Health and Development Update (8 months old)

Roman had ear tube surgery in mid April.  It went off without a hitch, and we were home by 10am that morning.  They were able to remove a lot of built up ear wax and drain all the fluid out too when they put in the tubes.  I didn't notice any difference in his hearing, but that same day I noticed a huge difference in his balance.  He was rolling more and sitting (still with support) better too.  All that fluid must have been affecting his balance!

Before surgery in his tiny hospital gown, getting a break from his helmet

We got there super early in the morning, so he did fall asleep while we were waiting for them to take him back to the OR.  He couldn't eat or drink after midnight the night before, but he wasn't bothered at all by not being able to have his morning bottle.  This guy doesn't love to eat.  I could picture him thinking, "So all I had to do to get Mom to stop forcing bottles on me was have a wee little surgery."

Roman is rocking his helmet!  He doesn't mind it a bit.  He wears it 23 hours a day and that one hour that it is off, I catch him feeling his head searching for it.

He still loves music and outside the most, but he really likes his mirror too!

Here's a new toy I brought down from the boys' closet.  He has enjoyed the big truck and moving the wheels.

He likes tummy time the most right after waking up, before I feed him a bottle and make that tummy full.

These two are going to be best buds forever.  Judah was my most cuddly hugger, until now!  He has now met his match.  Roman loves to be hugged and snuggled and kissed forever.  All my other babies would start to fuss or cry when older children were showering them with too many kisses and cuddles.  Not this guy!  He loves it and often smiles and giggles when kissed a million times.

Isaac was playing dress up with him after getting home from baseball practice.

With a special needs child it is easy to not see progress. You go months without meeting the goals that you set up with your therapists. However, there are so many small not to others don't seem like milestones. I thought it might be helpful on my own psyche and for others following our story to list out all those improvements here at this 8-month milestone age.

I don't have to sing to him the whole time I feed him anymore. I don't have to stay upstairs and tell the other kids not to talk to me while I'm feeding him. He is eating between 5-6 oz at a feeding instead of 2.5-4 oz.  He's eating every 4 hours instead of every three.  He's eating 5 bottles today instead of 7.  He will drink his bottle when we are out of the house.

He can roll both ways. You can pick up a toy and transfer it to his other hand. He is reaching for things that he's interested in now (not toys, things like a menu or something I may be holding.)  He sits in the highchair without reclining it.  He's tasting foods.

My Pirate

Judah's surgery day for the removal of his stye/chalazean finally arrived.  The doctor told us that he had to keep the patch on his eye for one hour after we went home, and Judah came up with an idea.  He wanted to wear his pirate shirt that day so he could be a pirate which I thought was clever and precious, but I'm biased.

He was very groggy all day.  He wasn't at all after the hernia surgery, so this was surprising.

The night before the surgery I realize I had no plan for Bobby that day.  I was going to leave Drew and Isaac at home, Brian was taking the girls to school, but what about Bob?  Brian convinced me to just take him and hope that it wasn't a problem.  In Germany it was always stated before that you couldn't bring children if you wanted to be able to go into the pre-op or the post-op rooms.  Since they said nothing about it, we figured we'd just try it.  They had no problem with it as it turns out, but it was a really early morning and a lot of time to keep him occupied.

I was up at 4:15am and we were out the door at 4:50am.  The surgery didn't start until 7:30am.  We played cards, read stories, and colored while waiting for the surgery to begin in between answering questions and signing consent forms.  When it was time to take him back, he got all clingy and scared for about a minute.  Then the nurse told him he could walk back or ride in the wheeled bed and help her find the rainbow, and he was done being scared.  Like a flip was switched and it was showtime.

The scab is pretty hard to resist pulling it off as it appears at this point to be mostly attached to his eye lashes, but I shall refrain.  Doctor's orders, and all that.  I figure in this house it's only a matter of time.

