A Great Recovery

The nurses warned us that Skyler would most likely get worse before he got better after the surgery. The doctor said he would probably get a chest tube put in; they are supposedly pretty painful and increase the risk of infection. Luckily, neither one of those things came true. What a blessing.
The cardiologist told us that right when he put the clip on Skyler's PDA, his blood pressure immediately went up. He also didn't have to put a chest tube in because he didn't go inside his chest cavity, or something like that. I wasn't sure what that meant but I didn't ask any questions about it. I was distracted by him telling us that Skyler had another hole in his heart besides the PDA and the fistula. He assumed we knew and breezed over it by mentioning that his daughter had one hole and never had a problem. I decided not to ask too many questions about this new discovery; the surgery was enough to think about. When we saw Skyler after the surgery, we could see that his coloring already looked better-- more pink.


The next few days after the surgery Skyler was extremely stable with his oxygen needs so they weaned him down on his ventilator settings. We learned it won't be too long until he comes off the ventilator all together! A couple days before the surgery, he was doing so well that they switched him to a different ventilator. He seems much more comfortable on this new one because it's not constantly shaking his entire body. For example, the new ventilator gives him 22 breaths per minute. The other one gave him 540 per minute. Also, the new one only kicks in if he is not breathing on his own so he is able to do a lot of the work himself.
Another great thing about the new ventilator is... he can do Kangaroo Care on it!! (After he heals from the surgery) I'm so excited; I have been looking forward to Kangaroo Care more than anything else. I get to hold him, skin to skin, against my chest. Knowing it's been right around the corner this past month is what's kept me sane. I really don't entertain thoughts of him coming home very often. It seems too far off. But Kangaroo Care-- I think about it all the time. It's actually what I picture in my mind every time I hear that song on Chris' video. My huge preemie book I'm reading says it will be a great comfort for Skyler too. He's used to hearing my heart beat. It will also help him regulate his temperature and handle his feedings better. The nurses say it's one of the best things a mother can do for a premature baby. I know it's one of the best things I can do for myself. Oh, and Chris can do it too.
Speaking of Chris, on Valentine's Day, he got to hold Skyler for the first time. It was time to change Skyler's incubator again. He didn't have as many lines in his body so the nurse swaddled him up nice and cozy for the occasion. He seemed so content in Chris' arms, just sucking away on his binky and looking around. Chris didn't want to put him back in his incubator. Who can blame him?