Year

Well, what can I say this year has put a lot of "years" on us. It certainly has been a difficult one but one thing is for sure, no matter what we have been through we have been blessed. Blessed by so many prayers said for Mason and our family, blessed by love, kind words, donations to help our family, messages of encouragement, food to help us get by, but most of all we have been blessed because we still have each other, ALL of us. There were many times this year when we didn't think that was going to be possible. So many complications. Josh and I still have our marriage and our love for our boys and our love for each other. God has carried us through every step of the way when it HASN'T been easy. And I know no matter what next year has for us that God will continue to be with us every step of the way. We have been blessed and we must remember that, no matter what may come. We thank Him for his provisions in our lives and for allowing us to be together this New Year's Eve when at one point in time we thought it was impossible.  But God is the "I'm possible."

Mason says Happy New Year! He had to go and get his synagis shot today. No fun!

The best New Year's eve yet spent with both of our boys. We love them so. We made Christmas cookies (since we didn't get around to that due to the stomach virus).

 Working with the cookie dough.

Mason even helped.

 Happy boy! He loves his sweets!

 Playing with the icing. 

We had dinner and then we got out sparklers to have outside. Corbin was a little unsure but will do anything as long as his Daddy is by his side. He sure loves his Dad and is going to have a hard time when he has to go back to work on Wed.!

We are thankful for all of you this year that have kept up with our story and have prayed for our family. You have touched our lives and God has heard your prayers. We look forward to continuing to share our story and blessings with you in 2013.

This is what it is about

Watch and listen. This is what Christmas is all about. Just heard this on Klove and it is unbelievable. So often we forget the true meaning of Christmas but this is it all summed up into one:

Quick update: We all got the sickness (except for Mason thank the Lord) but we all survived it. Mason has a lot of congestion and was given a nebulizer and albuterol to help get rid of it and is doing pretty good just having difficulty taking foods by mouth (thank the Lord for the gtube)! I will do a much more detailed update about Christmas later but just wanted to share this.

Perspective

As the days until Christmas come closer and my family still is under the weather and I get frustrated I still must remember perspective. Exactly as my mom said earlier today on facebook, even though this year has been a tough one we have been blessed. We have 2 sweet amazingly perfect little boys at home with us and we WILL celebrate Christmas when everyone is well (as we should celebrate Christmas every day of the year). I have always LOVED Christmas and celebrating it and have wanted to pass these traditions down to my children and look forward to doing this in years to come and God will get us through this time right now. We are blessed and are fortunate to have Mason alive and doing as well as he is doing! Below is a "guest post" from my mom, Cathy (picture taken by Gail Jones Photography).

It's all perspective......
This Christmas will be very different for my family. Right now Corbin is getting over a GI bug and still has a fever.Lauren Jump Matthews is staying down stairs with Mason in total isolation. Josh Matthews is staying upstairs and quietly comforts Corbin each time he heaves. All of our plans for a family Christmas dinner (although with oxygen tanks and feeding tubes) seem to be dwindling away. But there is a lesson here as well. Christmas is not just about all the bows, wrappings and cheery songs. December 25th is just another day on the calendar. We can celebrate ANY day. And we have so much to celebrate. The odds were so stacked against Mason even "being" this Christmas. And yet, I can hold him.....and look at that precious face......and rejoice. Maybe this Christmas won't be like we planned.....but we can still celebrate.....and look forward to next year.....and be thankful for the many many ways we have been blessed. There are 20 families in Newtown, CT for whose Christmas Days will NEVER be the same. So.....here is a big hug.....from my family to yours.......and a wish for a very blessed and Merry Christmas. Ours truly is! 

Prayers

Please pray for us as Corbin has the vomit flu and that no one else (especially Mason) would get sick. Thank you.

Follow up

We got a good report today from Mason's neurosurgery appointment. Tomorrow we are headed to the peditrician to follow up on his cold. He is coughing a lot and they just want to check him out. His oxygen requirements have stayed the same for the most part. Otherwise we are getting the boys ready for Christmas! They are excited!

Mason's version of Rudolph. (Red light from pulse ox).

