Surgery Update!

I had been trying to keep all of my documentation for Ben's omphalocele stuff on the caringbridge page, but since the site isn't letting me upload pictures, I am going to add them on here.  I am too excited about how well he is doing not to share.  :)

His surgery lasted a little over an hour this morning, and everything went perfectly!  The plan has always been to do a staged closure, and today was stage 1.  The surgeon was able to take a strip of "skin" (scar tissue) from the middle of his tummy and then the sides were pulled together.  He was able to close some of the muscle, but the final muscle closure (and belly button creation) will be in several months from now.  We've only seen his belly with the dressing still on it, but it is definitely flatter!

Trying to escape

Enough with the surgery details though, time to talk about my super tough and awesome boy!
Since super parents left the diaper bag with his toys in the car, we had to get creative with the entertainment.  After flirting with the receptionist for awhile, we luckily were able to run into TUG.  Tug is basically a robot that travels around the hospital and delivers supplies to various floors.  Andy thought it was the funniest thing when we were here when Ben was born, so it was fitting that he/she/it made an appearance this morning.   And after Tug left, the parent name tag was equally entertaining.

It was a bit of a whirlwind this morning prior to surgery.  We were able to talk with the anesthesiologist and surgeon, but as soon as we got to the pre-op holding area, they gave him his versed and off he went.  My friend's mom is an OR RN here, so she made sure that Ben got extra fabulous care.  The surgery itself lasted about an hour and a half.  One of my great friends and co-workers kept us company which helped the time go relatively quickly.

I was able to see him in the recovery room (only 1 parent could go back) and when I walked in I expected to see him sleeping in the crib.  Nope!  He was sitting on my friend's mom's lap, content, awake, and looking around.  He was definitely a little groggy and did not get as excited to see me as he usually does (or as I was expecting), but he happily cuddled right into my arms.  About 10 minutes later, we were on our way to meet daddy and head to his room.    I got a few more snuggles before he realized how cool his cage bed is and that they have all new toys here.  We couldn't get him still long enough to take a good picture, but as you can see...flat tummy!

It was probably less than an hour before he was back to his active, inquisitive, explorative self.  He was smiling, playing, pulling himself up, jumping, singing, talking, eating, etc.  I am still in shock.  I know it isn't exactly the same as a c-section, but I am pretty sure I wasn't feeling as good as Ben looks now at my 8 week post-partum check up.  These omphalocele babies are SO TOUGH!  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by how well he is doing.  I already knew he was way braver than me.

I know it looks mean putting him in that animal cage of a crib, but for one, he is content, and two, it is the least germy place (or germs are best contained??) for him to play in his room.  And it is the safest.  There, I justified the jail cage. :)  I know Auntie Anna was/is highly concerned about this.

I am happy to report that his IV is capped, he is not attached to any cords, and he is sleeping peacefully in my arms.  (As I am typing this with one hand...)  Hoping the rest of the night goes as smoothly so that we can go home tomorrow!  I want to make sure his pain stays well controlled!

He moved to my arms after one of the PAs messed with him.  Don't mind the blankets in the crib...gasp!

I will update more soon!