Bobby ate some breakfast and played quietly at my feet during the surgery waiting period while I read my novel.  In Post-op, they put me in a recliner and let me hold him.  I read them a longer picture book that I had saved while both boys got popcycles.  They took out the IV and we were on our way.  He's done great with recovery and never once accepted pain medication when I offered.  He can be a tough one.

Random cuteness here from the dentist the day before the surgery.

In the Great Hotel Hospital

I talked this hernia surgery up to Judah quite a bit.  Back when I thought he was staying overnight I was calling it a "Hotel Hospital" and told him how we'd eat popcycles, read books, and watch movies together.  The night before the surgery when we were giving him his bath before bed, Brian and I were discussing the surgery and one of us said something about where they are going to "cut him."  He did a double take and said, "What?  They are going to cut me?"

I normally take pride in being ultra honest and giving them all the information about doctor stuff and far in advance so they have no reason to fear the unknown and so they can trust me each time a new thing comes up that I have to explain.  I guess I just dropped the ball here and never actually told him what exactly was going to happen.  Brian took the lead here and explained what was coming.  He started to panic and I thought for sure I should have done this long before to give him time to process it.  However, he calmed down very fast and was amazingly brave going into surgery the next day.  He's a bit of a Wild Card, and I never know how he's going to respond to things.  

The nurses offered a sedative before taking him back into the OR since they don't let me go back there with him for the anesthesia part.  He was being so calm and easy going about the whole thing that I turned it down and he was wide awake and alert when they wheeled him away from me through the big door to the operating room.  He took his Grumpy Cat and his Polar Bear for comfort

We had a while to wait before and after the surgery, so I brought a special chapter book picked out just for him.  I made the right choice.  I read Mr. Popper's Penguins to him for the whole time we were waiting and after he woke up.  I chose that book because it had short chapters, some pictures, and a whimsical story for my silly boy.  We read most of the book before leaving the hospital around 1pm.  

Thy told me he'd be sleepy all day and they were really wrong.  He didn't sleep at all the whole day until I gave him his Oxycodone before bedtime.  I turned on a movie when we got home to keep him still.  I looked up from my work and he was hanging from the couch by his waist.  He was a little hard to keep still and calm, but when three days later we went to the local Hutte to have dinner, at the playground there he followed all my guidelines about him not running, climbing, or hanging.  He's not one to be THAT obedient about something when everyone else is getting to do it, so I think he did it because he was sore.  I saw him trying to keep up with the big boys and walking behind them, yelling, "Hey guys, wait for me!"  He never once said it hurt.  The closest he got to saying it hurt was the second night when he woke me up saying, "Mom, it doesn't hurt, but it feels funny."  I took that to mean that it did hurt a little and gave him more meds.  Brian said he was like a puppy after surgery, because we couldn't keep him still so he could heal.  However, as I write this about a month later, he is still being very careful pulling up his pants and wearing his pants extra high so that it doesn't touch his incision site.  All in all he's been a tough cookie.

But the biggest surprise by far- on her stomach was a scar!

(This post is completely out of order, but I am so behind that I am forgetting things and wanted to get this typed out before I forget.  Brian R. left after a month long visit and my parents came the very same day.  I literally drove Brian R. to the airport and picked up my parents at the same time.  So to catch you up, they were here during these events.)

In the middle of the night

Miss Clavel turned on her light

and said, "Something is not right!"