Memories

We are enjoying this Christmas with our boys and love how involved Corbin has become at this age. He loves searching for our elf, Hermie and absolutely dances with glee when he finds him every morning. He can spot a nativity in no time when we are out and about. The other night my mom and I took him to see the balls at Friendly and then to see the waving Santa.

I remember this so vividly from when I was a child.

He was SO excited!

We also went to go see Santa. Corbin told him he wanted a jeep, bounce house, and a trampoline. And presents for Mommy and Daddy and Mason (sweet boy). 

And tonight we put the finishing touches on this years gingerbread house. Corbin had a blast decorating and even saved the candy and didn't eat any until he had permission (unlike Daddy). Here is the end result:

 Proud boys.

Follow up

We are pretty sure that Mason's vomiting was all due from his shunt draining excessively. Once they adjusted it and his head filled back up he seemed to be better and has kept his food down. He continues to take the majority if each feed by mouth only leaving 5-10 cc left. He is becoming interactive with me during feeds and will hold onto my shirt and watch me. We are going to work on social interaction and over stimulation with his therapy. We met with the CDSA today and he was fussy and seemed to get overstimulated easily. They said to consider him almost 1 month old considering his "adjusted months" have been spent most in the hospital. So we are hoping we will get some positive interaction and experiences now. Please continue to pray in these areas and for Mason to be healed neurologically.
We did get a call from Brenners today that Mason did test positive for the rhino virus so basically he has a cold. Treatment is still the same... Nothing. So we have learned that Mason is very temperamental with his shunt and will get very irritable, sling his head back in pain, and a new one:vomit everything. This is if it isn't working or if it is draining excessively. Atleast he lets us know!

Home Sweet Home

Enough said. Thanks for your prayers. 

Deja vu

Mason dialing up Dr. ("Uncle") Phil in the ED. 

Sorry I haven't updated but we are back in the hospital again. Prayers needed. Mason had some difficulty with spitting up his feeds (both PO feeds and by g tube feeds). It progressively got worse as the week went on to where he couldn't keep any foods down. My peditrician had recommended adding some oatmeal to his feeds in an effort to help with reflux. That didn't work so they sent us to Brenner's ED because they said vomiting is a sign of a shunt malfunction. CT scan showed shunt was draining great...almost too good and ventricles were almost collapsed. They turned the setting to allow less drainage again but Mason still couldn't keep foods down so they admitted us. He spiked a fever last night of 102 (he also was INCREDIBLY AGITATED at his IV and frankly because he was in the hospital getting poked and prodded and he received vaccines on Thurs) so now they are watching for an infection and did the whole infection work up--blood cultures, urine cultures, nasal swab, flu work up. Labs were good, CRP elevated at 77. I asked could that be due to vaccines and she said that is possible but not a lot of research is done on that. So now we are in a waiting game. Everything has looked ok so far. Prayers appreciated to get us through this and to keep us all healthy (I am starting to get sick). Certainly getting tired of going back and forth into the hospital. Thankful to have our boys though and no matter what we are going through we have our family and can hold them close. God be with those who no longer can not.

Quick note

Just a follow up from Mason's hearing test. He didn't cooperate the whole time but we got enough results to feel confidant that the right ear is ok and the left ear is not. That is the side with the shunt so we are not sure if it is a brain thing (which is probably the case) or an actual structural loss. We will follow up for another test in 3 months and talk with the neurologist about his thoughts on this. Prayers continued to be appreciated as Mason develops.

Hearing test

Mason's hearing test is in progress. Please pray for good results. Funny thing happened though, as she got started the fire alarm went off. Oh Mason, this is the story of our lives. You and your brother are going to make my hair fall out!

Firsts

Throughout this whole event we have experienced a lot of firsts (as you do with any baby). Some have been not so happy (like first surgery or first shunt revision) and some have been happy (such as first bottle or first time he rolled over). This week we have had several first: like first hair cut. This one really was not by choice but by surgeon's choice. Mason had SO much dermabond on his hair that is was a necessity in order to have a sterile space and to get it all out. Here is the finished product:

From this angle it kind of looks like a mohawk.

