nights much easier for a long time... but I've had enough!  Now that he is sitting up and crawling I wake up to him leaning over me and pulling my hair all night long.  I think me being there next to him encourages him to wake and eat... on average when he sleeps in bed with me he wakes up 3-4 times a night.  So last night I nursed him to sleep and set him in his crib around 9pm and he slept pretty good until 2am (whereas he'd normally wake around midnight first). I tried the cry-it-out for 7 minutes to see if he'd fall back asleep on his own, but nope.  So I fed him, let him fall back asleep and then put him back in his crib.  His next wake up was at 5am, but I was so tired that I went ahead and considered it the next day and brought him to our bed.  I think this can work, and hopefully as he gets older he'll actually sleep through the night.  

The Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday the three of us went to the Sauvie Island Pumpkin Patch.  It was a beautiful Fall day, cool and sunny.  I don't think neither Eric nor I had ever been to a real pumpkin patch before so it was really neat to take Luka.  It's located on a little farm right when you get onto Sauvie Island and next door to the little market.  Luka was wide-eyed and curious, looking at the pumpkins, smelling food, watching children.  The patch also has a huge "Haunted MAiZE" which is a maze cut into corn stalks with spooky surprises that I assume pop out at you.  Although I did see babies coming out with their parents we didn't go, but hopefully next year.  We did take a hay ride, ate a caramel apple (Luka had some of the apple part), drank apple cider, and looked at some barn animals.  It was a lot of fun! Here is a link to more Pumpkin Patch photos.

The fireman

The boo-boo

If you get weak at the sight of this I apologize, but here is Luka's incision healing rather nicely.  The top portion of his stitches have already dissolved but it looks as though he has a lump on his back.  Perhaps a little swollen.  He hasn't needed any of the oxycodone so we've been sticking to Tylenol (once in the morning and once in the evening).  

Luka's surgery

First off, everything went like planned.  The surgery was a complete success, Dr. Selden was very happy with what he found, and Luka is on his way to a full recovery.  We arrived at the hospital 8:30 am on Monday and stayed with Luka until the  nurse took him into the operating room.  'Grandma P' and 'Poppy' met us there and helped us hug and kiss Luka goodbye.  That was the hardest thing to do- I was choking up the whole way down the hall- but Luka was brave and trusting and did not make one single peep.  After an hour and a half they let us know that they were sewing him back up and that all went well.  While we were waiting to see him Dr. Selden came out to report what was done.  He did cut out a large amount of tissue and he believes that there is a 92-95% chance that his spine will remain untethered and Luka will not ever need this surgery again nor have any side effects from it.  The scariest risk was nerve damage and Dr. Selden reassured us that all of his nerves were fine.  What a relief.

Once Luka was awake we were able to see him in the recovery room.  We then wheeled him up to his room on the 10th floor where he had to lay flat for 48 hours.  That was a big worry for me since Luka is so active and in midst of his crawling and cruising stage, but it wasn't as hard as I thought partly because of the pain medications and soreness.  The days and nights did drag but overall it went rather smoothly.  

The final morning was the hardest I would say.  Luka was no longer on morphine so he was ready to get going again and Eric had to leave and go back to work.  Dr. Selden checked in and okayed him, so I immediately picked him up (even though he still had his catheter) and nervously squeezed him. From then on it was NOT OKAY for me to set him back down on his back.  When the nurse took the catheter out we roamed the halls a bit, played in the school room, listened to a classical guitarist (part of the hospital's Musical rx program), and looked out the windows.  We were both ready to go home but Luka had to fully empty his bladder twice before they would discharge us.  

Patty, Scott, and Brooke met me there and drove us home when we were finally released. Luka was just so thrilled to be outside and in the car. He is back to crawling and standing, does not seem to be in much pain, and is sleeping a lot (it was hard getting rest when nurses were checking his vitals every 2 hours).  Last night he slept from 10pm-5am which is the longest stretch of nightime sleep he (and I) have ever had!!!!!!!!!!  That was amazingly nice.  Today he is in the 3rd hour of his morning nap.  Well, I have to say that this was hard and stressful, but we consider ourselves very lucky that Luka is healthy and strong unlike some of the other patients who roomed nearby.  As one nurse exclaimed, "You look too healthy to be here".  Eric and I have such a beautiful gift and are fortunate in EVERY possible way.  To see the pictures CLICK HERE

Florida

Luka and I will flying to Florida November 17th to spend Thanksgiving with our families this year.  Eric will be joining us on the 26th, and then the three of us will be returning home December 3.  I'm looking super forward to this!

Big Stuff

I know I've been talking a lot about Luka's upcoming surgery in the recent posts- and I just want to add that he is really being tough about it all (very strong).  On Wednesday we spent almost 4 hours at OHSU hospital meeting with Dr. Selden and his Nurse Practioner, riding the sky tram to the top of this hill (picture), getting blood drawn, and touring Doerbechers Childrens Hospital's pediatric surgery area where Luka will have his surgery this Monday morning.  He absolutely did not mind any of it (except for getting his blood drawn, of course, but even then he immediately stopped crying when it was over).  He actually enjoyed playing in the waiting areas and looking at the other children.  So, Luka is our brave boy and we can't wait for next week to fly by and for us all to be back home doing things as normal.  

A bit of honesty

...I have to say that sometimes I really do feel like I'm going to go nuts.  How in the world did I not know how time consuming, demanding, irritating, and tiring motherhood could be.  And why do I feel like sometimes I'm the only one who thinks that way.  I have about a half a dozen friends who are also mothers and I NEVER hear them complain.  I feel like I complain all the time.  Either it's my lack of sleep, or still having to share a bed, the whining, the crying every time I must change a diaper- on mornings like these I wish I could just walk away.  One child will be enough for me, thanks.  And I hope I'm not coming off as insensitive or irrational- but I just can't see how some women go through this two or three more times.  I've heard the old "Oh, you'll forget.  By the time the first turns 2 you'll be wanting another."  PLEASE DON'T LET ME FORGET!! Seriously, one is enough!!