Baden's Hospital Stay

As most people know, Baden had a little stay in the hospital recently.  I want to document here all that happened leading up to and during his hospital stay.  On Sunday night we had our home teacher Adam Fairbanks along with Grandpa Anderson, Uncle Robb and of course dad give Baden a blessing before his surgery.  I had been kind of nervous up to that time, but felt a real peace after they gave him the blessing.  He proved to be his typical stubborn self and wiggled around so much during the blessing they ended up taking him from my lap and Jed held him in his arms and continued the blessing that way. 
We checked into Primary Children's Hospital at 11:45 am on Tuesday March 13th.  Baden was totally oblivious to what was going on, of course. He had to fast from midnight on, only drinking clear liquids in the morning, until 10:00 am. And then after that NOTHING!    He refused to drink any water or juice in the morning so I imagine he was pretty hungry.  We felt bad and didn't want to eat in front of him, so we took turns hiding out in the kitchen eating cold cereal before we left for the hospital.  Baden didn't seem to be phased at all by the no food or drink and  was just happy to be surrounded by so many new toys to play with.  Once we got checked in at the surgical center and got the boys stats and vitals recorded, they dressed him in his cute little hospital jammies.  We were then taken over to the surgery waiting area, where we were to wait until they were ready for us. They were running a bit behind and so we ended up waiting about an hour or so there.  While we waited, the nurse who would be taking him into surgery came and talked to us.  She was super nice to take time and sit down and chat.  I'm sure she had a lot of other things to do.  Dr. Snow, the surgeon came and briefly met with us.  We had never met him before.  When we dealt with his office before, we always say his PA-Heidi White, whom we love!  Dr. Snow explained again what they would be doing and how long it would take and then he was off.  Once they were ready for Baden, the nurse returned with the anesthesiologist and he told us how they would walk him back and give him something like versed to settle him down before they put in his IV and put him completely under.  So with that, it was our cue to say our goodbyes and begin the wait.  The hospital has all kinds of wagons and foot propelled cars to take the kids away in.  Baden chose a car and thought he was in heaven!  He hardly even noticed that we were saying goodbye to him and just continued on down the hallway with the RN and DR with a huge smile on his face.  I can only imagine what he was like once he realized we were no longer there and they began to get him prepped for the anesthesia. 
Once we left him in the care of the surgery staff, we went down to the surgery waiting room and checked in.  We then booked it down to the cafeteria to eat.  We were starving!  I think that's what lack of sleep and worry do to you, not to mention the meager bowl of cereal we had eaten hours earlier.  We hadn't eaten anything since early morning and it was now 2:00 pm.  We got some food and went back up to the waiting area to wait for word about his surgery.  About an hour into it, the nurse called to tell us he was doing great and they were almost done.  Once they were done, Dr. Snow came in and reported that all went perfectly.  They ended up doing what is called a Bilateral Resection of the Bladder and Ureters...that's not the real name of it, but I can't remember exactly what it is called.  Basically what they did was detach the ureters at the bladder and cross them over. So the left one was crossed over to the right and the right crossed over to the left.  That causes some constriction of the ureters to make them narrower than they were.  Then when they are re-attached to the bladder they also create a flap that will open to let urine pass through, but most importantly CLOSE to prevent the urine from going back up into the kidneys.   He has about a 2 inch incision just above the pubic bone.  Along with the incision are two tubes for drainage.  Those will help urine drain for about two weeks while all the swelling from surgery goes down.  We have to double diaper him during this time.  One diaper to catch the poops and then the second diaper with the tubes on the outside to collect the urine and to keep the tubes away from any bowel movements...don't want any of that nastiness coming in contact with the open tubes that go directly into his bladder.  He gets the tubes removed on the 26th and we are really excited about that.  The double diapering is not fun nor is it easy to keep up with the flow or urine, since it is constant, or keeping the boy from trying to pull on the tubes. 
We were told to expect a 2-4 day stay in the hospital, but our stubborn little boy proved to be quite the fighter and proved the doctors wrong.  As soon as I got back to the surgery recovery after he woke up the nurse told me he was a fighter.  Most people kind of slowly wake from anesthesia, but she said Baden was rolling around like an alligator.  They had a hard time keeping him still so they could get his vitals and keep him calm.  Once I got there, he calmed down a bit, but not much.  I found that if I held him close and tight he calmed down and was ok unless he was put back down in bed.  Shortly after that we were moved up to the 3rd floor to his room for the duration.  We had a pretty uneventful night.  Baden pretty much slept through the rest of the afternoon and night, only waking up when he was disturbed to get his meds or vitals checked.  I stayed the night on the couch/bed they have in the room and Jed stayed at a nearby hotel that his dad booked for us. 
About 4:00 in the morning the nurse came in to check Baden's vitals and give him his meds.  We changed his diaper and that woke him up enough that he was wide eyed and bushy tailed and ready to start the day.  I however, was not. I put his favorite movie, Finding Nemo on and we watched that  and he cuddled up with me on the couch.  Once the movie was over, he was ready to go.  Trying to get off the couch and walk around.  He was kind of unsteady on his feet at first, but became pretty steady after a few minutes.  We asked the nurse if we could walk around and she found a car he could ride in while I pushed it.  We made one round of the hallways and then Baden wanted out. I let him out to see if he wanted to walk around, but he didn't want to do that.  He wanted to push that darn car around.  I wish I would have had a photo of him doing that.  Here we are at 6:00 am, going up and down the hallways with him pushing the car as fast as he could go, with his IV tubes trailing behind him.  It was pretty darn cute and funny.  The resident came in to check on him that morning and told us we could go home that day because he had reached all the goals he needed to be able to go home. He had kept his meds down, had kept fluids down, had eaten solids, was walking and was passing urine.  So, not even 24 hrs. after arriving at the hospital, we were out of there.  That day after surgery we were super encouraged because he was walking around like nobody's business.  You would never have thought he had just had a major surgery.  The next day 2nd day after surgery he was completely different.  He wouldn't walk or even stand up.  He would just sit and cry and wanted to be held all day.  We were happy to oblige with that and just took it pretty easy that day.  The next day he was almost back to normal so we knew we were on our way with a good recovery. 
After having gone through this experience, we feel so blessed with how everything went.  We could not have asked for a better outcome or an easier recovery for our little cutie.  We look forward to seeing how this will work and hope that this will be the end of the line for Baden and UTI'S! 

