Surgery #1

Latham/Ear Tubes Nathan's first surgery. This surgery is going to have two parts to it. The first part will be for ear tubes, Nathan hasn't had any problems with his ears, but since many kids born with a cleft have ear infections he is getting tubes put in, just in case. This surgery is mainly for his Latham device. A Latham device is like a retainer on the roof of his mouth that will not only bring his gums closer together but it will also bring his alveolar ridge (the top part of his lip right under his nose) down to where it is supposed to be. The Latham device will be adjusted weekly by the Orthodontist. This device will likely stay in his mouth for about 2 to 3 months. This surgery should be quick and his stay should be short too. He is expected to be home the same day. Thankfully our doctors are very mindful of the fact that Nathan is just a baby so his surgery will be bright and early. Briana is staying with my mom again. Jon has dropped both me and her at my parents, Jonathan is not feeling well so I decided that we should stay away from him, specially the night before Nathan's surgery. Nathan is thankfully sleeping through the night for a while now. He can't have anything to eat after Midnight and only clear liquids until 3am. So I was debating on whether I was going wake him up and feed him at midnight or just let him sleep. I set my alarm clock for midnight and 3am, that way I could feed him, but both times I woke up he was sound asleep and I just figured he was better off sleeping for as long as he could. I never fed him. At 5am I started getting ready and Nathan was still passed out, fast asleep. I got him packed up into his car seat, he moved around a little but not much. I headed downstairs to wait for Jon, and we were on our way. We got to the hospital about 30 minutes before we were scheduled. Nathan woke up once we got in the room he was very happy and flirty with all the nurses. Such a sweet boy, which only made things harder. Doctors came in the room to tell us what was going to happen, the orthodontist showed us the Latham and explained how it was going to be attached, which is not very nice (it is stapled to the roof of his mouth). Then I had to hand my little man over to the nurse. So sad, having to hand your little baby to a person you don't even know. My heart sank, my eyes filled with tears, and butterflies took over my stomach. The waiting game begins. We headed over to the waiting room, where Jon's dad joined us. We sat on the couch and waited. About 40 minutes into the surgery the nurse called to let us know that everything was running well, and that as soon as they were done the doctor would come out and talk to us. So we sat there a while longer waiting . . . . . . . One hour and a half into the surgery the surgeon came out to talk to us. All went well, Nathan was in recovery and we could go in to see him. The nurse showed us the room, a nurse was holding Nathan, and he was just moaning. Aaawww, my poor baby, I couldn't hold back the tears. The saddest part was not being able to do anything for him. They wanted me to try to get him to eat, so I tried feeding him some formula, but he was not going for it. He seemed very tiered and not interested in eating. So they sent us to a room upstairs in the Pediatric Unit. Once we got to the room, the nurses kept telling me that I had to force feed him, and I was trying but he just was not willing to eat. The Haberman (a squeezable soft silicone nipple) is what I was trying to feed him with, but as I squeezed it in his mouth he would choke. The syringe didn't work either, paper cups not a chance. He was not swallowing, so it didn't matter how much I tried to "force feed" him, he was not going to eat. So we spent the night there. Which sucked, it sucked really bad. Mind you that he was due home the same day, but here we are staying at the hospital over night. I felt like a horrible mother, who couldn't do what my son needed me to do. I know the nurses meant well, but they made me feel worst. Then to top it off in the middle of the night he managed to pull out his IV. Yeah that wasn't fun. The nurses came and took him away to the procedure room to try and get it back in. That took 5 tries, did you get that 5 tries!! I was heart broken listening to my little man scream down the hallway. All through the night I kept trying to feed him and slowly but surely he started eating more. He wasn't taking a full bottle yet by morning, but he was doing better. So at the doctors morning rounds, they asked if I felt confident in taking him home. I said yes, because I just couldn't handle being at the hospital anymore, and they would also try to put the IV back in too. So I said we are going home, I figured that if we were home he would feel more comfortable and hopefully eat more. So we were discharged by noon. The next couple of days were challenging, having both Nathan and Briana to take care of made it tough, but thankfully Jon was home with me to help out. But . . . . . . . . Nathan's diapers started getting drier and drier and I started getting worried. I was dreading going back to the hospital, but Jon was there to give me strength and do the best thing. So after barely being home for 24 hours we headed back to the ER. We realized that Nathan was becoming dehydrated and before it could get worst, we took him in. Briana went back to my parents and Jon came with me. They got the IV back in and Nathan and I stayed at the hospital for another 2 days. He was finally eating by then and keeping his diapers wet. I was very grateful for Jon being there with me and helping make the right decision. He is the one who pushed me in taking Nathan back to the hospital, and it was absolutely the right thing to do. After all that my little man was back to his normal self. His sleep pattern is completely off since surgery, he does not sleep through the night anymore, but at least he is his normal self during the day. Latham adjustments all went well. His only problem was when he had both the rubber band adjusted and the screw, but with a dose of Tylenol everything went well. Little boy is a trooper. Oh I almost forgot to mention, the no-no's!! These very annoying arm restrains, they have to stay on to keep his little fingers, hands, toys and all other things away from his mouth. Next surgery in 3 months . . . . . . .