When we got home we had to equal things out...so we buzzed the other side. I was pretty bummed. Mason had a lot of hair. But it is already growing out and he does look pretty good bald. Another first we had today was nursing...actually from the real deal. I have been pumping the whole time through all of this so Mason has received breast milk. But today after he ate, I was holding him and he kept rooting around and smacking his lips so I figured it was worth a shot, and he latched on and started eating like crazy! For those of you who have breastfed you know that is not an easy task and needless to say I was shocked. He is really doing so well with his oral feeds too! We are pretty excited and very thankful. Your prayers are working!

And this little boy is being wild as usual. He is really into everything and is trying to waiver back in forth between being a big boy and being a baby (because Mason gets SO much attention). I will often find him in the bouncy seat or trying to get in the pack 'n play. We figured this would happen because it has definitely been a hard adjustment for him, especially with us in and out of the hospital so much. We sure do love him though and would appreciate your prayers as we all continue to adjust. We are hoping to stay put and stay at home for a bit!

He loves wearing his robe like Mommy. 

Thank you

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others through all of this and just want to say a big thank you. I wish I could write each of you individually but just know that we are so thankful and feel so blessed by each of you. You have touched our hearts and we are grateful.

Mason is doing great and recooperating from his busy week last week.

We are all home.

Mason was able to come home today and we are so thankful. Hoping to get some rest tonight!

Update

Surgery went well and we are so thankful! The shunt placement stayed the same and the tubing is placed in the heart. Everything looks like it is draining great, almost too good so if his head is still sunken in tomorrow then he will reprogram it to drain less. In other news that I haven't mentioned lately Mason is doing great with his bottle feeds and is taking full feeds or close to full feeds each time. We still feed him through the g tube at night so we don't wake him up but he is doing great! We are very thankful for good news and hopeful that this will fix the shunt problem! Thank you for your continued prayers!

Third times a charm (we hope & pray)

Mason's third shunt revision is taking place right now and started around 11:55. We are hoping this will be it for awhile. Dr. Couture's plan is to keep the same shunt placement but just change the tubing from his belly to his heart. So blessed to have him on Mason's team! I will update once we hear more.

Mason being taken back to surgery, hopefully the last one for awhile but we aren't really counting on it!

Surgery scheduled

Mason's shunt started leaking again this afternoon so it looks like surgery is inevitable. He was put on the OR schedule and we aren't exactly sure what time his surgery is because he has to coordinate with the pediatric surgeon in order to gain access to the heart. This time instead of the drain/tubing being put in the belly it is going to be put in the heart. The shunt is also going to be moved to either the right side or to the back of the left. We will leave it up to the surgeon to do what he is thinking is best. Please pray for success and for quick recovery. Hard to believe that this will be Mason's number 8 surgery and he is only 6 months old (and that isn't even counting other procedures).

I sure do love these boys. 

Day 4

We are still here at the hospital. Mason has been tapped off his shunt every day in an effort to keep any fluid from coming out his incision site so that the skin will heal. The plan is for him to be tapped again today and then stop and see if there is any more leaking in the days following. If it leaks again then that means Mason will have surgery to remove the shunt from its current location and place it in a different part of his brain. He will also take the draining tube out if his stomach and put it in his heart. Because Mason has had so much surgery done to his stomach it may not be the optimal place for it to drain and be absorbed due to all of the scar tissue. We are really praying this works and would love to avoid another surgery if possible. I will definitely keep you updated in the next few days. Thanks for your continued prayers.


Daddy and big brother came for a visit.

Hotel Brenners

So, we are back at Brenners again getting quite the view of the hospital (now on the 8th floor). Mason's head continued to leak so we came back in to keep an eye on it. The plan is to tap it once or twice a day  and give his head a chance to heal or another surgery to remove the shunt and put it in a different place and quite possibly place the lead for drainage in the heart. So I will be up here atleast for 4 or 5 days. Please pray that we come up with a solution that works so that we can be home for good!

Christmas parade

Today my mom kept Mason so we could go to the Christmas parade. We had a great time and I think Corbin consumed more candy than he ever has! He was on a sugar high for sure! Please continue to pray for Mason's head to heal. We have had a few drops of leaking here and there out of both sites and called and they just said if more starts coming out to come in. I really am praying this will heal and we know God answers our prayers!