Let's start at the beginning.  Wednesday, September 8th, we were at the library, Hannah's favorite place of all time, and she started having a stomach ache.  She didn't feel good still by the time we were leaving to go to the track for our homeschool gym day.  I told her she could lay down on a blanket and skip the exercise that day.  Bless her heart, by the time we left she was feeling really bad and I was wondering if this was something like a stomach bug.  The plan had been for me to drop the big four kids with Mimi off at the movie theater to see Pete's Dragon because it was the last day it was showing.  She didn't want to go, and I knew then she must feel really badly.  I get her tucked in and she is writhing in pain all evening. Finally she starts throwing up around 8:15pm and I was still sitting with her at 10:15pm telling her she'd feel so much better in another 5 hours or so when this stomach bug passed.  That's been my experience.  We've had a lot of them in this house and it usually doesn't last long.  I turned on a movie, disinfected the bathroom, brought her a clean trash can, and said good night.  I went to bed and checked on her first thing in the morning since I hadn't heard from her all night.  She was sleeping so I went down to start getting ready for my eye appointment that morning.  She comes down, doubled over right before Brian leaves fro work and says the pain is worse and its a different pain now.  Turns out she never threw up again all night, but she barely had been able to sleep either.  She was up until at least 4am.  My sweet girl didn't come get me in all that time because she didn't want to wake me, but I felt horrible that she went through that alone.  

Brian examined her and told me I needed to take her in ASAP and rule out appendicitis.  He said it seems like all signs are pointing to that.  I couldn't get her an appointment, so we headed to the ER.  We got there at 9am.  Praise the Lord my parents were visiting and could watch the other kids while I took her in.  It was a classic case of appendicitis the doctor thought, but he needed to confirm with an ultrasound.

Yep, that sucker was twice as big as it was supposed to be and she was wheeled to the OR as soon as they got her IV in and gave her some morphine.  That was her first IV and the nurse had some trouble with it so Hannah was crying and very upset.  She was super scared about the whole thing.  I tried my best to comfort her with stories and telling her how the surgery part was going to be the easy part and she'd feel so much better with it out.  The docs and nurses were all very nice and made her laugh and smile a bit before I had to leave the prep room at 1pm.

I was completely at peace about this entire situation.  My mom and sister both really and truly almost died from a ruptured appendix, two of my aunts had cancer that started in their appendix (one of which discovered during a routine appendectomy), and I am a total worry wart.  And yet, I was calm and not worried at all.  I just felt like this was catching it early enough and that she was going to be okay.  I am so thankful for that peace that surpasses all understanding.

In recovery

Of course, she was okay, and the surgery went well.  All was clear and good.  She was sore, but feeling 70% better by the middle of that night.  We stayed only one night and she was ready to go home the next morning.  Genevieve was dying to see her and had been very worried about her best friend the whole time.

The perks of having your appendix out...popcycles!

Genevieve and I pampered our patient for quite a few days while she hung out in my bed.  Brian had a trip that he was supposed to leave for on the early morning of the day she came home from the hospital, but he postponed it a day to make sure Hannah was home and healing nicely first.  When he left she stole his side of the bed until he got back a few days later.  Her room is all the way at the top of the house on the sixth floor and she wasn't doing stairs too easily yet.  She was spoiled with movies and meals in bed for those few days.  She was feeling much much better after that and was able to do the stairs and eat at the table.  She got off chore duty for another week and then had only half duty, so Isaac and Genevieve were working extra hard for a while there.  She is now back to normal...almost.  She still can't do running, jumping, or heavy lifting (i.e. carrying Bobby) for another week or so.  She had her post op appointment and all is well on the healing front.

We are so thankful for this girl and extra thankful that God protected her from a ruptured appendix by having Brian be able to check her out before work.  If she had woken up 5 minutes later, he would have been on his way to work already and who knows how long it would have taken me to decide to take her in.  You only have 48 hours usually before it ruptures once symptoms set in.  She was in surgery at almost exactly the 24 hour mark.

I got-for to mention one thing.

Well, if you are one of my few dedicated blog readers, you may have noticed that I have been doing a pitiful job lately of keeping up with it.  No, I have not turned into a once a month blogger, but still!  I used to post at least every other day.  Anyway, I blame it on blog lovin' which is a blog roll where I get a daily email with all my favorite bloggers' newest posts.  So hard to not read them!  All!  I also blame it on homeschooling, Drew, the other 4 kids, and having to do crazy things like cook every day and do laundry, take kids to all activities (Hello, swim practice!  4 days a week!)...  Yeah, yeah, yeah, you get the point.  I'll stop making excuses and get on with the post.

