Let the games begin!

My father-in-law likes to say to me "You never know what comes with wedding cake..." Boy was he right! It takes someone to be a parent before they realize what a constant sense of fear and joy feels like... It's this presence that is always looming in the back of my mind... sometimes in the front of my mind- like when I stand over my son while he sleeps and will him to keep breathing because I just know that he'll quit breathing as soon as I look away or try something selfish like going to sleep. But that kind of fear is small potatoes, I now realize, compared to the genuine panic you experience when you realize that your son has to go to the EMERGENCY ROOM because he's been projectile vomiting for a week and now you're worried that dehydration will start and that the little M.D. in your head is telling you that there is DEFINITELY something wrong with your baby.

Being a parent, a mom for sure, comes with a whole new realm of education- you get your medical degree and you don't even know it. All along the way of motherhood you learn all sorts of fascinating terms. Today's term is "PYLORIC STENOSIS" (pronounced just as it looks).

Pyloric Stenosis (PS) is the over development of the Pylorus Muscle - the muscle at the bottom of the stomach that controls the food transference from the stomach to the small intestines. When the muscle is over developed it prevents ANY food from being digested in which case dehydration becomes a real concern because he's now projectile vomiting all over you after every feeding! The only way to correct this little problem is surgery. They go in laparoscopically, making 3 tiny holes like the points of a triangle and then they insert their camera and tools and cut the muscle to relieve some of the tension so the opening can spread and allow for normal digestion. They don't cut it all the way down they just loosen it. Over time it will heal with scar tissue and should not cause any future complications. As I have learned this is the 2nd most common problem requiring surgery in newborns. For more info click

http://www.schneiderchildrenshospital.org/peds_html_fixed/peds/hrnewborn/pyloric.htm

Now enough with the medical mumbo-jumbo- let's get real for a minute. This was THE LAST thing I was expecting. When my son has been throwing up formula for a week, I start experimenting with different types of formula just in case its actually an allergy. To no avail and TONS OF LAUNDRY and a week later (yes, I did call the pediatrician 4 days into this little circus act and they told me to keep trying different formulas and to give it 2 weeks!) I call the doc back and tell the nurse that it ain't working and I can't even get him to keep Pedialyte down. She tells me to take him to the hospital because they are worried about dehydration. So, New Years Eve my husband and I rush off to the hospital and wait in Emergency for the doc. He comes in and I explain everything to him and right off the bat he pre-diagnoses Robby with PS. I have never even heard of this! They admit him to the hospital and we wait the night out for the Ultrasound tech to show up in the morning to confirm visually that it is in fact PS. Yada, yada, yada... time passes, curtain falls and the Ultrasound confirms the PS. An hour later the Surgeon comes in to explain to me what all goes with the surgery. It takes about 45 minutes with a 45 minute observation to follow. The surgery is scheduled in 3 hours and by 6pm yesterday he was in the OR getting everything taken care of. It's a day later and he hasn't really been in the mood to do anything but sleep- but the doc said that the surgery was just fine and that he's healing well. We won't be out of here until tomorrow maybe Friday depending on how he takes to eating...

I really wish I could say that I held it together and didn't quiver a lip at all... but that simply isn't the case. This precious little boy- he has such a dear soul and the most pure gaze when you look him in the face... I was truly worried Monday night about what I didn't know. I'm grateful that I have a family surrounding me with the faith to pray and to be supportive and confident- especially when I'm the one falling to pieces. My love and appreciation goes out to everyone who hopped to and answered my call and never thought twice about my request for a prayer on behalf of my little angel. I know that all of you were just as necessary and effective as the procedure and the doctors who have been taking care of my son. He's recovering well- we're just waiting for his appetite to return and for him to be able to keep food down. No luck yet but I know it will get better.

Anyway- in the mean time- I've posted some more pics of him just because I know EVERYONE agrees that he is so stinking cute! Even the nurses like to tease me that they might just walk out of here with him cuz he's cute enough to take home. :-) Love to all and I hope everyone had a Happy New Year!