Pre-Op Day

Oh wow, what a day.  We spent eight and a half hours at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital today.  It was a looooooooong day... but Davis is such a trooper.  I was so worried about him being hungry and uncomfortable before his sedated echo, but he was as happy as can be!  He did great during the procedure and woke up happy.  Then we had an x-ray followed by a physical involving urine analysis, blood work, and EKG.  We met with a cardiologist, anesthesiologist, surgeon, and child life specialist.  Fitting feedings and naps into the schedule was near impossible, but we did it.

Davis getting ready for his echocardiogram

Sleepy buddy after echo

However, I discovered my breaking point.  I was attempting to be a strong mommy today!  We were shown pictures of children after their surgeries and told about all the details and risks involved with this type of surgery...and I put on my happy face and thought to myself many times "I can do this."  Besides, it's not me that has to endure the brunt of the hardship, it's my baby.  While I feel the pain emotionally, he feels it physically.  It's a good thing he's blessed with such a calm, strong demeanor like his Daddy.

Getting ready for EKG - it looks like I'm praying over him but I'm singing "You Are My Sunshine;" he was very tired at this point and needed a distraction to get through it - it worked!

For whatever reason, they saved labs for the end of the day.  My poor child was so physically tired and did not want to be poked and prodded at anymore!  The sweet nurses had trouble finding blood-worthy veins.  After unsuccessfully trying a vein on his head, a nurse finally believed she was able to get the one in the fold of his arm.  We had to hold him down (for awhile!); singing, stroking, etc... was not calming him down - and I just lost it.  And it just so happened that during this moment, a fire drill was occurring.  So Davis is crying, I'm crying, the sirens are blaring, Matt is trying to calm us both down, the nurses are being as patient as they can be (they did a good job by the way).  The moment was so surreal it was almost as if it wasn't actually happening.  I am sure I'm in for lots more moments just like it over the next few days.

Napping in stroller waiting to meet the surgeon - so cute!

But altogether, we are holding up well!  Davis ate a good dinner; he's napping now.  He'll have all the milk and cereal he wants tonight, for it will be awhile 'til he will be able to eat again.  I will give him a special bath tonight with special soap to get him extra clean for his big morning.

Surgery will begin around 8:00 a.m. central time and will last approximately five hours, depending upon several factors.  The tricky part of the surgery involves the surgeon basically having to make two valves out of one.  So she has to get them perfect, not too tight and not too leaky.  But this is HER surgery, from what I'm told.  We are in good hands, and Davis doesn't have any risk factors for complications.  Nevertheless, there are always risks.  But I'm trying to tell myself that in life, there are always risks...it doesn't meant we don't take them.  You have to take risks in order to live your life!  And in Davis's case, this is especially true.

After the surgery, the nurses will take a couple hours to get him settled; then we'll be able to see our special guy.  He will be fully sedated when we see him, and I believe we are prepared for what the moment will be like;  that doesn't mean it will be easy.  We saw him hooked to a bunch of machines in the NICU after he was born; this will be more involved, and he will be on a ventilator.  Depending on how he is doing, he will slowly move off sedation and machinery.  I may even get to hold my sweet thing by Monday!

I'm already sleep deprived and not really planning on getting much sleep tonight.  It's a good thing I've got my rock (Matt) to help me through it.  I'll update you guys as much as I can throughout the following days.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate the thoughts and prayers.

And again, I just have to say it, Peace Baby!

Road Trip

Well, we made it to Nashville!  Little Davis has been in an excellent mood all day and full of smiles.  He is an easygoing traveler, loving the car ride and sleeping pretty much anywhere, which makes the pre-pre-op day easier on mom and dad.

The Ronald McDonald House here at Vanderbilt is full tonight, but Davis Sr. (my dad) used his hotel points and booked us a sweet suite (ha ha).  So for the next two nights, we have a living room, full-size kitchen, big bathroom, and bedroom with a king bed.  These amenities will make things much easier on us.  However, I recently realized I left the freezer bag to keep Davis's breast milk cold tomorrow in my parents' freezer; so all we have is this rather sizable cooler to tote a couple of bottles in all day tomorrow, along with his food, utensils, breast pump, diapers, bibs, clothes, and all the other necessary baby accessories you need to get through a day...looks like we may have to make a run to the store for something a bit more efficient.

Tomorrow we will be at Children's Hospital for much of the day.  I will wake Davis at 4:30 a.m. for a bottle; hopefully he will go back to a peaceful sleep for a few hours.  We are due at the hospital at 9:00 for a sedated echocardiogram.  He will also have a EKG and x-ray.  We will meet with Dr. Christian in the afternoon to discuss surgery details.

