2 Months Old...

Little Max Craig is 2 months old! He had his appointment with his pediatrician and his cardiologist today- all good news! Everything regarding his heart and his surgery recovery looks perfect. We are anticipating that his next surgery will be at the end of April or beginning of May so we have a few more months to fatten him up. He got lots of shots today but he only cried for a few seconds. Here are his stats:

Weight: 9lbs 3 oz (10%: small but a very healthy weight for a baby with a heart condition)
Height: 22 inches (25%: hope for another tall Kelly boy)

Head: 36.5 cm (5%: small head but at least his hats will fit him for a long time)

Some of his accomplishments: starting to smile, cooing, does not mind taking a bottle a few times a day, learning to "play" with his brother, likes to look at toys and lights, sleeping better some nights, gone on walks with mom and Morgen... he has changed so much. I can't wait to see what he will be like in another 2 months.

Healing...

It has been 3 weeks since Max's surgery and he has been such a little trooper. Here are a few pictures of how his incision has healed so far...

The Littlest Fighter...

Before Max had his surgery we had some good friends of ours take pictures of Max. You can see some of the pictures on their website: http://www.reversedlensphotography.com/
Once you get to the page click on the "blog" link at the bottom right side of the screen and scroll down to see pictures of "The Littlest Fighter."

Cry, cry, cry...

With Max having gone through major surgery and with the delicate, complex nature of his heart we have a lot to worry about with this little guy. His doctors and nurses have been so helpful with giving me and Spencer advice and suggestions of how to best take care of Max. One thing we were told many times while in the hospital is that we should try our best to not let Max cry or get upset. A baby that does not cry... impossible. But that is what we need to do. Basically if Max gets too upset he can have "blue spells" where his body will literally start turning blue because the strain of his crying cuts off his oxygen supply. If left crying too long he could potentially pass out. Once he stops crying his coloring returns back to normal but it is still scary to see my baby temporarily turn into a blueberry. There are some necessary things that can not be avoided that do make Max cry- diaper changes, baths, giving medicine, etc- but other then that we are doing our best to pamper this little guy. That means being held and cuddled the majority of the day, mom springing from the bed at the first heard peep in the middle of the night, pacifier always within arms reach, bottles or mommy milk available at any time day or night, etc. It can get exhausting keeping this little one happy all the time but I can't think of any other baby that deserves more pampering then our Mighty Max.

Coming home...

Max has been home from the hospital for a week now. It has been a long week filled with sleepless nights and recovery worries but it feels so nice to have my baby home. The hospital is a comforting place because there are nurses to help you around the clock but there is nothing comfortable about being at the hospital. Now that we are home we can lounge in our pj's all day, eat normal food and not have to sit in uncomfortable chairs or sleep on sagging cots.
Max is doing great. Believe it or not he is only on infant Tylenol for pain management- babies are so tough. The biggest difference with Max is his breathing. Pre-surgery he really struggled. His breathing was very strained and each breath was shallow and fast. Post-surgery his breathing is calm and a lot more rhythmic (which is what the doctors had hoped for). Not eating or sleeping too much were signs the doctor told us about that would indicate something was not going well with Max's recovery. Well, Max has been eating around the clock and has been bright eyed the majority of the days (and nights).
We are hoping that his next surgery won't be for another 3 months. He has his first post-surgery appointment on Friday and hopefully everything will look good.
Here are a few pictures of Max before being released from the hospital:

Making Progress...

Max's recovery has been up and down. He was doing really well at first but then had a really rough day on Sunday. Now is back to doing well and we are getting ready to move from the ICU to pediatrics.

Here is Max eating for the first time. He was very anxious to start eating. The last time I was able to nurse Max was Friday morning at 3:00am and he did not get to eat again until Monday morning at 9:30am. He was recieving nurishment through his IVs but it was the saddest thing to hear his little tummy grumble.

Max has been blowing lots of bubbles since they took out the ventilator.

This is Max on Monday morning...

And this is Max on Monday night... what a difference! Monday was a turing point for Max's recovery. He started eating, he was weaned off his IVs, and he was just doing better all around.

This morning we have been able to hold Max and give him cuddles. He feels so much stronger then he did just 24 hours ago. Once he moves to pediatrics he will hopefully only have to stay 2 nights and then we will get to bring him home. Way to go Max!!!

Recovery...

Max's surgery went great. The surgeons were really pleased with how well Max's heart handled the procedure. After surgery Max was admitted to the Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit and is now recovering. He is still heavily medicated but we are able to be in the room with him. Hopefully by tomorrow he will be off his breathing tubes and we will be able to hold him. He has his own nurse and she monitors and cares for him around the clock. Max is perfectly stable at this point. His cardiologist has already come to do an echocardiogram and said that the band on his pulmonary artery looks good and that the blood flow looks normal. Max's oxygen levels are in the range the doctors had hoped for and his blood pressure has remained at a normal level. Now we get to watch him get better and better each day.
This is a picture taken during his surgery. We had our case manager take the picture for us since we obviously were not allowed in the operating room. Max is in the middle of the huddle. In the room with him are 2 surgeons, 1 surgeon's assistant, 2 nurses and the anesthesiologist. We did get a few pictures of Max during the surgery but felt they were a bit graphic to post. Here is Max in the PICU.Believe it or not every wire and machine in this picture is somehow connected to Max. We are so proud of our little trooper. Max has done so well so far and we are just praying that it will be a smooth recovery.

Pre- surgery...

One of our nurses let us listen to Max's heart. It was amazing! First we listened to my heart to hear what a healthy heart sounds like and then we listened to Max's. It sounded very different. It was so a great experience to hear what the doctors hear when they examine Max.

A visit from Artie, the therapy dog.

At 3:00am Max got his pre-surgery bath.
Here is Max being wheeled down the the surgery waiting room.Dad looking at his little boy and hoping everything goes well in surgery. Spencer is wearing the same college t-shirt that he was wearing when Max was born. Last loves and kisses from mommy.
Max giving us a reassuring smile. He is one brave baby!
Max with his anesthesiologist, Dr. Kellers. The doctor carried him into the operating room rather then wheeling him in on a hospital bed- it was really sweet.
Now we are waiting for the surgery to be finished...

Surgery...

Tomorrow morning Max will go in for surgery. For this procedure they will be banding his pulmonary artery. We were anticipating that he would need this procedure done but we did not expect that it would happen this soon. The surgery will start at 7:30am and take about 4 hours. We met with Dr. John, who will be the primary surgeon for Max's procedure. Dr. John talked us through the whole operation and answered all of our questions. We will try to give updates when we can.

Being Monitored...

Max has been monitored at the hospital this week after his breathing problems on Monday night. Here he is all hooked up and relaxed...Here is his room in the pediatric ward. Doesn't he look so tiny wrapped up in his crib?

Mom looking comfortable in her new "hospital" sweats...

Dad trying to get a few minutes of studying done between talking to the nurses and doctors...