James's Surgery

Well James's surgery has come and gone and lets just say I am glad that is over with. We don't have too many pictures of his while he was in the hospital but here is the low down. We took him for his pre-op testing which was horrible! Trying to get blood from a 16 month old is not easy for the child or the parent. After that ordeal he didn't want anyone to touch him.

We had to be at the hospital at 4:45 in the morning and James did great up until they gave him the sedative. Apparently he had an opposite reaction and after an initial "drunk" drooling James he got really restless and super angry. They gave him another dose right before they took him back and apparently he got even worse!

The surgery lasted about an hour and a half and we finally got to see him in the CICU. It still rips my heart open to recall seeing him because I felt so horrible letting them do this to him! They had to be a little more invasive than usual because he isn't as stretchy as a normal toddler is so his incision was a little longer. He had a chest tube in and was pretty heavily medicated. He just laid there and whined the most pitiful whine ever. He developed a condition called Chylothroax which means the lymph nodes that were cut leaked too much fluid. This is pretty rare to have happen but James doesn't know anything different other than being the one in a million. His first chest tube got blocked and he had a large amount of fluid around one lung so they had to go back in and take it out and put another one in. Then it was just a matter of waiting until his drainage stopped.

He was in the hospital for about 5 days and he did great. He just sat in his crib and played, slept and watched Elmo. We went for wagon rides around the cardiac unit and even made it to the play room once or twice. It is amazing how quick these little guys recover.

We have noticed a great improvement in his tendency to choke. He hasn't had any problems since the surgery so we know it has helped him. The breathing issues will take up to 6 months to fully correct themselves but we are happy we went ahead and got this abnormality corrected. He got the all clear from his follow up cardiologist appointment we had a couple weeks ago and he doesn't have to go back to see them for another 8 months!

We are happy this whole ordeal is over and glad our boy is back to normal!

In the CICU

Cruising around the cardiac unit

Playtime

Give this boy anything with wheels and he is in heaven. Add a little "being chased by Daddy" and James's day is made!

Wrestling with Daddy!

Nothing like a good wrestling match with Daddy! Here's his technique:

1. Force the face down


2. Eye poke
3. Ear pull
4. VICTORY!

Never too late for Christmas!

I've been a bad blogger again! Now that I am counting down the days until baby Eli arrives I have some down time during the day to update my blog. A little prod from Honey (aka my mom) always helps to! I guess we shall go in order and start with Christmas!

James had a wonderful Christmas and really wasn't sure what to think about all the new toys in the house. He just kind of stood there for a min looking before he went to play with anything. And of course the smallest present we got him at the last minute seemed to be his favorite. We should have known that getting him anything to do with cars would be a hit. Here are a few pictures!

"Wow, look at all the toys!"


Playing in his tents with the tunnel thingy.

Now it's off to the see the family!

Aren't they the cutest cousins ever?!?!?

Daniley loving on her dog.

Don't ya think he would make a cute girl? :)

Just a quick update...James is doing great! He is almost 14 months old now and amazes us everyday. We are in the process of nailing down a date for his heart surgery but have a lot of preliminary things to do prior to that. The surgery should be fairly easy and should offer him the relief he needs to get over his choking and breathing issues. We were well aware that surgery was most likely going to happen and consider ourselves blessed to have made it this long. He is such a strong little man and I am sure he will fly through with ease!

Baby #2 , which is a BOY, is doing well. He prefers to be breach with his head all up in my lungs...I am doing well with my weekly injections although they are a pain in the butt, literally. We are hoping this one won't be as early as James was. We are getting excited about meeting this little guy!

I will post more pictures soon and will try my best to do better at updating this blog...although I seem to say that in every post don't I? :)

Where do I even start?!?!?!

Okay, so I admit it, I am a horrible blogger. I haven't updated in so long that I don't even know where to start! So much has gone on in the last couple of months. James got tubes in his ears and cut his first tooth on the same day way back in June...he is crawling all over the place and is recently standing by himself for 10+ seconds...he is into everything. He just recently cut his first top tooth so the others shouldn't be too far behind. Overall he is doing just wonderful. He is such a blessing and his smile can turn a bad day around in a heartbeat. I think the most exciting news recently is that James is going to be a big brother! We are due with #2 in late March of 2010. I have been way sicker than I was with him so I am thinking it is going to be a girl!

Enough talking...lets get to the pictures! In no particular order...

His 9 month picture

Just looking cute

Testing his new teeth out

Splashing in his baby pool

Looking super cute in the bathtub

And last but not least, having fun at cousin Daniley's first birthday party!

Too cute not to share!

James Dexter's First Sippy Cup!

Randomness!

The poo face!

The Shirt Says it all!

My big boy! First time with a sippy cup!

No, NOT ME, no it wasn't my cat that swallowed half of my shoestring after gnawing it off of my shoe and had to be rushed to the vet for emergency surgery to remove it from his intestines....no, NOT ME! You would think after swallowing numerous shoestrings before and getting violently ill, that he would be smart enough to learn his lesson, but, NO, it's NOT ME that has the dimmest pick of the litter.

But...it's also not just me that thinks he is just adorable! :)