Surgery Update

A little over a week ago we went up to SLC for James to have a routine eye exam. We left that appointment with the news that James needed to have another surgery to remove built-up scar tissue that was making his vision hazy. This surgery would be just as intense as his actual cataract surgery last June, and the recovery would be the same. Knowing that I'm due in a little over a month, we wanted to get the surgery done as quickly as possible so we could have James recovered by the time Lily came around. Fortunately, everything worked out for us to have the surgery last Wednesday, on February 22nd.

We've normally had surgeries/anesthesia exams on Friday mornings (nightmare!), so we were curious to see how different it would be on a Wednesday afternoon. It was difficult not letting James eat anything Wednesday until the surgery, but I was able to keep him distracted enough to not be too upset. Once at Primary Children's, we didn't have to wait nearly as long as we have in times past. Our surgery was on time, and not 2 hours behind schedule like every other time! The whole day was actually really easy until James was coming out of surgery.

The surgery itself was a success, and Dr. Dries doesn't expect James to need another surgery for a long time, if ever. James did not do well coming out of anesthesia, however. He was screaming bloody murder and was extremely disorientated. I repeatedly told the nurses to put arm restraints on him because no tape in the world would keep him from pulling off his eye shield and rubbing his eye. After James pulled everything off for the 3rd time and I was sitting there physically restraining his arms while he was thrashing about, the nurses finally got the hint and found arm restraints for him. He hated them, but at least he couldn't get to his eye and rip out any stitches. The next few hours were pure hell as James would keep waking up and throw his body back trying to get out of his restraints and eye gear. After slowly getting some food in him and keeping him awake, he finally came out of his confusion and calmed down. I felt so bad for the families next to us because they had to hear a screaming toddler for a couple of hours.

Over the next few days we struggled with the arm restrains and eye patch. James was also reacting weirdly to the pain meds and was acting more frenzied than normal. After taking him off those meds, which the doc said he didn't really need anymore, he has gone back to normal. We discovered that as long as we keep his eye shield off and arm restraints on, he can't get to his eye and rub it. We just have to watch him like a hawk while he's playing so nothing pokes his eye, but at least he's much happier. The downside is having him eat and drink. I have to pretty much do it all for him otherwise he goes straight for his eye. We will both be happy when he can keep his restraints off during mealtimes. Until then, I hope I don't go crazy with all the Mickey Mouse and Little Einstein cartoons. They are the only things that keep him occupied enough to let me feed him.

Life is slowly going back to normal, and in 2 weeks his stitches will be dissolved and I can officially relax. Then I can stop feeling like the meanest mom ever! I have to literally sit on him to put drops in his eyes 4x a day. Needless to say, he detests it. Hopefully I won't have to do those drops much longer!

It has dawned on me that once life goes back to "normal", I will be having a baby. I better get used to this change in schedule.

Daredevil

Yesterday I caught James trying to ride his rocking horse down our stairs. Fortunately, I caught him teetering at the top yelling "whooooooaa!" After taking that away, later that day he tried sliding down the stairs in his big toy tunnel. Whose kid is this anyway?

Observations

In my brief stint as a mom, I have noticed some changes that probably mark me as a parent. Here are a few.


You know you're a parent when....

Your once beautifully decorated home is now overrun with tacky child locks.

Said child locks have been replaced multiple times and reinforced with industrial strength glue and a prayer.

You consider 7:30 am to be sleeping in, and Daylight Savings Time has become a serious issue.

You know that applesauce is tart enough to sneak in pureed peas and carrots. *Proud Parent Moment*

You run into a problem and look around for Toodles.

The new expletive in your household is, “Crackers!”

You find toys in your garbage disposal. That’s normal, right?

When a cashier asks if it’s okay to give a Smartie to your kid, you look at him like he is insane. Sugar is avoided like the plague.

Dogs, cats, horses, and fishes have now become doggies, kitties, horsies, and fishies.

All climbable furniture has been moved into the garage. In other words, your living room furniture is a couch.

“Hot Potato” by The Wiggles was memorized months ago.





That's all I've got for now. I'm sure I'll add to this list as opportunities reveal themselves.

Shannon's Visit

Last month, Shannon came to visit for a few days, and she brought with her Dan's camera. We all had a fun time with the camera, and even though her visit only lasted about 3 days, we had accumulated about 650 pics! After whittling down the near-duplicates and blurry pics, here are some of my favorites. We've got some cute toddlers in this family!