Carter is on the road to recovery!

The short version of this blog post is that Carter's surgery was a success, he is doing great (playing, eating, drinking but a little cranky...could be sleeping more) and we are so thankful that everything went so well. We hope this surgery provides him long term health and a great reduction in snoring :-)

Surgery Day - Wednesday, March 23rd
Carter had his tonsils and adenoids removed early Wednesday morning by Dr. Janning who travels to Slayton every month from Willmar. We filled out some paperwork, Carter got his scrubs on and we waited in the pre-op room with some other families and little ones. Shortly after 7 am I went into the surgery room with Carter for when they put him to sleep. Biggest mistake ever. That experience was so traumatic for both of us - I was a bawling mess! If I ever have to do this again with Carter or another one of our hypothetical children, I won't be there to watch or hold them. It's just too hard. So, the nurses consoled me and reminded me that he will be healthier for having this done. I pulled myself together, wiped my face dry and Jesse and I waited in our assigned hospital room for about 15 minutes until Dr. Janning called saying that all went very well (very little bleeding) and he did great. A huge wave a relief for me (and Jesse too I think). We went back to the recovery room and Carter was carried in shortly after. He was a little out of it due to the sedation still wearing off and was really fussy (just wasn't himself which was normal). That lasted about 20 minutes and we eventually made our way to our hospital room as they have little ones under the age of 3 stay overnight for observation. It was a long day! But, Carter did amazingly well - man, kids are resilient. He snarfed down 2 popsicles and 1 freeze-pop that morning and the following throughout the day:

• 2 puddings
• 1 yogurt
• Mac 'n' cheese
• Another popsicle
• Jello
• Sherbet
• Ice Cream
  

He drank well too (which was again, a huge relief). Oh, and thanks to the IV he had several extremely wet diapers - so wet he leaked on me!!! Needless to say, he was sporting night-time diapers the rest of the day.

Hallway Obsession
I continuously lost to the ever-popular hallways. He wanted pretty much nothing to do with our room and he could open the door to the hallway too. So, we spent a lot of time in them. But, that's a toddler for ya I guess. He was occupied with the basket of toys that the nurse brought in off and on, and especially took a liking to the yellow truck pictured here. He loved that truck and zoomed it up and down the hallways.

Guests
Grandma and Grandpa Zens stopped by and gave Carter 3 little tractors that he played with some (but again - they also lost to the hallway!) And Carter loves tractors!

Overnight
Carter did well going to sleep and slept in his own hospital b ed and I slept in my own (Jesse slept at home - lucky duck, hee hee). Carter woke up a few times and was ready to get up for the day at 4 am (ugh). We got him some Tylenol and he fell back asleep until a little after 7 am so I thought he did pretty darn good.

Is the snoring gone?

We aren't sure about his 'snoring'. The tonsils and adenoids removal should take care of it but he still has a loud breathing but isn't quite a full-blown snore. There is still inflammation, etc. so it may still go away. Time will tell.

See ya Murray County Hospital

We were happy to leave Thursday morning - Carter had a clean bill of health with every temp and oxygen level check all day yesterday, last night and this morning and Dr. Dan gave him the green light this morning at around 10 am.

First Day Home (Thursday, March 24th)Carter has done well today (except for sleeping....he only napped for about an hour this afternoon). He ate some yogurt and drank juice this morning, had 2 helpings of mac 'n' cheese for lunch plus chocolate pudding and he had some more yogurt and a popsicle for a snack. He also tried out my new pasta recipe tonight that he actually liked! Score! My mom is here spending time with us and helping out and she helped make it. It was a little more work than I had anticipated but definitely a recipe I'll make again. He had fun playing some with his new truck and watching his videos on You Tube. I found these musical books on there from Barefoot Books and he just LOVES them. His favorite is this one about tractors. I'm getting a little sick of it but he just sits so contently and will watch this one and others over and over and over again. However, he still has no interest in TV. Go figure.

4th day today - a little rough
Today has been Carter's toughest day. He just hasn't been himself, hasn't eaten as much and had a temperature of 99.6. He didn't feel like eating this evening but did enjoy his You Tube videos again. I, on the other hand, am growing very tired of them and find myself singing the songs when I am doing things around the house.

In closing, a big shout out to my wonderful husband Jesse. He is just so responsible and supportive (well, except for when he wanted to watch Dukes of Hazzard while Carter was running rampant in the hallways and the hospital). He just does everything I ask of him and more. Such a great dad and hubby. Love you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from all of us to you! Carter is sporting his "Mom's little good luck charm" shirt which is hard to see in these pictures taken this morning! Jesse is on his way to pick him up from daycare today. I'm sure they did some fun activities and maybe got some green milk!

Floaters, Numbers, & Swiffer - Oh My!

Well, I have definitely NOT stuck to my "weekly" post, so I have some catching up to do! Carter is in bed (score! not an easy task these days) and Jesse is at bowling league tonight (yes, I am the good wife who tolerates such extracurricular nonsense!) ;-) Here goes....

