This was Steven’s big week! His “snip, snip, look, look, tie, tie”. Like Samuel in April, Steven had his inguinal hernia fixed but he also had an umbilical hernia. Umbilical hernias are super common in preemies – Amaya has one, too. These aren’t usually fixed surgically but the surgeon needed to do a laparoscopic check of his right side so she fixed his umbilical hernia while she was in there. (For the record, until now I didn’t know that a second “a” is in the word laparoscopic.)

He was such a trooper! We had to be at the hospital at 6:45am and Steven was wide eyed and alert the entire morning. He fell asleep just as the resident came to take him to the OR. Perfect timing!

Checking in. Steven and Moo Cow are ready to go.

Almost time!

One last hug for mommy!

I was on my own because Jason had a stomach bug & couldn’t come into the hospital. 🙁 He drove to Ann Arbor and spent the entire surgery sitting in his car so that he’d be close if needed. Poor us. Fortunately, Mott has a great communication system set up which helped ease my nerves. They gave me a beeper that they used to communicate throughout the surgery. There’s also a website set up where Jason and I could submit Steven’s unique identifier and see an up-to-date status report on the surgery. Aaaaaand, there was an electronic board in the lobby with color coded status updates by case. Very well done, Mott!

After surgery, Steven had a bit more discomfort than Samuel. Steven couldn’t get the caudal block that Samuel had due to a dimple on his spine that could create some risks so he had to get narcotics. (The caudal block numbs him from the waist down.) As a result, he was more foggy than Samuel and, I believe, in a bit more pain. Fortunately, they gave him a bit more of the good stuff. You can see the difference.

Before:

After:

Sooooo much better! Once he was in recovery, it was only another 2 hrs before I was able to bring him home. In the meantime, Samuel and Amaya asked Megan to make sure their big brother knew he was missed at home.

And off we went – leaving Mott Land to return to the Land of Cheltenham. Seven and a half hours from the time we left my house until we were back home. Amazing!

Steven is doing great! I worked from home on Wednesday in case he needed me and he was just fine. It was Amaya who decided to catch the stomach virus and Samuel who decided not to eat. And so it goes…

Here are just a few more photos from the week.

Decked out in their Yankees gear. Sadly, it didn’t help the Yankees win but thanks for the thought, Jason!

Steven wants you to know that Samuel isn’t the only one with big eyes! 🙂

And Samuel being Samuel. (The kid is strong.)

Finally, happy SIXTH birthday to my wonderful, wonderful special big guy & nephew, Chase. I love him beyond belief and can’t believe he’s SIX. SIX! And happy literal birth day to Jack Charles, brand new son of Jason and Denise Winograd. June 8th – what a great day!