Mason you will come with us to the parade sometime soon buddy!

Home.

We are super tired but just wanted to update. Mason's stitches in the top part of his head held up today. The stitches behind his ear, however did not and when we just were headed out the door at 12 pm they started leaking. So we called them and they came back up, pulled 30 cc off his head and put more glue in those. So we are hoping and praying all of this works. We are home and hoping to stay home!

News

We are trying stitches again and spending the night to be observed. Please pray this works.

Update

We are back in ED today because Mason's shunt is leaking again. Looks like we are going to have to have surgery again. Please pray for some success. Thank you.

Emergency room take 2

So we had to take another trip to the ER today because Mason's shunt started leaking again. Yesterday we had an appointment with neurosurgery which I canceled because it wasn't leaking (plus they told us we didn't need to go if everything was ok). So of course it started leaking today at the top part of his head. I guess Mason is making sure my mom and I are old pro's at going to the dr. (don't know what I would do without her help)! Today's plan of action was to re-program the shunt so that it would drain some more and hopefully relieve some of that extra pressure so that the incision site can heal. They also took dermabond (basically super glue) and put it at the incision site in hopes that it will heal completely.   We are hoping and praying that this works. Phew, what a day or past couple of weeks. I am ready for some boring days! I think Mason just wanted to go visit his neurosurgery buddy "Uncle Phil" again.

Quick update

So far so good. Keep praying. His head seems to be healing. Thank The Lord!

Back home for now

Waiting before surgery...he was breathing really well without his oxygen. Silly boy pulled it off his face.

So Mason got discharged from the hospital today and on our way home we noticed that the top of his shunt was leaking again (where the new incision is). So we pulled over to make a detour and called the hospital back. Neurosurgery said to watch it and keep him upright for 48 hours and put antibiotic ointment on it and hopefully by Monday it will be better. If not then another trip back. Please pray that his new incision and that this shunt will work. We are pretty discouraged right now. I hope and pray that he won't need another surgery so quickly after this one was done. Thank you for your prayers.

Another update

Mason made it through surgery. Good news is his belly part if shunt was working so he didn't have to put it in his heart. The shunt was clogged at a point and it wasn't in enough of the ventricles so he fixed that. He took a peak at his brain and said overall it looked pretty good. They are keeping Mason overnight to watch him. Josh stayed with him and said he has been in a lot of pain but they have it under control now. Poor baby! Please pray for him to heal quickly. We are thankful for good news.

Surgery

Ok is shunt still leaking so surgery is a must now. Heading back to hospital and surgery at 3.

Thankful

Today we are very thankful. Thankful for our family. Thankful for the hard times we've gone through this year. Thankful for the big and small victories. Thankful for our family and friends and all the prayers that have gotten us through. Thankful for Gods provision in our lives. Each and everyday has not been easy but God has gotten us through and carried us every step of the way. And He will continue to as long as we look towards Him. May you and your family always look towards Him in every circumstance and every situation you may encounter so that you may receive peace and thankfulness. Happy thanksgiving! From our family to yours!

Update

We are back home. They re stitched the incision behind his ear, did x rays, ct scans, tapped his head to check for an infection. Everything looked good so no surgery. Thank The Lord. Mason is very upset and agitated so we are praying he settles down. Think the last few days have been enough for him. Plus he didn't eat all day in preparation for a possible surgery. Please pray for a restful night! Thank you!

Emergency room

Mason and I made a trip to brenners emergency room because we noticed his shunt was leaking. Looks like another surgery will be necessary. Please keep us in your prayers.

Adventures

Three appointments. One day. Ready, set, go! We survived and are all in one piece. Mason didn't really stay on any feeding schedule today but that is ok because he measured in as obese on the growth chart. Yes, that is right OBESE (12 lbs)! Guess who is going on a diet for the holidays? So they decreased his feedings down to 70 cc which is what he was on when he was discharged from the hospital. He has grown in length some but these 2 measurements do not coincide well and he needs to grow longer and not gain so much weight so quick. They were impressed overall with his skills and she said he was very smart with his bottle intake and careful with himself, judging when he was not able to safely intake. She did put him on reflux medicine (thank the LORD-last night was rough and he was in so much pain) so we are hoping that that will help.

