Grayson's Big Day

Well, the day finally came for Grayson's big day...the repair of his unilateral incomplete cleft lip. I set my alarm for early in the morning so he could be done breastfeeding by 7:10am. He had to have four hours of no food before being given anesthetic. We hurried and got ready and our friends came to get Claire at 8am. She was full of excitement! She told me, "I be right back later!" before she left. She could not wait to spend the night with her good buddy, Amaia.
Charlie and I got to the hospital at 9am and checked in. Then, we went to the Pediatric Admissions Clinic and checked in there too. We waited  for a while and were told that they had a shortage of beds and were going to call some others and cancel their surgeries, but that we would still have ours. It would just be delayed a little. Grayson was all smiles and after a while he took a nice nap. I read some and Charlie worked on a paper he is trying to finish. At around 11:45am a nurse came and gave me a gown to put him in.

The nurse put some ointment on his hands to numb them for the IV and then wrapped them in gauze to keep him from numbing his face. He looked like he had on boxing mitts!

A nurse came and led us to a small waiting room outside of the operating room. While we waited the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and two nurses came by to meet us and answer any questions we had. It was really nice to talk to them before they took Grayson!
After a while, they came and took Grayson away. I looked at Charlie like, "what do we do now?"
We went down to the lobby and ate subs for lunch. I looked around in the gift shop and then we went in search of the room they were going to bring Grayson to when he was done.
A nurse led us to the room Grayson and I would be staying in and Charlie and I sat down to wait. I tried to read, but after a while my mind was wondering and I kept staring at the clock. I got a little paranoid because every time I heard a baby crying I thought it was him. So I went out to the lobby to call my mom.
When I got back, Grayson was already there.

Wearing his splints to keep him from scratching his face.

I think I held it together really well until this point. Seeing him like this was hard.
Grayson was so sleepy. We let him rest and I went to make calls to family to tell them he was out of surgery.
After sleeping a little while, Grayson woke up in pain. We called the nurse and she gave him some Tylenol and then got him some morphine to put in his IV. Poor guy!

We spent the next few hours trying to get Grayson to eat and then eating dinner ourselves. I was so proud when Grayson finally ate, but then he went several more hours without eating. We got some more pain medication in him and he started to settle down. He only wanted to sleep in my arms!
Around 9pm, Charlie had to leave. Only one parent could stay the night. He let me get all ready for bed and I attempted to get as comfy as possible on my pull-out chair!

All ready for bed! Check out my TV!

This is when the battle of the cords began! Grayson had an IV in his hand and a monitor on his foot that kept track of the oxygen in his blood and his heart rate. Those cords drove me crazy! Every time I got Grayson to sleep and got up to put him in the bed, the cords would get all wrapped around the monitors and he would wake up, arms flailing around.
I finally got him to eat around 12:30am and then put him in bed. Again he woke up. The nurse came in to check on him and I said, "I can't get him to stay asleep! What should I do?!" She helped me swaddle him really tight and he got really still and fell right asleep. Thank you, Lord!!
It was a rough night. Lots of getting up and down, the IV machine and foot monitor beeping, and wrapping myself up in those cords! The nurses came in and out, checking on him too. Thankfully, Grayson and I did manage to get some rest.
Early in the morning a resident doctor came in to check on Grayson. She said he could go home as soon as I signed the release form! Charlie stopped by before going in to school for an hour.
I got up and dressed Grayson and by the time I was done packing up and feeding him, Charlie was back.

Ready to go home!

We filled a prescription for Grayson and went home. It is good to be back on my couch! Grayson has been in a little discomfort, but is doing really well! He is now in his splints and we are getting used to taking them on and off to change clothes, put him in the car seat, etc. We go on Thursday to get his stitches removed and he will stay in the splints for two more weeks after that.

Before...and After!

We are really thankful for all the prayers that went up for Grayson. Everything went really smoothly and it really was a positive experience for us. We are happy with Grayson's "new look" and are looking forward to seeing him without his stitches in a few days!

P.S. Here is what Claire was doing while we were away...