January and February Happenings

 Smiling for the camera

 Food in the eyes...

 Sick baby...he wanted to have someone cuddling with him all day long.

 Playing with Great Grandma Dorothy's piano

 Playing with the coveted carpet sweeper.  We used to fight over this as kids!

 Jed got me strawberries for Valentine's Day

 We got kong kones at Macey's for Will's birthday.

 blowing bubbles with the child specialist at PCMC

 Just after the verced kicked in

 playing with daddy's shirt

 eating his first Moochies meatball sub

Surgery for Baden

Baden had a VCUG last Friday and the results were not good.  In fact, when they compared the test from last February to the test last Friday it showed that there has been virtually no change to his ureters in the last year.  So the hope that they would repair themselves as he grew has been thrown out the window.  We met with the doctor at the Pediatric Urology clinic at Primary Children's Hospital yesterday.  The bad news is that Baden will be having surgery to repair the ureters on March 13.  We thought it was going to be a pretty simple same day surgery.  But we found out yesterday that there will be a minimum one night stay in the hospital and he could be there up to 4 days depending on how things go.  He will have a small incision cut in his lower abdomen and all the work will be done from there.  They will re-route the ureters so that the urine flows as  it should.  The incision site will be stitched up with disappearing stitches or maybe even the glue they are now using for small incisions and cuts.  He will have some drainage tubes in after surgery that will be there for a few days.  They will just drain into his diaper.  We are feeling a little nervous about the surgery, but also calm as the doctors we have met with so far have been highly recommended and the small interaction we have had with them so far has been superb.  Once he is released from the hospital he won't really have any restrictions.  The doctor said he can and will do anything he feels up to doing.  So, most likely he will be on the go as soon as we walk out the doors of the hospital.  The good news is that once the surgery is done, he should have a full recovery and will not have to be on daily antibiotics any more. THANKS GOODNESS!  Giving a daily dose of medicine to a baby/toddler is not always easy.  Also the risk of kidney damage will go down as he shouldn't be getting UTI's anymore either.  So here's to hoping and praying that all goes well and we can get our little guy healthy and off of drugs. 

Another VCUG

Baden is being treated for his 2nd UTI in the last three weeks.  This last one tested positive for two different bacterias in his urine.  Dr. Curtis also tested his blood and he was anemic and has a low blood count. But that was to be expected and is consistent with this kind of infection.  We sent his latest test results up to the pediatric urology department at Primary Children's and the doctor called me back the same day to discuss the next step in treatment options.  It is basically looking like surgery is definitely on the horizon.  Baden is scheduled to have a VCUG on the 17th and they will be able to tell from those tests/xrays the extent of damage if any to his kidneys from the re-current UTI's and also to see if the ureters flaps have closed up at all since he was smaller.  That was the hope...that the flaps would heal themselves.  But with him still getting the infections, it is very unlikely much has changed since he was originally diagnosed at age of 2 months.   They say it is a pretty routine and straightforward procedure, but it is still worrisome.  We'll have more information once we meet with the doctor after the tests on the 17th.

