Processing

The kids and I were just talking about how much we packed into the last twenty-four hours as we took Spencer for his MRI; including a three hour, one-way drive to a city south of us, getting lost in said city, grabbing some dinner, unloading, plopping our bodies in a hotel, sleeping, getting up at five to be at the hospital by six; and then spending the next five hours signing, prepping, listening, praying, releasing, crying, reuniting, holding, nursing, packing up and turning around for another three hour drive home. Whew. If it sounds like a lot, it was. So now, I'm processing.

Here we go. Another motel.

~Settleing in after nearly four hours in the car.

 Big brother entertains the baby, while Dada performs an antsy child-in-armoire extraction.

Welcomed levity: these are always good for a laugh however, the jury is still out on its ability to lather up an
adult-sized head-or two, or four.

Sleepy. Long day tomorrow. 

6:00 AM

In the waiting room with Dada.

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34: 17,18

We figured that Dada, the one who doesn't nurse, would be better off holding him since I was frustrating him. He kept looking at me like, "Hellooo? Are you going to feed me now?!"

This is his "I''m frustrated that mom wont feed me -cry." One minute he'd smile, then suddenly, he'd start crying.

At this point, we were there about 45 min. filling out paperwork,

talking with the doctor, having his vitals checked, and meeting the anesthesiologist. So as this was being taken, 

he was hungry (no food allowed for 8 hours prior), tired, in

strange surroundings, in a weird gown,
& teething to boot...I may need to take over. 

7:30AM

-My sweet, sweet bubba bug cried himself to sleep. It was a blessing, though.
He went right into anesthesia after that,
so at least I was the last person he remembered.
They explained he would get a little gas to breathe,
they would then intubate, and start an IV.
They assured me that he'd be sleeping first, so he
wouldn't be too uncomfortable. The anesthesiologist, 2 nurses, and
the MRI technician were with him the whole time.
8:55 AM

Here they are transporting our Spencer to recovery.
Our sweet nurse Linda explained in advance that they couldn't stop moving him
so we could peek or touch. He was still intubated at this point, so that probably would have upset me.
 We sat in a waiting room for
about an hour and a half, then we moved to a new recovery-type
 room for another ten minutes, talked with some nurses (that we immediately
bonded with), and soon we could hear him screaming down the hall as they brought him to us.
They warned us he'd be upset, and he did not disappoint.
We told him that now would be a good time to ask his parents for a new pony, or a sweet ride
of some sort. Whatever you want, buddy, we'll make it happen ; )
10:10 AM Reunited!

At this point, I was finally able to nurse.

A huge relief (in every way) for the both of us.

The IV needle was bigger than his whole hand.

They kept it in for about an hour post proceedure.

They wanted to see if Spencer was eating, peeing normally, and if he

held down his milk.

The "What to expect when going home "conversation went something like this:

*Expect him to be out of sorts

*Watch for upset tummy/vomiting (he had no trouble with this.)

*Possibly sounding temporarily hoarse

*Sleepy

*Sore or sensitive hand (the IV site)

Some questions I had:

Is it safe to let him sleep? (Yes.)

Is he in pain? (Pain, no. Discomfort, probably.)

Does he remember anything? (Probably not.)

Can he take his meds? (Yes.)

Can he eat solids (Yes.)

Homeopathic chewable teething tablets? (Yes.)

Can he take Motrin or Tylenol or pain/discomfort? (Yes)

(*Hey but don't take my word for it, they change their minds in the medical community all the time.)

*Update. Happy to report that he did wonderfully. No weird reactions, at all. 

 Pretty alert at first, then slept most of the way back.

Grateful.