On to the audiologist where she was hoping Mason would be asleep. Not so much and he wasn't really feeling having his hearing checked. She did work with him and we are going to have to have a complete diagnostic. Initially he had passed the right ear and not passed the left ear (which is where his shunt is) but today he didn't pass in both ears. She said typically with the shunt there will be high frequency loss which is what she is suspecting in the left from her test today. The right side could possibly show some loss but since he wasn't cooperating she can't really rely on that. So we are returning in a couple of weeks and praying he will stay asleep for an hour and a half (which is how long the test will take).

Then onto the NICU follow up where not much really happened. We were able to see our old neonatologist there that had taken care of Mason for his first 2 weeks of life. No changes on anything right now but they did do labs to check his sodium and potassium since he is getting supplemented every feeding. Heres to hoping the next few days are a little less hectic and with more relaxation and more sleep (thanks to reflux medicine)!

Weekend with brothers

Look what I can do. 

This little boy is REALLY strong! He wasn't sure how he felt about sitting up like this but did enjoy looking around. We had a good weekend and got out Christmas decorations put up! I LOVE Christmas and was ready to decorate. Corbin was so excited to participate this year and when I started getting them out on Friday he just shook with excitement. He was a big "helper" this year and even got to put the star on top of the tree.

Mason helped out by sleeping and eating...what babies do best right? Passed out while we were hard at work...

These boys got to spend some quality time together and we let Corbin hold Mason for a second. He told us that Mason was hurting him. The only thing I can think of is maybe his oxygen cannula was rubbing up against him. It was a sweet moment though...

Here is the finished product of our decorations in our living room (we are still waiting on Mason's stocking to come in the mail). Hope you all had a good weekend!

2 months adjusted

Ok, just to start out and say I am not ignoring the blog. I think about updating all the time but most of the time I chose sleep over updating. Because I need it. Very much. Everything continues to be a BIG adjustment. Corbin is finally feeling it and is testing my patience. I am still trying to figure out things with Mason and get into a routine. We have changed around his feeding schedule (per nurses, pediatrician) and he is enjoying his extra milk and sleeping more...most of the time. He will be fussy during the day at times and needs attention...always while I am pumping. He must have a sixth sense about him. He would be content if I held him ALL DAY LONG. This morning after I had had no sleep because he was fussy last night his g tube came out. Luckily, the kids path nurse had brought in a folly catheter and talked to me about it on Monday so I was somewhat prepared. I just remember her telling me not to panic. So as I am running around the house, trying to find everything I just kept saying to myself don't panic don't panic. Phew. I ended up getting everything together and putting in the catheter as Mason ripped the oxygen off his face. Stomach stuff flying everywhere. Him crying. Good times. Don't panic. These are the days I will remember down the road but man I am ready for it to be a little easier. Goodness gracious! But thank the Lord through all things and all circumstances. Atleast I get to have days like this with Mason. So after I got in the catheter, re-tapped his nasal canula, and put some clothes back on to keep him from pulling out the catheter, I picked Mason up to comfort him and he looked at me and grinned. Silly boy.

This little by has been keeping me busy.

Mason is doing good overall. He has definitely started spitting up A LOT more than he was, usually after he takes a bottle. I try my best to burp him well but still we have spit up. We go to Kids eat on Tues. so I am sure they will assess that. He continues to roll over from from to back anytime I put him on his belly and has almost rolled over from back to front. He is SO strong and will grab at you, push the bottle away when he needs a break. I really can hardly believe and am amazed at his skills. Totally a miracle from God. He has great neck and head control and loves to sit up on my knee with just a little support. He loves to sit on his play mat and has fairly fluid movement while he is playing. He makes little baby squeaky noises and can put some weight on his legs. All of this is unbelievable considering he is really only 2 months old adjusted today. He takes some feeding by mouth once he gets settled. he continues to have a large degree of oral aversion and takes a bit to figure out if it is a bottle or some type of negative thing. I pray he will settle in and learn positive experiences. His sleep patterns are ok. He pitches a fit if you try to lay him flat on his back at night in a bassinet. I have got to figure out a solution to that. But overall we are doing ok. Just adjusting. They told me the first month was the hardest and I am praying that it only last a month! But God is good and we are blessed. Next week we have 3 appointments on Tues. Kids eat, audiological follow up (he didn't pass his left ear hearing screening; where his shunt is so expected), and follow up at neonatologist in Greensboro. Please pray for good news from dr.s and helpful suggestions and hints. We continue to ask for prayers for complete healing of our little boy (neurologically especially) and that he would begin to trust us and settle in to everything. Also prayers during this adjustment period and that I will keep my sanity and that Corbin will adjust. Sorry if this is scattered but remember I am sleep deprived! I am now Mason's 24 hour nurse among other things!