As of right now, all we know about surgery day (Friday) is we have to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m.  This will make for a very early morning for us, as we'll have to pack up all our things and check out of the hotel.  At least we are accustomed to the Eastern time zone so that it won't feel quite as early.  We will be able to stay overnight in the hospital but will also be able to keep trying for a room at the Ronald McDonald House.

I want to thank everybody that has expressed your concern for us; I like to hear your sweet, uplifting words.  We know we have a plethora of people thinking, praying, sending good vibes, whatever it is that you do, and I just want to express how deeply I appreciate all the love and encouragement.

I forgot to take pictures today!!!  So no cuteness to share tonight, but I'll be sure to get some tomorrow.  My understanding is we won't be allowed to take video during our hospital stay but can take all the pictures we want.  So there will be cuteness to come, I promise.

Matt has managed to stay awake as I've typed this in order to get in bed together with our sweet angel resting next to us in his portable crib.  So I better go so that we can try to rest as much as we can while we can; I'll update tomorrow evening with surgery day details.

Peace Baby!

The Time Has Come

kristendave.com

Oh, where to start...it's been quite awhile since I've updated you guys about Davis.  Since I last posted, we moved (twice).  Moving AND taking care of a baby is a LOT of work.  But we are finally getting settled in our beautiful new home outside of Chattanooga in Soddy Daisy.  It's on over an acre right by the lake, close to shopping and restaurants, and twenty minutes to downtown...you can't beat it.  And Davis loves it - he has a big room and continues to be mesmerized looking at everything in the house - he really enjoys being outside on the covered deck, taking in the scenery and listening to the neighbor's farm animals.

Davis is 6 months old!!!  Wow, time flies.  He is just a little doll; we are enjoying him more than words can express.  He is eating fruits and vegetables now - he could live on a diet of vegetables if I let him, he LOVES them.  He rolls over in all directions - all the way across the room if we turn our heads.  And he is getting really strong through the neck and shoulders, spending lots of time holding up his head.  We want him to do this as much as possible now because in less than two weeks, he won't be able to have tummy time for awhile.

Davis's heart surgery to repair his AV Canal is Friday, September 7th (read this post to find out more about his condition).  We expect to stay in the hospital approximately ten days.  The surgery itself will take a good part of the day.  We will have to take special precautions several weeks after the surgery as Davis heals, including being unable to leave the house for a few weeks and keeping germs outside the house as much as possible in order to prevent illness and infection.  Family will be able to visit Davis in intensive care, assuming there are no major complications.  Visitation rules will be less strict once he moves to the regular pediatric floor.

You may be wondering how we are coping with all this.  I will admit that as surgery day gets closer, I get a bit more nervous and restless.  I try not to worry too much because I know I'll be doing plenty of worrying in the hospital.  I'm trying to take it day by day and focus fully on the present, which includes being able to care for and enjoy my sweet, precious, happy baby.  Every day with him feeling well and loving his life is a gift.  Matt, on the other hand, isn't a worrier...anyone who knows him will testify he has a naturally easygoing personality; while I have to try not to worry, that comes easily for Matt.  So all in all, I guess you can say we are doing well at the moment.  We've known before our baby even had a name that he would require surgery; we are just ready to get this behind us and have our special boy healthy and home.

I will be updating the blog regularly before, during, and after the surgery and hospital stay.  Become a member on the site, sign up for emails, or add me as a friend on facebook to keep up with Davis.  Davis will be able to receive mail and e-cards, which I think is totally cool - you can go to the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital website, enter his room number, and send him an e-card.  The hospital then prints it out and volunteers deliver it to his room.  As soon as we have a room number, I will post mailing and e-card instructions.

I want to thank everyone for all your thoughts, prayers, and concern for Davis Matt, and me.  I also want to apologize to anyone that I may have neglected or pushed aside as my son's surgery is getting closer - my thoughts are 100% with Davis, and I am not as quick to remember or participate in special events in other people's lives right now.  I am sure I will behave similarly the next couple months, so I apologize in advance for that!  I just hope you understand and realize that if you are a family member or friend in my life, you are important to me!

I will leave you with two quotes, which are really more for me but I want to share them.  I drink a lot of tea (helps me keep my sanity), and these inspirational quotes were on today's Yogi tea bags.  Also, I would love to hear from any of you throughout this journey any words of inspiration from yourself, a quote, or scripture (you can post as a comment) that you think would provide us some comfort in the following days and weeks.

