3....2.....1.....BABY!!!

We have a baby!!!!  Man oh man... talk about an experience.  This is one for the books.  But - I'm getting ahead of myself... there's so much to tell!!  Just warning you - I posted the pictures of his incisions... if you don't want to look... don't scroll down.

Wednesday morning finally rolled around - I swear I didn't think it was ever going to get here!  I woke up (if you can call getting up from not sleeping "waking up") and started getting ready for the big day.  Hair... makeup... yeah - don't judge me!!  :)  BJ slept till the last moment (of course :D).

I'll admit it... I was PETRIFIED.  I kept trying NOT to think about everything... but the two hours it took to get checked in and ready were the most excruciating moments ever.  I was so terrified of going in to surgery - I was shaking.

But the time came - and they rolled me back there!  Seems like only minutes went by and we had a baby boy.  All I could see was BJ's face... and seeing the look of complete terror turn into the look of pure pride was so amazing.  He was so excited when they delivered Dryden!!  12:51 p.m... thats's when my little man made his appearance. I don't remember too much after that - I was a bit groggy from the epidural.

I remember them telling me that I had to stay in recovery until I could bend my knees.  You have NO IDEA how hard I was trying to wiggle my toes and get my knees bent so I could get into my own room.  I wanted to see my baby so bad.  But... then I got to my own room and still couldn't see my man.

BJ kept going into the NICU and taking pictures of him for me.  Every time he left I cried.  I loved the pictures... but I wanted to see him.  I wanted to touch him.  I wanted it to all be real!!  The doctors said that as soon as I could get into a wheelchair I could go see him.  I don't think they took into consideration that he had surgery scheduled for 9:30 the next morning and I was specifically told not to get out of the bed for 24 hours!!  I was so upset - I begged the nurses to talk to the doctors and tell them I was ok.  Every time I saw a nurse that night I asked if I could go see him... they finally came in and said yes at 9:00 a.m. - IF I could get myself in the chair.  I was so determined to see him I didn't care!!

That first time was so amazing.  BJ wheeled me in there and I just couldn't stop staring!  I didn't want to leave.

They wheeled him into surgery... and we waited... and it seemed like FOREVER!!  As soon as they said we could go back in and see him we did.  My poor little dude was so bandaged up it was pitiful!  And then it happened.  BJ took this picture ...

... and as soon as he did the monitors started going off.  I heard a nurse next to me say, "Wake him up Mom" - so I started talking to him... and then we were overrun by nurses.  They moved in like ants ... shaking and poking him... trying to get him to breathe - talk about the most terrifying feeling in the world.  All I could do was stand there and cry while these ladies worked to make everything ok.  All I remember is clinging to BJ sobbing.  Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I told BJ we had to leave.  No one even noticed we walked out.  We got back to the room and he just kept telling me it was ok, that they deal with this all the time and Dryden was fine.  The phone rang.  It was NICU telling us that he was ok... to come back in and see for ourselves.  Everything was fine.  So after gaining our composure for a minute... we did.  We went back to see him... only to have everything happen all over again.  Some tiny part of me wasn't sure he was going to make it through the night.  

Of course he did though.  He is such a little trooper!  I still can't believe all that he went through.  Just to show you what he endured... 

Back is all fixed up!!  :(  Poor baby!!

Shunt surgery a success.

I won't focus on all the negative though.  There were so many sad moments... and so many awesome ones too.  We are home now and things are getting "normal" again.  School is starting next week for Tina, so she is excited!!  She is such a great big sister!! She helps out so much.

The doctors appointments are going to be hard to keep up with though.  SO MANY!!  Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Pediatrician, Surgeon, Urologist... and that is just in the first MONTH.  I'm hoping to find a normal in all of this.  In the meantime we are doing some of our own physical therapy here at home.  Trying to check nerves in his little legs.  The good thing is that he does move his legs.  While it isn't a lot, it does leave hope... hope that he will be able to walk... maybe run... we don't know yet.  

The journey is just beginning... and while it terrifies me to have to go this road, now that I have him here, I wouldn't trade him for the world.  He is so perfect.  Definitely fell in love all over again.