Monday, September 21, 2009

Recovering in Austin

We're spending a few days in Georgetown at my parent's house so we can all have some R&R before we make the road trip back to Alamosa. It's so nice to have this time to give Mason our undivided attention without the daily schedule of work and household chores. Mason continues to do really well. It's amazing how fast these little guys can bounce back. He still has a little purple on one of his eyes, and some big circles from not sleeping very well, and the very back of his head is still swollen and squishy with fluid. The surgeons said it might take weeks for all of the swelling in the back of the head to go down. I'm trying to remember that recovery is not usually all uphill, but mostly uphill with some steps back occasionally as well. Yesterday was a great day, with Mason playing, and smiling and laughing more and more, but today he has been very fussy and clingy. Lot's of crying and not a lot of sleeping. We're also keeping an eye on signs of infection. He's been pulling at his ears a little, and ear infections can be common after this surgery due to the fluid that collects in them. The pulling at his ears may also be related to pain from the incision and swelling.

We're still giving him Tylenol and Motrin (which he hates) which makes him feel much better. In fact, he hates anytime we mess with him in any way, and he'll cry and fight us when we give him medicine, clean his face, change his diaper, and brush his teeth. And then there's the dreaded shampoo. This might be the worst for him. It's so hard to have to force him to do these things when he gets so upset, and it's understandable why he does not want anything else done to him right now. I'm ready to get his trust back!

On a much happier note, I think his head is looking great! When the rest of that swelling in the back goes down, I think you won't even be able to tell that he had sagittal craniosynostosis. His forehead will be prominent for a while, but will eventually round out as he grows. I was worried that he would look so different after the surgery, but he still looks like our beautiful baby boy, with a more "normal" looking head.

I've got lots more photos on my mom's camera from the surgery and the last few recovery days...we'll post them soon. Thanks for checking in!

2 comments:

  1. Oh,we are SO happy that Mason is recovering and back to being a one year old, active boy. You guys did a great job! I wish I could hug the doctors and nurses that made this experience a positive one. Can't wait to see the amazing Mason J (and you guys) in November! We love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So glad things are going well. I've been thinking of you all every day and look forward to seeing you next week :) Enjoy these days...

    ReplyDelete