Moved out of CICU

Sorry for the lack of updates today!

It was been a good day for Landon! His eating yesterday was kind of off and on, but today he has picked up a lot more and is almost to where he was before surgery. He still has times of fussiness which may be a pain thing, so there are still a few different meds they will give him for pain, but he also has period of activity and happiness. We even saw a few smiles today, especially for Papa and Mimi, my (Allison's) parents!

His blood count was low today so he got some red blood cells and his heart rate is still pretty low, but they did another EKG and I think it came back ok but I haven't heard for sure yet. He got one of his IVs out today and hopefully will get the other one, a "central line" out tomorrow. At that point he will just be on the monitors and oxygen. There was a lot of chaos with some other kiddos in CICU today so it delayed us getting out of there but we made it to the floor (CPCU) at about 5pm. We get a room up here with a door we can close and we can turn off the lights and stuff which is really nice. In CICU we were lucky enough to have a private room, but it still has a glass door/wall out to the unit so you can only get it so dark even though the door blocks out most of the sound.

He had some fun playing with his toys today (we brought a lot because we wanted him to have some fun things to distract him from all the un-fun things!) We brought his mobile from home too and set it up on his crib which he has been enjoying tonight.

We've heard that it's possible we could go home Monday (!!!) but more likely Tuesday if things go well over the weekend. We had been told originally that he would be here 7-10 days after surgery but when we got up here for pre-op we heard 5-7 days so that's what we are hoping for for!

Up to the 9th floor!

Landon had a good day, he got moved up to the CPCU just like we expected and did pretty well the rest of the day, except for being upset for a while this afternoon. He got a private room which is nice cause it's a little quieter than the open space of the CICU. He's starting to act pretty hungry and while the nutrition he's getting through IV will help, he'll still feel hungry which will be hard since we can't feed him for several more days.

So when he wakes up, he seems to do so with a vengance, whether it's due to hunger or pain. Now the only thing he's on for pain is tylenol as needed which is good.  His scar from surgery is looking better each day but it's definitely a reminder that but our 12 day old has been through open heart surgery!  It's also a reminder that God brought him through surgery and continues to heal him.  He's only got one thing on his face now, a tube in his nose, which might come out soon. This is down from 4 (just on his face) so he's starting to look more like our sweet baby again. I'm sure I said that before, but it's so nice to see him get closer and closer to "normal" looking again.

No plans to change anything else that we know of, just trying to get him to sleep as much as possible so he can continue to heal!

A Room with a Different View

Landon had a great day and night yesterday. He got several more lines out, including catheter, 2 of his IV lines, breathing cannula, and several more things. He's down to just a few meds, a tube to draw the acid out of his stomach (since he's not eating right now) and the monitors.

He's been such a trooper through this whole thing and we're happy to see him much less tethered and looking more like our sweet baby again! He's really enjoyed being swaddled and held the last few days and we've enjoyed getting to hold him! The nutrition they are giving him should meet his needs but doesn't fill his tummy so he'll still get hungry until we can feed him again, but we're told not as hungry as he would without the IV nutrition (TPN & Lipids).

We just heard that they are probably going to move him from CICU to CPCU (Cardiac Progressive Care Unit) today. This is a step down in the level of care because they don't feel like he needs intensive care anymore (YAY!) This means he will no longer have a dedicated nurse (They've had him at 1:1 with a nurse since surgery) but it also means he shouldn't need it and that we'll have a private room, which will be nice. Where we are is a pretty open floor that has curtains that separate some of the units so it will be nice to have a barrier to other kids crying and other monitors alarming and stuff.

Some of the grandparents are headed back home today but my (Allison's) mom is staying with us for the time being. It's been so great to have them here and let them meet their grandson! He is the first grandkid in my family and the 2nd (but the first boy) on Gary's side.

We are thrilled with how well he's done these last few days. He's like superman- leaping multiple heart meds and IV lines in a single bound! :-) Really we know that God's hand has been on him and has given him the strength to endure all of the pain and frustration of the last 5 days. We know that the Lord will continue to provide him the strength to handle the recovery and future surgeries. Thanks for all of your love and support- it has meant so much to us that there are literally people all over the world extending their love and praying for our son!