The Stent

On Wednesday, Sean and I headed to the outpatient surgical center next to the hospital. He was due to have the stent that was left in after his November surgery removed. The biggest challenge was keeping the little bugger happy - he was not allowed to eat after midnight and his procedure was scheduled for 11 AM. It was touch-and-go in the morning at home and in the car ride to the surgical center, but once we got there, Sean was dazzled by all the new faces, including a new little friend he made - a two year-old-girl who was getting a procedure done to remove an earring backing stuck in her ear canal.

After lots of flirting with the nurses, it was time for Sean to go into the operating room. My heart leapt when Sean showed a little stranger anxiety, clinging to my shirt and burying his face in my neck when they came to get him, but he was a brave little trooper and went without a whimper. And forty short minutes later, I was called back to the recovery room and the babe downed 12 ounces of formula. Whew. The stent removal went perfectly and the doctor was pleased with how Sean's kidney looked. We'll go in six weeks to get a follow-up ultrasound and hopefully things will still be progressing as expected.

Merry Merry!

First snow!

Sean saw his first snowstorm this weekend and it was a doozy!

We did our best to keep up with shoveling on Saturday, but by Sunday morning it was like we were never out there!

On Sunday morning, we found the snow was taller than the PepperDog:

Our (smothered) Christmas lights:

The new must-have toy

An empty oatmeal tub with a handful of uncooked rice inside!

Seven months

Sean turned seven months old yesterday. He's growing so fast and seems to be doing something new everyday. Here are some of his new tricks:
-he can get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth . . . an alarming precursor to crawling for this un-babyproofed household
-he works so hard to get to a toy that's out of reach
-he's added bananas, carrots, pears, and potatoes to his menu
-he can munch on rice crackers to hold him over between bottles
-he waves!
-he can stand for a good amount of time as long as he's holding onto something
-he's a noisy little man: he blows raspberries, sings, giggles, shrieks, and babbles
-he is teething in full force
And his 7-month photos with Winnie (who apparently was feeling pretty lazy on this dreary day):

Bumped down

We bumped down Sean's crib last weekend since he's showing signs of trying to pull himself up.

Before:

After:

And to drive home the comparison, here's my teeny-tiny babybear and how he looked in his big ol' crib waaaaaay back in May:

Whoa mama.

That was a tough week! But now both Nora and Thom John are done with school until January!! Yippee! The next few posts will be catch-up on the events of our past week which has felt like a month - Sean's cold is better, he has a new style of sleeping, and the most important event of the past week:

Pepper turned 4! We celebrated with cookies and a new toy which Pepper has already torn to pieces. That's okay - it means he liked it. :-) Happy Birthday, old man.

2006: He was just a pup - a mere nine-pound ball of fur, snuggles, and chewing.

On his first day home, he couldn't be bothered to sit still for a photo. Coincidentally, that was the last day we had towels hanging from the oven door. The PepperDog loves towels.

2009: A stately, sophisticated, man-about-town, Pepper still enjoys snuggling and chewing - and sitting on the couch when we're not home (we know you do it, Pepper! you leave your fur everywhere you go!!!)

Sicky

It seems that little baby Seanybear has his first cold. He has a temperature of 101* and some other symptoms, too. Plus, he is a tad cranky and super-clingy. And I can hear him snoring on the baby monitor. We'll try to get into the pediatrician's for an appointment tomorrow since Sean isn't going to school tomorrow. At his daycare, kids can't go to school unless they've been "fever-free" for 24 hours or they have a doctor's note stating that they are not contagious.

Either way, I hope the little bugger feels better soon - he's just not himself.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From Nora, the Little Turkey, and the 4-hour Marathon man.

Hospital pictures

We got home from the hospital at about 5pm tonight and Sean went to bed at normal time. Here's hoping the little guy has a good night of sleep. And here are some photos from our stay:

Before surgery, in his hospital duds:

Checking that the equipment is up to snuff:

Sooooooooo hungry:

Afterwards, with mommy:


Puffy face!


The next morning, feeling good after being disconnected from the monitors:

It took a lot of work to keep Sean entertained all day Friday - we had a fashion show with bunny:

We played with balloons:

We walked around the childrens' ward, we looked out the window, and we napped. Lots of short naps.

Finally, the doctor came in and said that Sean was doing so well that he should be a "poster boy for recovery." He gave us some final instructions and we were on our way home.

The morning after

Sean's doing great this morning - he's totally shaken the effects of the anesthesia and is up and about and into everything. His face was really swollen after the surgery, but he's almost back to normal. He even managed to find time to perfect his new move - getting up on his hands and knees!

Early this morning the nurses took out his catheter and unhooked him from all the monitors. He's had about 16 oz. of formula in 6 hours, so I'd say his appetite is back - with a vengeance. The nurses have taught me how to take care of the drainage tubes sticking out of his side (yuck) which should be taken out sometime next week (yay).

Now, we're waiting to see the results of Sean's bloodwork and have the doctor take one more look at him and we might get to go home today - fingers crossed!

Surgery

Sean's surgery is over and all is well. Everything went as expected - the doctor found a "kink" in the tubing between Sean's kidney and bladder, so he took out the kink and connected the good tubing with the good funnel-type part of the kidney. Sean is cranky and sleepy and will need a good bottle when he's finally up - the poor kid hasn't eaten in almost 18 hours!

Why didn't we think of this sooner?

We've had the Pack n' Play forever! It was Sean's "bed" for the first few weeks he was here and we still use it as a travel bed. But it didn't occur to either Thom John or me to use it as a playpen for Sean until last week - duh!! Sean isn't mobile yet, so he's happy to sit and play for a little while and we're happy that Sean has a Pepper-free place to enjoy his toys for a bit.

6-month check-up!

We went to the pediatrician tonight - here are Sean's stats:

Height: 27 in. (75th percentile)

Weight: 18 lbs 9 oz. (75th percentile)
Head: 18 inches around (95th percentile)

I'm getting 4 shots? You're kidding!

It's cold in here!

I'll cuddle with mommy

You weren't kidding about the shots.