Surgery Day- Part 2 (Day 126 in the NICU- January 2, 2013)

Well the surgery went great. Dr. Federico Seifarth was able to do it endoscopically. Avery was on the breathing tube for about 2 hours after the surgery. When we were there, the machine kept beeping and it was a sound that Tim and I never heard before. He asked what that was and the nurse said that was Avery fighting the machine, that she was trying to breathe on her own which was great. So right after that they took her breathing tube out. She was then put on a cannula. Her pain seemed to be pretty well managed until she would have to sneeze. She would sneeze and then start crying but it was so sad because it sounded like she lost her voice from the breathing tube. They started giving her tylenol for the pain. The doctor said that g-tube surgery isn't complicated. He said the pain she is experiencing is like getting stabbed in the stomach. He said she doesn't need morphine that tylenol would be sufficient. Me, personally, I would need something a lot stronger but Avery seemed okay.

Their plan is to get Avery home as soon as possible. Avery has an IV today and then tomorrow they are going to start pushing pedialyte through her tube. Then I believe Friday they will start feeding her formula through it. After that, it is all up to Avery.

There are a few more things that have to happen before Avery comes home. She will have the car seat safety test, which she will have to sit in the car seat for 90 minutes with no bradys or desats. Also,  Tim and I need to get g tube training and there are a few videos we have to watch. I think we are starting to finally get excited and nervous. We aren't nervous about having Avery home, just a little nervous about the g tube since we haven't been trained on it yet.

Tim called up to the NICU a little while ago and they pulled out her cannula! We are so excited she now has nothing in her nose, including the NG feeding tube. Hopefully this will make bottle feeding more enjoyable for her.

Mommy and Daddy felt so helpless when they saw me like this after surgery. 

I am excited I got the breathing tube out. I never want to have another one of those again!(though I know I will when I have my cleft palate surgery). Mommy will take a better picture of my g-tube tomorrow. There is gauze under it in case anything seeps out. Eventually that will be gone. You can also remove the tan colored part(which locks it in place) and the tube so there is just a little thing left that sticks out.  More on that tomorrow.

I still love to hold onto things, even when I am groggy from surgery.