The Romaezis

13 Weeks: Kamran’s First (And Hopefully Last) Surgery

Baby’s first surgery isn’t exactly a milestone new parents look forward to putting in the baby book, but Kamran now has it in his. The surgery went well and after an overnight stay in the hospital, we are all home.

The night before surgery Kayvan and I were hoping to get some sleep. After we fed Kamran his bedtime bottle at 9:30 Monday night, we knew that wouldn’t be happening. He spit up. Regular spit up would have been fine, but this spit up had spots of army fatigue green in it. We had been given signs to watch for and take him to the ER immediately if they happened. This was one of those signs. I called the after hours number at the surgeon’s office to see if we could wait until morning and was told that we did indeed have to head to the ER. We packed our bags and off we went. It took forever to get to the ER since every road we traveled on was under construction, but that is beside the point. When we got there, poor Kam was poked, prodded and had an X-ray done. We gave the resident his full medical run down and included the fact that Kam had an upper GI done at 1 day old. After the X-ray, the resident came in and told us that she had to do a rectal exam because the X-ray showed that his bowels were twisted. We allowed this, asked if it was at all related to the hernias and were told no. At this point Kam was hungry so expecting a “no,” I asked if I could feed him. I was indeed told no. The resident left and we sat in our ER room consoling a hungry baby who had just been thoroughly traumatized and worrying what was to come. After a while I sent Kayvan to ask the nurses if the doctor could update us. We wanted to know what this whole “twisted bowel” thing meant. Turns out it meant, surprise!, the resident is an idiot. Kamran doesn’t have a twisted bowel. Not only that, they d this information this BEFORE they completed the unnecessary X-ray because he had an upper GI done and the resident failed to convey this to the doctor. Since it was 1:30 a.m., they offered to let us stay in the ER overnight because we had to be back at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. We’ve had enough of hospitals so we went home for 2 hours of sleep. We have a baby, that’s about all we get anyhow.

So onto the surgery. Kamran was NPO (without food) for 4 hours prior to surgery. This meant we had to make sure he ate at 3:30 and was done by 4. Kamran was pooped. The ER exhausted him but he ate. Thank god Kayvan set an alarm because I slept like the dead. At 5:30 we got up, got in the car and headed back to the hospital, yet again. We had to check in at 6:30 a.m., an hour and a half prior to the procedure. Kamran stayed asleep in his car seat since he was still tired. At 7:30 they took us all back for pre-op. The nurse weighed Kamran, took his temperature and had me change him into the baby hospital gown. So teeny! They gave me pants that were part of the baby hospital gown but those were nowhere near fitting him so we just put the gown on. All of this woke him up and since it had been 4 hours since his last meal, child was HUNGRY and not happy about it! As we walked him into another room to for pre-op, the nurse commented that me holding him probably wasn’t helping. Reluctantly I gave Kanran to dad. She was right, he wanted to nurse. He was still upset so she grabbed Kam from Kayvan to quickly show him to hold Kam facing out in the upright position and Kam immediately got silent. Kayvan often uses the belly hold, but now that Kamran has really good neck control, he is a fan of being upright and facing outward. The anesthesiologist came in and introduced himself. The nurse took Kamran’s length and head circumference and went off to check the percentile he falls into now. We went through Kamran’s medical history with the anesthesiologist, he explained that he would give Kamran gas then the IV would be put in. I was happy to hear this and told him that Kamran is a hard stick like his momma. The anesthesiologist grabbed a blanket from the warmer and then informed me that I had to hand my fussy baby over. (I had stolen him from Kayvan again.). I was told not to worry and that they had ways of making Kam happy. I then couldn’t help but ask if he made house calls!! I was joking of course…but I bet the child of an anesthesiologist sleeps through the night rather early.

Kayvan and I had to sit in the surgical waiting area. Of course, I teared up on my way there. We found a set of chairs with no arm in between and tried to sleep. I couldn’t so I went to pump and went for coffee. Getting coffee in a big hospital takes 20 minutes to get there and back. When I got back, we only had 15 minutes to wait before Kamran’s surgery was to be complete. Well, 5 minutes later, the surgeon appeared. It was much like you see on TV. They come out, give you updates and you get to ask any questions you may have. The surgeon told us that the procedure went well. She repaired the left inguinal hernia and the umbilical hernia. She explored the right but there was no hernia, just a very large hydrocele. She also drained both hydroceles. We were told that the volunteers would page us once Kamran had woken from his anesthesia and we could go back to recovery to be with him. A few minutes later, our pager went off, the volunteer offered us antibacterial foam and took us into Kamran’s recovery area. The nurse was incredibly nice and was holding Kam to keep him calm when we got there. She immediately handed him over to me and we snuggled in the glider with Kayvan nearby. I swear the fluid they pumped into him made him 5 lbs heavier. We originally anticipated that Kamran would be in recovery for an hour but he was having lots of oxygen desats. It took about 3 hours but we eventually got into his room in the pediatric unit. Hernia repair is typically an out patient procedure but since Kam is only 48 weeks gestation, he was under 23 hour observation.

