Poop!

Most mothers would think I'm crazy to be so excited about a poop, but hopefully other heartmoms will completely understand why I was doing the happy dance yesterday.  Scarlett *finally* made a poop! A good poop, none of the small stuff like in the hospital...as forced to by the glycerine suppository.

She made a genuine, "old school" Scarlett poop. I was soooooo happy. Finally her bowels are functioning again like they should be. I felt so great for her. It had been almost 12 days without a 'real' poop... so I was so relieved and happy that she was finally 'making room for more'. Okay that's enough of that.

 Now on to more decent updates. She seems to be returning to her normal (pre-surgery) self. Trying to scoot around the house...or at least trying to scoot around the 6 foot radius that the oxygen tank cord will let her. Rolling over, playing with her toys, teething, biting on her freezer toys, sitting in her high chair etc.  The only thing she can't do yet that she could do pre-surgery is sit up unsupported. But that's okay, I saved her bumbo seat. I've put her in there a couple of times, but it's really hard to get her out of it since we can't pick her up by her underarms.

The hospital (and Beth) told us that for 6 weeks following surgery, we are not allowed to pick her up using her underarms. We must pick her up by supporting her head and her butt (simultaneously).  I guess it puts too much strain on their chest to pick them up by placing each hand under each underam and lifting.

She had been such a good girl about not pulling out her feeding tube, but just in case, I had her in newborn mittens to sleep at night. Tonight, though I didn't put them on. So she has no "No-No's", and no mittens, and no socks on her hands and she's keeping the oxygen and feeding tubes in. Such a good little baby. Yesterday morning I put her on the bed to watch "Yo Gabba Gabba" with big sister Violet:

She is still getting her voice back. I'd say she's 50% there. Sometimes it is very hard to hear her crying, but you know she's upset because she has tears in her eyes. She was smiling playing on the floor yesterday and making the most adorable little noises. I got a few smiles out of her.

Todd said he caught her smiling in her sleep too. She is definitely happy to be home, and so am I. : ) I'm looking forward to spending the next week with her...and hopefully weaning her off the feeding tube. I don't want to go back to work with her still on a feeding tube, that would suck. Right now when I woke up to feed her, she did take 4 ounces, so to me she's back to pre-surgery eating. But we still need the tube for her medications... so she won't puke them up. But she'll be weaned off of two meds by tomorrow, and we'll just be down to Lasix, Colace and Tylenol... and she won't need the tube for that, so we're right on track. I'm not worried about that. I would love for her to also be off oxygen before I go back, but I doubt that will happen. Dr. Lane said it will take a couple weeks to wean her off of that... but maybe on Tuesday Beth will have a different opinion. Heres's keeping my fingers crossed. : )