Baden's 1st Birthday

 We decided to do an Elmo cake for Baden's 1st Birthday.  Elmo is one of his favorites on Sesame Street and I thought it would be pretty easy to create a cake with Elmo.  I just used regular butter cream icing for the red furry parts. Making the face outline with a star tip.  The great thing about this cake is that it doesn't need to be really neat.  I just kind of went to town with it.  I used white and black butter cream for the eyes and then thinned out the black to make the mouth.  I searched the candy isles for something I could use for the nose.  I knew if I tried to use icing it would look kind of weird.  I ended up using several yellow, pink and orange star burst candies.  I melted them in the microwave and used my hands to knead the colors together.  Then just shaped the nose before it got too hard. 

 Here we are singing Happy Birthday.  I don't think B knew quite what we were doing.  Next year I'm sure it will be a lot more fun for him.

 I just made a small 6 inch smash cake for Baden and used the rest of the cake batter to make Elmo cupcakes.  I found some candy eyes at Wal-Mart and used orange jelly beans for the nose.  I then took an Oreo cookie, scraped the frosting out and broke the cookie in half for the mouth.  They were super easy and turned out really cute!  I forgot to take pictures of them until the last one was just sitting there with his sad looking broken mouth.  The photos really don't do them justice. 

 Here's a video of Baden diving into his cake.  It took him a minute to figure out it was OK to do this, but once he knew we were OK with it, he went all out.  Forget about using the hands.  He just went in face first!

All in all Baden had a great 1st Birthday!  We had a yummy Birthday/Christmas Eve dinner and had a good time opening up great presents from the family.  Aunt Maggie and Uncle Robb and family got him a great little Quiet Book for church.  Grandma and Grandpa Anderson got him a couple of fun toys.  One fire engine he can ride on and another interactive toy he can push around.  Grandma and Grandpa Eggleston got him some Little People bath toys and a Little People Bus.  He has loved all of his new toys!  We are so happy to have this little munchkin in our family.  His brothers adore him and shower him with love. And we could not be more happy to have him in our home.

Baden's 1st Tooth

Well, he's been drooling and gumming on stuff for a few weeks now, but we weren't sure if any teeth were close. A few days ago we could feel the bumps. After some particularly whiny, cranky and feverish days, the first tooth poked through the gums yesterday. I can't believe he has teeth coming in already! This boy is growing up WAY TOO FAST!

4 Months

This little guy celebrated 4 months and Easter on the same day. Here he is in his new Easter outfit. Size 6 months that I thought was going to last through the summer...barely fits him.
Jed has gotten the little guy hooked on Winnie the Pooh and friends. We got him a Tigger while we were at Disneyland. Learning how to sit up. Although he doesn't last long before he slumps over to the side.

Here's our very photogenic little guy.

The smiles just keep on coming with this one.

And of course we are loving him more every day.

Hard to believe this boy is 4 months already. My how time flies. He is now 15.6 lbs., 16 in. head circumference and 24 in. long. This is about the 75th percentile.

He seems to have had a lot of little changes in the last few weeks. He has become very active and alert with everything around him. He still loves to eat his hand. Most of the time he is trying to put his whole fist in his mouth. And he is very close to succeeding. He has been very actively playing with his toys. And really loves the ones that make sounds...like the rattle ball thingy we got from a friend. He still loves to have us sing to him. That will almost always get him to calm down when he is crying or ornery. We've tried a little rice cereal in his milk, but he doesn't seem to like it much. The Dr. told us today he should start on cereals now. So I guess we'll have to get him in the habit of getting those "thick" foods down the hatch. He has suddenly become ticklish and there are certain ways to tickle him on his tummy or just under his neck and he will let out the biggest giggle you've ever heard. It is really quite funny. He is "talking" all the time. He had figured out how to pick up his binki, but hasn't quite figured out how to get it in his mouth. He mostly just grabs the end of the leash and then stares at the bink with a look like "hey how do I get this thing to my mouth". He has also started to put his hands up and "try" to hold his bottle when he does get them. However if we let go, the bottle quickly falls as he hasn't quite gotten a full grasp on it yet. He has been sleeping through the night for the last two months. I have been finding him on his tummy in the mornings, so I'm not sure if he is turning over in his sleep or just when he wakes up? His eyes are just starting to change color...maybe greenish brown? We'll see. This boy is such a joy and he makes us smile every day. We are so blessed to have such a good baby in our home!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...

This little boy has finally mastered rolling from his back to his tummy. The last few days when I go to get him up in the morning, he is impatiently waiting on his tummy.

Whenever we put him on his back, he almost immediately rolls over. And he seems to have forgotten how to go from his tummy to his back because now he just hangs out there until he is tired and then starts crying. What a silly boy!