When we got to the room, I was PETRIFIED to change Kamran’s diaper for fear of hurting him. I was glad the nurse was there to do it. Poor boy was so uncomfortable. He was trying really hard to stay awake but everything startled him awake and he would cry. We hold him a lot in general, but those first few hours out of surgery, Kamran wasn’t put down except for vitals and diaper changes. Our room was small and there was only a recliner in there. Kayvan and I have no trouble sharing a twin bed but we were trying to figure out how we would both fit in the chair to sleep. We didn’t have to worry long because we soon discovered that the room had ants. They had to move us and in doing so were able to get us a room that fit a crib for Kamran and a hospital bed for Kayvan and I to sleep in. I think the brownies we gave the nurses helped that cause.

Kamran slept the entire day through. I was a bit worried he would be wide awake, up all night and in horrible pain. That wasn’t the case. The tylenol he was given really helped manage his pain. The only time he was really in any pain was when we tried feeding him. He would take a few ccs and cry. Kayvan and I decided we wouldn’t push it. Little guy finally started passing gas and that helped us a bit. by 4 a.m. he got his second dose of pepcid (for reflux) for the night and took 100 cc from Kayvan. That is a full feed! Or just shy of one anyway. Until then I thought Kamran’s bad eating habits would keep him in the hospital again but once he ate I was no longer worried.

Can I tell you that a few things really upped my anxiety level…in addition to having a baby who just had surgery, of course. Kayvan and I were able to order from food service, which we did since it was just easier. Hearing the “please hold” recording an music really increased my blood’ pressure. Just being in the hospital in general makes me a bit anxious. I hated having Kamran back on those damn monitors. We actually asked them to turn the monitor in our room off. We know our baby now and were never really monitor dependant parents anyway. Oh, and food service still SUCKS. One of the many stupid things they did? I ordered hot tea, they brought me a tea bag but no freaking hot water. Really? am I supposed to chew dried tea leaves? Dummies.

Anyhow, morning rolled around and Kamran’s surgeon came to check in while rounding. She gave us post op instructions, checked his incisions and swelling and asked if we had any questions. We asked all of our questions after surgery and didn’t have any more. Since he had been stable and had finally eaten she told us that she was going to go write discharge orders. Woot! It took a while for the nurse to come in and remove the leads, and IV but once she did, we were GONE. We went to visit our HRP friends quickly since Kamran seemed to be doing OK. They were happy to see us and all commented how big Kamran has gotten and how good he looks! He was in serious baby mode but those ladies really doted over him and tried hard to get him to smile.

Once we got home, Kayvan went into the office for a bit and Kamran and I snuggled. He has been getting back to his regular eating habits and ate well the rest of the day. he did not want to sleep at all and stayed awake the whole time. We can now change diapers without Kamran screaming. Who knew he cried during diaper changes because of the hernia? he is also willing to lay on his play mat or bouncy seat and chill. He is much more mellow. We shall see if it is because he is feeling better or because he is not 100%*

I’m totally pooped and need to sleep but leave you with this. Kamran is 3 months old today! Yesterday he turned 13 weeks. Big boy now weighs 10 lb 9 oz and is 21.25 inches long. I love weight checks. It is a NICU mom thing.

12 Weeks: Sleep and Surgery

Kayvan and I are slowly beginning to remember what it is actually like to sleep. Sleep is amazing. Friday night Kamran slept for his first ever 5-hour stretch. Nevermind the fact that he cluster fed the rest of the morning after that. 5 hours is well worth praising. Saturday night we got a 4.5 hour stretch and 3 hour stretch. Nice! All of this was, of course, short lived. We have now graduated ourselves back to a little boy who wakes up as soon as you put him down. I would be happy to have 3 hour stretches back!

Kamran seems to have something waking him at night this week. The reflux is pretty much under control. My best guess is that the hernia is bugging him. As terrified as I am for Kamran to have his surgery next week, I want this kid to feel better! He seems to be just fine most of the time. He is a very smiley boy these days. Mornings seem to be his best time. Kayvan and I love mornings. Kamran wakes at 6 but will nap until 9. When he wakes up, the boy eats and then plays with plenty of smiles for mom and dad. Mornings are an incredibly content time. He likes staring at the decoration on our walls and at the window in our bedroom. More than anything he likes sitting up, propped of course, and kicking his little feet. Those things are constantly on the move these days!

So I mentioned Kamran’s hernia surgery earlier. He needs it. I’m worried about it. I worry about the anesthesia and the risk it carries with such a teeny guy. The NICU nurses had an incredibly difficult time getting an IV in Kam when he was first born. I worry about the IV this time around too. I know he will cry and it will kill me. Also, infection is the biggest risk. I worry about that too. He has an inguinal hernia on his left side and that is what needs to be repaired immediately. So that will be done. While the surgeon is in there she will repair his umbilical hernia. Those typically self correct. In the instance that they do not, they are surgically repaired at age 3. There is no point in putting Kam through this surgery twice. In the same light the doctor will explore Kamran’s right side to be sure that it also isn’t herniated. If it is, it will be fixed. Quite frankly, I think the right side is herniated too.

I am thankful that we have people we know working at the hospital. At least I won’t have to sit and stew in the family waiting area while he is in surgery. Kayvan and I are already planning on making brownies for the surgical nurses as well as my old nurses. Kayvan really only wanted to make brownies for our friends on my old floor but I reminded him that food instantly puts you in the favorite patient spot and he changed his mind.

The surgery is next Tuesday. Rather than blog about the same thing twice I will likely wait to update until Kam is out of surgery.

Oh, I almost forgot! Kamran is 9 lbs 11 oz as of yesterday. Getting big!!