CARTER'S HEALTH & SURGERY UPDATE: Wouldn't you know it, two days before Carter's scheduled surgery which was not this week or last week but the week before last week (got that?) - he got sick AGAIN. We took him to the doctor and he felt we should test for RSV which is Respiratory Syncytial Virus (they swab their boogers). Don't ask me how to say that second word that starts with an "s"....although I'm sure my sister can pronounce it. Those words are part of her regular nurse vocabulary. Basically, it's a virus very common in infants ages 0-1 and is an infection of the lungs and breathing passages. It can be VERY serious and is SUPER contagious. Carter is a little bit on the older side to contract it but he did (thankfully we caught it early). So we were sent home with a Nebulizer (what a machine - it sounds like a compressor), steroids and an antibiotic. Carter loved the Nebby the Nebulizer (NOT)! He really hated it and it was sometimes very hard to keep him from squirming away....plus you have to hold it around his nose/mouth as there is no way he was going to tolerate the evil mask. Carter stayed away from daycare all that week and hung with Grandma Zens (so thankful for having family close by!) Carter has been doing great, had a good check-up last Tuesday, March 1st, and his surgery to remove the tonsils and adenoids is scheduled for Wednesday, March 23rd. So, we are keeping the fingers and toes crossed that he stays healthy for these next few weeks. If not, we have a written prescription and mom won't be afraid to fill it! :-)

BOMPBA! Carter brought tears to my eyes when we mentioned "Grandpa" in our conversation last night - not sure which one we were talking about - Zens or Aschenbrenner - but he said "Bompba" for "Grandpa"!!!! And he also says "papa". Then when Grandpa Zens stopped by for a few minutes tonight he got to hear it too.

TRIP TO SIOUX FALLS TO SEE BOMPBA ASCHENBRENNER Can you say cabin fever?!!! Man, it was so nice to just get away and not be stuck in the house last Saturday. My dad was bowling in a tournament in Sioux Falls, SD last weekend so we made the trip there to visit him. We snuck in a little shopping at Old Navy where Jesse snagged some great buys on a few shirts, Carter scored an adorable and nicely priced pair of jeans and shirt and I bought a few bargain sweaters (I love end-of-season clearance). My dad "bompba" had fun chasing Carter around the store and the mall, spoiling him a little with the 25 cent machines...Carter got a little pink spin toy and some m&ms....yummy! We also at some pretty delicious pizza (and beer) at Old Chicago. No, Carter didn't have any beer, although I'm sure he wouldn't have hesitated to guzzle if given the opportunity! Bompba was making Carter giggle quite a bit in the car....there's just something so special and magical about watching your parents bond and enjoy their time their grandchildren.

SWIFFER MADNESS It brings great fear to me that Carter has taking such a liking to the Swiffer. I'm a little nervous and feeling outnumbered having not one but two clean freaks in the house (Okay, I know that I am jumping the gun and praying this is just a phase and that Carter and I can gang up on dad teasing him about what a clean freak he is). I'm already living in an overabundance of testosterone and now this?! It's actually pretty cute to watch him push it around (he even gets it up on the counter tops and tonight there was a close call with mom's water glass). The first thing he wanted when he woke up this morning was the Swiffer! Really?

FIRST FLOATERS Yep. Floaters. Ew. Really? Yes. Mortifying? Yes. Carter took his first #2 in the bathtub this week and it was really traumatic for me! We were playing along with his toys and then I see this brown mysterious little ball slowly surface - at first thinking, hoping, praying it is a toy....racking my brain - what toy looks like poooo and then it hits me - it is poooo! I started screaming and yelling for Jesse and he was laughing hysterically at me. Of course, being the manly man he is, he didn't even want to help me fish the little brown balls out! So, I took the Solo cup (yes, a red Solo cup has been one of Carter's favorite bath time toys) and after a few failed recoveries, I eventually got all 3 pieces out with a little direct contact (used my hand). Again, ew - gross! Carter just looked at me the whole time like "What's the matter with you, you crazy nut?!". You'd think after changing as many diapers as I have it wouldn't be a big deal but let's be honest...I don't handle the #2's well. I do them but hate it!

NUMBERS Carter has finally mastered (well, semi-mastered) counting "one, two, three"!. Soooo cute. Honestly, it is so precious and amazing to watch a little one's vocabulary expand and tackle and master those "firsts". Jesse has nightly and morning rituals with Carter which include removing and placing our decorative pillows on our bed (I know what you're thinking - and no, we don't have as many pillows as what's his name on the movie Along Came Polly!) and when prepping the coffee pot for the morning Carter helps Jesse count the number of scoops of coffee to go into the filter. Sometimes he says "one" and then "three" which sounds more like "free" and skips "two".....heck, it's still so cute! He's a brilliant little boy!

DAYCARE HIATUS Carter's daycare provider, Tonia, is on vacation today, tomorrow and Monday/Tuesday (who can blame her?!) of next week so Carter made a return visit to Wonder World in Slayton today and did well I think. He will be at Grandma Zens tomorrow and Monday and back to Wonder World Tuesday and then back on schedule. He only clung to my leg this morning at Wonder World for about a minute and then I was forgotten. I have to remind myself that is a good thing. Is it wrong for me to want him to cry or cling to me just a little bit more? I know this time is going so fast and will continue to fly and I will one day look back at all of these memories and yearn for them again....