Post-op and Recovery

In the Hospital

Elias' recovery has been amazing to watch. While in the hospital, Elias was given morphine and Tylenol to help deal with the pain. On Thursday, the morphine dosage was eliminated and we waited to see how Elias would react. The nurse informed us that if Elias needed it they could give him a boost of morphine through his IV. However, the Tylenol helped him with the pain which meant we could go home.

Once Elias was successfully off the morphine, we had to wait for the doctor to give us the thumbs up. Since Elias was no longer hooked up to any machines, we were moved to another room on the floor. We weren't expecting to stay long but we were there for a couple of hours to wait to hear from both the doctor and occupational therapist. According to the initial consultation with the surgeons, we would need a wedge and sling to hold Elias upward while he slept. However, the nurse told us that this policy is changing and we didn't need to have Elias' head higher. By 5 pm, we were discharged and on our way home.

The nurse told us that we can resume normal baby activities with the exception of dunking Elias' head under water. We are to keep his bandages on until we have our follow-up appointment, which is proving harder than expected as Elias likes to grab at them. This morning, Elias' toque and bandages were off. Sean put everything back on his head and they stayed there until he grabbed at them in the evening.

At Home

Elias has been doing really well at home. He was quite bloated after the surgery but has been getting rid of the water quickly. He is also sleeping really well. Last night he slept for around 11 hours straight. Both Sean and I checked up on him during the night. He was lying there breathing so we let him be. I don't expect a repeat of that any time soon, but it was nice when it happened. 

Like I said above, Elias is only on Tylenol, which he can take every 4 - 6 hours. We have had a couple of times where we felt he really needed some pain relief so we gave him some before the 6 hour mark. We want to stay on top of the pain but it seems like he is not needing as much now. 

Nathan

Nathan has been really good with his little brother. We talked to him about seeing Elias after the surgery. We didn't know when Elias would be getting a helmet so we told Nathan that Elias may have a helmet when he saw him next. The first thing Nathan said when he saw Elias was "where is his helmet". Nathan is very careful around Elias. He is quick to tell people that they are not to touch his head.

Up Next

July 3rd - Neurosurgeon follow up appointment

July 3rd - Second Star Scan/Plastic Surgeon follow up
Date unknown (likely this will happen in a week or two) - helmet fitting
In August - genetics testing

This is the only picture I took of Elias outside of the hospital. We were sitting outside in the shade, enjoying the fresh air