Our sweet little 5 week old Liam had his second hospital experience this week....(first being is grand entrance in this world) Over the past few weeks, he started throwing up everything he ate, but remained hungry... he just couldn't keep anything down. It progressed from once or twice a day to everytime he ate. After 24 hours of everytime he ate, we became concerned with hydration , weight gain and everything that goes on with not eating, so on Monday to the doctor's we went. After hearing his symptoms, seeing his low weight and poor hydration, and feeling his stomach, we were sent for an ultrasound...
...Which comfirmed Liam had Pyloric Stenosis (this link explains it perfectly) and he would need laparoscopic surgery to fix it. He was admitted to the hospital and started on an IV for fluids to improve his hydration and get his little body ready for the anethesia.
IV Fludis
He hadn't held food down for over a day already, and once we were admittted, he wasn't allowed to eat anything... not that he would've been able to hold it down, but it's at least somewhat comforting to him. If you want to have a very upset child, don't feed him for a few days and continue pricking him with needles and pushing on his stomach.
You can see the pure exhaustion from trying to console our baby who felt miserable and didn't understand why.
Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, and with a lot of snuggling, he was able to sleep.
The next afternoon, he was fixed.
Our nervous walk to the operation:
After 45 very long minutes in the waiting room, we were told Liam did wonderfully and the surgery went very well! We knew it would, but those were still the best words we could hear.
Only one of us was allowed to go be with him in recovery. The nurse told me he woke up yelling and kicking, demanding food and throwing his oxygen mask. She said, "I didn't know they could throw this young. He is going to a hard one to keep with." She said once he was left alone, he worked himself in to this comfortable position and dosed off:
Smallest oxygen mask ever:
Time to go find daddy and head back to our room:
Before he was allowed to drink a real bottle, he had to start with pedialyte- which I hear most kids hate, and Liam was no exception. We did catch a smile before he decided he had no patience for fake food and would have nothing to do with it.
He can finally eat!
The real stuff:
We like to think he is saying, "Finally! You guys fixed me!"
Peaceful sleep on a full belly:
So happy to be healthy:
When we were discharged the next day, I had to sit in the wheel chair and hold his car seat. Can never be to careful I guess.
Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts during this experience. Liam is doing great, and we've felt uplifted and very blessed. We really appreciate everything from our family and friends, and the medical staff at UMC. Cam and I have had our share of injuries and procedures, but we had never experienced the anxiety associated with having your baby need something.
I'm really excited for his 2 month appointment in a few weeks to see how much he weighs. He eats every chance he gets, and is always so excited about it. Bring on the chub!