"When you are in tune with the unknown, the known is peaceful."

"Live for something higher, bigger, and better than you." 

What's up with Little D

Things are crazy around the Reeves household!  We sold our house and must be out in two weeks; at this point, homelessness is in our future as we have not yet found a new home!  Not really, there are plenty of places we can go as a last resort.  But between looking for a place, packing up our stuff, caring for Davis, and everything else I've been trying to do, the blogs have taken a backseat (I also write a blog with my sister Kelli called Holistic Sisters featuring healthy recipes and practical tips for a more holistic way of living).

But for those of you that follow Davis and his progress (and his cuteness), I thought I better give you a little update before things get REALLY crazy.

Davis turned four months old!  I cannot get enough of his 4-month picture here with his buddy bear - I saved it to my desktop and stare at it constantly.  I can't believe my little guy is growing up so fast; you hear parents say this, but to actually witness this in your own child is unreal.  He passed his 4-month check-up with flying colors!  He is a bit small as far as his weight (not length - 25 and 1/2 inches!), but nothing to worry about - he's still got his chubby legs, roly-poly arms, and a couple of chins.  

He has reached all his 4-month milestones and is progressing quickly with his current goals, which include full support of his head, rolling in all directions, and feeding himself.  His next cardiology appointment is in two weeks, and I'll be sure to update the blog with information regarding his heart surgery.  I will be able to share more frequently about Davis when our living situation is settled, which should time perfectly with his heart surgery.  In the meantime, as Great-Granddaddy Will T. would say, Peace Baby! ;)   

Recordings of Cuteness

Here are a couple videos Matt and I got of Davis last week that display his current interests and recent developments.

In the first video, you can view Davis learning how his hands work to make things move and hear some of his vocalizations, which he pretty much does constantly now.  He is very focused on his hands these days and loves talking to anything visually stimulating.

In this second video below, we are recording our realization that Davis is quite ticklish!  We couldn't get him to laugh quite as much as he was immediately before we shot the video, but you can still see his cute smiles and hear a little chuckle.

Okay, so we're not the best videographers; but our next mission is to get video of his bedtime storybook and of his new favorite activity of bouncing on someone's lap.  It truly is the cutest thing ever as far as we're concerned!  And I hope to have brightened someone's day - there are not many things sweeter to witness than the happiness of a precious, innocent life.

First DS Support Group

Today we went to our first Down Syndrome support group at a local park.  It was a beautiful day for it!  We met several children age 3 and under; Davis was the youngest one there.  I can't even explain how wonderful it will be for me to learn from these other parents who have walked in my shoes and for Davis to make new friends.  We plan on meeting once a month.  I already learned a lot in the short hour we spent with the group today about the others' experiences with sign language, siblings, therapies, etc...  I grabbed my camera to try to get a picture of Davis with his new buddy Gavin before he got too sleepy, but he beat me to it and fell asleep in my arms.  We'll get a picture next time!

In the meantime, check out this video I got this afternoon of Davis in his crib.  What a sweet, happy boy!

 

Davis goes to the beach...and the cardiologist

Last week, we rang in Summer 2012 in Florida on the white, sandy beaches of Destin...Davis, Matt, and I met up with Gramma, DD, Aunt Kelli, Uncle Chad, and cousins Haley, Wyatt, and Grant.  It was a big crew!  Davis didn't know what to think of it all at first.  Once he got settled and the hot sun cooled off a bit, he got to see the ocean!  He loved it; he looked at the waves and felt the salty breeze on his skin and in that wild hair of his.

I think he found the beach to be a peaceful place in paradise. :)  Look at that face!

Little D was happy to get home though and back to his beloved swing.  And after a calm weekend, he had his check up with his cardiologist.  He got an EXCELLENT report!  Davis weighs 12 lb 6 oz and is almost 24 inches; this puts him right at the 50th percentile on the Down Syndrome chart for weight and slightly above average for height, which is awesome since this chart includes the DS kids with and without heart defects.  The doctor said over and over how pleased he was and that Davis is doing just as good as we could hope considering his heart problem.

We will go back for another check up in one month, at which he will have his final echocardiogram before consult with the surgeons at Vanderbilt.  This puts us right at target for a surgery date at around six months of age in August unless something changes.

So keep up your prayers or positive thoughts or good vibes, whatever you have to spare, for little Davis as he approaches surgery time, and for his Mama and Daddy too.  We thank you!