Anyway, I was remiss not to mention that last Monday, June 30th, I had a minor vein surgery on my left leg.  I went back and forth about whether or not to do it partly due to breastfeeding.  A friend encouraged me to go ahead with it, knowing that my chubby baby boy would not starve even if he refused the bottle for the 24 hours.  So I took the plunge and expressed my concerns about breastfeeding to my doctor at the pre-op appointment.  First he tells me to ask my OBGYN if it is okay for me to have anesthesia.  When they sent me back to him to find out exactly what kind of drug, he does a 180 and says, "Eeh, we'll just do local anesthesia and you'll be fine."  That made me a little nervous that he was so casual about changing the plan completely.  And you know, I'd be the one on the table without IV anesthesia during the whole process of stab oblation.  the word "stab" didn't make me feel any better.  I wasn't really nervous, but a little bit apprehensive due to the flippant nature of the doctor and that word "stab."  Turned out super fine!  The shots to deaden my leg were the worst part, around 7 bee stings, and then all I felt was weird tugging.  I listened to a book on CD with head phones and tried to pretend I was on a luxury vacation which I kind of was.  I did get to lay down and listen to my book with no interruptions.  We got to the hospital around 11:30am and I walked out at 3:45pm, I think.  I am banished from the pool for a full two weeks and have to wear the blasted hot compression hose I am so familiar with. But I think God that someone had the decency and mercy to invent toe-less compression hose!  I love flip flops!  My leg has about 15 incisions down the back and I look a little like Frankenstein, but I am older and wiser than I once was, and I just don't care as long as this takes away the pain.  Besides the bruising and scars will fade.

Drew and Judah in the Home Depot cart

Oh, and the reason I said "got-for" in the subject line of this post is that Drew got his words mixed up and said that in place of "forgot" the other day.  I remember that is one of the stories my mom always tells about my sister when she was little.

He's back and better than ever!

Before: in the waiting room
He doesn't know what's coming.

After: at home
His first meal of the day was applesauce and cereal.

If this guy was any cuter, I would absolutely not be able to stand it!

I am happy to report that the surgery to put tubes in was an uncomplicated success. He did better than I expected with the no eating or drinking in the morning. Like all boys and men, he is very demanding about his food and gets pretty cranky if he can't have it on time. He asked for a drink less than half a dozen times which is about four dozen times less than I had anticipated.
The anesthesiologist disappointed me a bit because he didn't even show him the mask before or let him play with it. I had talked to him about it, but I am sure I didn't do a good job of explaining it. Plus, he made me lay him down while he put the mask on him, and Isaac got very scared. So he cried himself to sleep with the anesthesiologist holding the mask on his face. That was just sad to watch!
Seriously 10 minutes later I was escorted to a room to help him wake up. He got pretty irritable and cried and pulled off the oxygen mask and the pulse monitor. When I calmed him down, the doctor came in to talk to me. So he started up again with the crying and while he was still crying they told me to go home. The German medical experience is very different. I must have looked at the nurse like she was crazy. I didn't want to drive home with a hysterical baby who just had surgery, so I sat in the waiting room until I calmed him down yet again. As we were leaving he said, "All done Mass." I corrected him by saying, "All done doctor."
When we got home, he did not want to get out of the carseat. I don't know why, but he was content to just sit there for a few minutes and then he started to cry suddenly. I got him out, and we headed upstairs with his water to cuddle and watch a Thomas movie. Then he was ready for some food. We had this funny conversation where I figured out why he kept saying "All done Mass." It was "mask," not "Mass." He pronounces "mask" like "maks." See for yourself.

The girls stayed with a dear friend of mine overnight so Isaac and I could have some peace and quiet.