3 Months!

It's hard to believe, but this little bug is 3 months old. My how time flies! I seriously love dressing him up in outfits like this. They make him look so grown up. He has been smiling and giggling a lot the past few weeks. That smile just makes my whole day!He's really good at making pouty faces. He's kind of upset that opening day isn't here YET! We're ready to cheer on the Yankees! He's been pretty good about trying to roll over and strengthen that bobble-head. Here is he practicing his tummy time...he is able to lift his head much higher and is much more steady now as compared to when this photo was taken at the beginning of the month. It won't be too long before he will be able to use the bebepod seat Jed's aunt bought us(him).

He likes hanging out with big brother...even if William is still a little nervous about "breaking" the baby.

He LOVES his bath time as long as it is a nice hot bath. It took us a while to figure out that he likes it HOT...once we got the right temperature the bath time screaming stopped. Getting out and getting dried off and dressed, not so much. This is a rare shot of him being calm after bath time.

Look! I'm dressed just like my daddy in my flannel lined jeans and plaid shirt.

We've had a lot of fun growing with Baden this month. He is reaching a lot of milestones, some earlier than he should be for 3 months. He has figured out what his hand is and I guess it tastes pretty good, because it is in his mouth a good portion of the day. Along with eating his hand, he has started to drool, A LOT! We had pretty much stopped using burp rags, but they are now part of our daily wardrobe. He is getting stronger by the day. Baden is able to stand up on his legs with help of course. He can hold his head up at a 90 degree angle when on the floor and is able to push himself up so he can see what's going on around him. He loves to prop that little head up off of your shoulder so he can see everything that is going on . His smiles are so heartwarming and he gives them very freely. What a smiley baby he is. He is also starting to giggle but it is a funny little giggle that sounds more like a cough than anything. He loves it when we sing to him. Usually the words are made up and we make absolutely no sense, but he loves it. Especially when we use his arms and legs as props and move them along with the tune. He has been sleeping through the night for the last two weeks. What a blessing that is. I know we have been super blessed that he only got up once a night since the beginning, but having the whole night to sleep now is even better. He loves to talk and is constantly cooing and making his presence known. We love this little guy and can't wait to see what the next month brings.

2 Months

Baden boy at 2 months

Baden and the quilt at 2 months

Hey dude, what are you doing to me?

Do my eyes look buggy to you?

Baden had his two month well baby check today.
Here are his stats:
weight: 12 lb. exactly
height: 23 1/2 inches
head circumference: 15 1/2

Dr. Curtis says he is looking good and progressing well. We got results back from his ultrasound and he has normal renal function. That means that even with the urinary reflux, his bladder and kidneys seem to be working fine. We are very happy about that and that we don't have to worry about any other problems at this point. Many people have asked if he is in pain because of the reflux. We had been worried about it as well. But from everything we have been able to read about the reflux, it doesn't cause him any pain. The pain he had before was from the UTI and that has cleared up. So if we can keep those at bay, he should be fine. Baden is a champ at taking his meds...he has to take a daily dose of antibiotics to stave off future UTI's. It is in liquid form and we just squirt it in from a syringe. He just smiles and gulps it down. He also got his two month immunizations today. He screamed like a banshee during the needle sticks, but it passed quickly. He's a pretty tough little guy. He had some fussiness for a while this afternoon so we cancelled plans to leave him with a babysitter so we could go out. But after giving him some ibuprofen, he was pretty much back to normal. I guess we could have gone out after all.

Baden has become much more alert this last month, especially in the last couple of weeks. He is smiling in response to our faces and when we play with him. He has a great smile and we love to see it as often as we can. I went back to work three weeks ago and so far it has gone really well. I am blessed to have Jed be the one at home watching him. If I had to leave him with strangers all day, I don't know if I would be able to do it. The only real issue that has come up with me being at work is that of his feedings. I have been pumping so he could have breast milk while I am gone, but he doesn't seem to like the breast milk from the bottle. Jed started to mix half formula and half breast milk and that seems to be working. Our plan to cut costs by breast feeding is working pretty well thus far. We haven't had to buy any formula yet as we got some from the hospital and some from the Dr. office. It makes me feel good that I can provide that for my baby, even if it is a bit trying sometimes. Baden also loves to cuddle. Most especially, he loves to lay stomach to stomach with people. He'll just lay on our tummies for hours if we let him. Doesn't even stir. When he is awake and on your tummy he loves to lift his head look around at everything surrounding him. I can't believe how strong his head and neck are at this early of an age. When we try to turn him around facing forward he will arch his back and start to cry so we have pretty much given up on that. I guess tummy to tummy is his thing. We can't believe how fast 2 months has gone by. It seems like we just had him and it's even harder to believe how much he has grown. We sure love this little guy and are so happy to have him in our family!