Hoping We've Turned The Corner

What a difference a day makes! I promise that today my post will be a little more positive than yesterday's was. It's amazing what a "good" night's sleep and almost a full day without watching your child vomit can do for the psyche! Although, woken every two hours for a quick neurological check (checking muscle control, pupil dialation, fine motor skills, etc.), vital signs check, and incision check, Jacob got to sleep through the night. Therefore, I got to get a little rest too.

It now looks like they have found the right anti-nausea med for Jacob (after trying out three different ones), so his spirits are a bit higher than they were yesterday. He hasn't vomited since around noon yesterday and has been willing to munch on ice chips and saltine crackers, which is a HUGE change from yesterday morning. He also had his first bm yesterday since the surgery, which has helped with his abdominal discomfort significantly (he was very constipated from the pain meds and was so miserable). He's also been requiring less morphine for pain, asking only twice for it yesterday, as opposed to needing it around the clock the day before. He seems content with only his "purple medicine" (aka Tylenol) today...hooray!

I figured that it was okay to post his picture today, since he's looking a bit better. This was taken right after he kept down his first couple of spoonfuls of ice chips last night and I asked him to give me a smile. He was so proud of himself! As you can see, most of the swelling has come down and he looks much better than he did. He's still very weak and he's terrified to have anyone go near his neck although he likes it when I stroke his cheek or give him a kiss on his forehead. He's definitely not a fan of the nurses changing his dressing though and has already told a few of them off...takes after his mommy there :o)

Hopefully we see the surgeon within the hour during her rounds and get a clearer picture of how he's doing overall. Then I will get to clean up a bit (which has become my favorite part of the day...ask Marc, I HATE going very long in the morning before taking a shower! I can deal with the all-nighters, hospital food, vomit, and waiting on my little guy hand and foot 24 hours a day here, but feeling dirty...ugh! Already bracing for multiple "diva" comments from my sister on that one... hehehe!). Then the goal for the day is to get some more solid food into Jacob and get him up to use the potty a little bit more today. As long as we stay clear of the nausea, those expectations sound pretty realistic. I'll try to post later to keep you all updated.

Thanks again for all of the well wishes and prayers! They are definitely working!!!!!