Coffee Date

Now that Fall weather is just around the corner,

we have been taking advantage of some of the cooler mornings

and going for short walks.  

Say hello to one of my two favorite Saturday morning coffee dates.  

Normally I would wait for a smile before I took the picture,

but as you can tell he is a little sleepy and ready for his Saturday morning nap.

 

Pain? What Pain?

Since his surgery, Owen has been quite the little trooper.  

Thursday and Friday he was real sleepy (probably due to the pain medicine),

but after that he seemed to be back to his normal self. 

I was so nervous about going to get the dressing off on Monday because

the doctor had mentioned it would be the worst part of the whole process.

But Owen took it like a champ.  There were definitely a few tears,

but he calmed down pretty quickly and even smiled

at the nurse before she left which made 

her very happy.   

He was pretty sore and uncomfortable that first day, but he bounced back really

quickly and it doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest. 

I am so thankful to have such a brave and 

happy little boy.    

Surgery Day

Today is one of those days when I can honestly say

I am SO glad it is finally over. 

I have been dreading this day ever since we knew Owen

would have to have this surgery so I am very thankful

that it has come and gone and we can now start the recovery process.

Here is a little recap of our day.

The last time Owen could eat a bottle before surgery was at 2:30 AM.

I woke him to eat, put him back in his bed,

and then laid awake with my mind racing.

So much for a good night's rest.

The alarm clock promptly went off at 5:00 AM at which point

I told Ryan we needed to get up and then proceeded to

fall back asleep.  I'm not sure how, but miraculously

I woke up 30 minutes later and jumped out of bed.

I had 30 min to pump, get ready, and get out 

of the house.  Yikes!

Somehow we managed to get ourselves put together,

woke Owen, put him in the carseat still in his PJ's

and headed down to Children's Memorial Hospital.

I was so impressed with how smoothly everything went.

We were greeted at the visitors desk, directed to our floor, and

then immediately shown to our room.  Everyone was so friendly, especially

for it only being 6:30 AM.  The nurse got Owen checked in and then we had a parade of

visitors starting with our doctor, then one anesthesiologist, then a second anesthesiologist,

then the doctor's assistant.  Each explained what their role was and how they would

be taking great care of Owen.  I cannot say enough great things about Dr. Yerkes, Owen's

Urologist.  She is such a caring person and I felt so comfortable knowing that Owen

was in great hands.  I am so thankful we were referred to her.  

Owen got changed into his gown

Then got to spend some time with Daddy,

and Mommy before they had to take him.

The doctor's assistant came and got him and he happily

went to her and didn't fuss at all when she carried him away which

made it a little easier on us.  The doctor said it would be a minimum of 1 hr 45 min

so we walked to Corner Bakery to get some breakfast and coffee.  

 We got back a little early and waited, and waited, and waited.

After it was nearing 2.5 hours I started to get a little nervous.  Was there something

wrong?  Was the surgery more involved than what they thought it would be?  Just when

I started getting really nervous they called us from the OR and told us they were just

finishing up and the doctor would be out soon. 

Within about 15 minutes Dr. Yerkes came to talk to us.  

She told us that everything went really well and she was very happy with how

everything turned out. We would be able to go back to see Owen in recovery in just a few min.

Probably the worst part of the whole day was when we went to see Owen in the 

recovery room.  We walked back and immediately heard his little cries coming from from one of the rooms.  He had the saddest little cry.  He seemed so out of it.  He didn't know what

was going on and seem scared.  His whole body was swollen from surgery, 

and he just looked so helpless in his little gown.  I couldn't wait to hold him in my

arms and let him know we were there with him.

It took him a little while, and a few ounces of a bottle,

but he finally calmed down a little bit.

We both took turns holding him

And he napped peacefully with the help of his Lovey.

He napped on the car ride home,

took a long nap once we got home,

woke for just a little while to relax and have his dinner,

 and then watched some golf with daddy before bed.

 

As I sit here at the end of the day I am thankful for many things.

I am thankful we found such a great doctor in Dr. Yerkes.

I am thankful the surgery was a success.

I am thankful they took such great care of Owen.

I am thankful that in comparison what Owen had done was minor.

I am thankful Owen is now sleeping peacefully.

I am thankful for the two glasses of wine about to be poured.

 And I am thankful Ryan and I can finally sit and relax for the evening. 

Thank you everyone for all of the thoughts and prayers today.  

We truly appreciate it!

Play Dates

One of Owen and my favorite things to do

during the week is have a play date with our good

friends the Pero's and the Elsener's.

It's a great way to break up the week 

and gives me some much needed adult interaction.

Plus it's nice to be able to bounce ideas off of other moms

who have been through the same things I am experiencing now.

How many food cubes do I feed him?

How many naps should he be taking at this age?

Why does he hate sitting so much??

What cool toys should I get him?

There are any number of questions that get asked each

time we get together, and I always leave feeling

like I learned a little something new.

I feel so fortunate to have such great friends

and am excited that Owen has a little group of friends already too.

I can hardly wait for the Fall so our weekly trips to the zoo can start again!!

But for now, we'll just have to settle for blown up animals. ;)

 

Oh PEAS!!

1 hour,

a pile of pea pods

and barely enough peas to cover the bottom of a pan

I have come to a simple realization...

 Little Mr. Owen will be getting store bought jars of Peas from here on out. 

UPDATE:  All those peas only made 8 food cubes.
Are you kidding me????

Love Thy Neighbors

One of the best parts of our new house in Oak Park

is the great neighbors we have.  I feel very fortunate to have some 

of the best next door neighbors.

Today we went to lunch with Lisa, our neighbor to the south,

and got to spend some time together.

Normally we just pass by and say hello as we're running 

in and out of our houses, so it was nice to be able

to sit and talk for awhile.

She has such a sweet family and we have grown quite fond of them.

From homemade pickles and jam, to some of the best 

take out tacos I have ever tasted, they are always

taking great care of us.

Even more exciting is that Lisa is going to teach me how to knit!  

I figure it will be a fun little hobby to keep me busy while 

Owen is napping every day.  Plus it will be nice to 

be able to give people personal gifts for baby showers, etc. 

and Owen could use some sweet little winter hats.

I'm very excited to start our lessons. :)

Thanks for a great lunch Lisa!

I had a wonderful time and am looking forward to

many more lunches and get togethers to come.

T Minus 2 Days

In just a few days, Thursday to be exact,

Owen goes to Children's Memorial Hospital

for the very first surgery of his life. 

Basically it is a circumcision

with a few added adjustments to his little man parts.

From how the doctor explained it, it doesn't sound pleasant at all, 

and the thought of him experiencing any pain at all makes me so sad!

 As a mom I try to protect him from anything that causes him pain

and discomfort, yet this is something I cannot control

which makes it hard for me. :(

I just pray that the pain is minimal,

they give him good medicine to help him through it,

and he's back to his normal self 

(with a new and improved weiner of course)

in just a few days. 

The good news is today we had to go for his pre-Op exam

and he has moved up a little further on his growth stats.

Weight - 18 pounds 6 ounces (50th Percentile)

Height - 27 inches (50th Percentile)

Head - 17.25 inches (50th Percentile)

As a little guy who started off not even touching the growth curves,

the 50th percentile is an awesome improvement.  

He's turned into a great little eater, and loves most of what we give him.

But just the taste of avocado on his lips still makes him gag.

It's quite comical to watch actually.  It's so crazy how 

something with not that much taste at all 

can have such an effect on him.

Next up....peas.

Maybe we'll have some better luck

with this green vegetable.