Rolling over

Mason just rolled over from front to back two times!

1 week home

Today marks 1 week since Mason's homecoming and boy have we been busy. This past weekend, Josh's brother Nick got married and we were in the wedding. It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun participating in the festivities. Corbin walked down the aisle and was a trooper through the whole event. Mason did great at home with Gigi. We did have a couple of sleepless nights snuck in there just to make things a little interesting but we survived.

Willow Oaks Plantation was right up Corbin's ally. Tractors, golf carts, dump trucks galore!

Taking a nap on the pillow once he got up the aisle. He actually went and sat down on the second aisle and sat quietly (kind of singing) through the whole ceremony until it was time to walk back down.

Mason even sent his congrats!

In other news, we have been trying to balance meds, feedings, equipment, cords EVERYWHERE, crazy monitor that goes off frequently because the leads come off, it needs charging, etc. It has been a little hectic but I am praying it will get easier. Mason was weighed yesterday by Kidspath nurse and he is almost 11 lbs! He is doing well taking the bottle if we get it the right temperature and give it to him before he gets so hungry he is irate (has taken complete feeds numerous times and is doing well). Learning all of these little quirks are definitely helpful but it has been a learning curve. He also has been waking up about 30 minutes or a little bit later after each feeding acting like he is starving so I spoke with the nurse about adding more and that has made him happier. They are reworking everything to try to get him moving towards a 3 1/2 to 4 hour schedule. He will get fussy if he needs to be burped, has a dirty diaper, you know normal baby stuff. Of course, at first, I was freaking out thinking it was something worse but I had to remind myself that he is a BABY. Everything else is going well, Corbin seems to be adjusting fairly well. I have not yet ventured to keep both children at the same time yet but hopefully I will try later on this week. We are so thankful to be together but not saying it isn't a little crazy! Take a look:

Mason LOVES this rainforest play mat and will look around. 

 Lifting up this head is hard work!

This boy is enjoying being a helper and is trying his best. He cracks me up! I sure love both our boys!

Past few days

We have had a busy couple of days. We are excited that Uncle Nick is getting married tomorrow! We also went to the pediatricians office for a well child appointment and he was pleased with everything. He said his lungs sounded clear and a lot better than he expected. Mason weighed in at 10 lbs 3 oz! We met with an agency called Kids path that is going to have a nurse come out and a social worker the will coordinate any special needs we might have. What a blessing!

Mason also decided to stay up a bunch last night fussing and demanding our attention. He wanted us to hold him. He isn't spoiled. So all is well, we are just tired. Corbin is doing pretty good but also had a restless night as well. We are praying for a better night overall considering our big day tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers of healing and adjustment for our boys. We are praying for an eventful free winter!

Getting in a groove

We are doing well and trying to get in a routine and figure out all of Mason's equipment. Mason came home on oxygen, a monitor, and with a feeding pump. I feel like we have cords coming out of everywhere! And the monitor is very loud and will go off for crazy reasons and then you have to frantically figure out what to do to make it be quiet! If Mason wasn't breathing or was dropping his heart rate, I am sure the loud noise would scare him into fixing his problem!
Corbin is enjoying his baby brother being at home. Mason got him a play John Deere gator and tractor as a gift. He was very excited. We are working on gentle touch and clean hands all the time. Oh, and please don't mess with Mason's equipment. We have worked on getting Mason to take a bottle during each feeding during the day and he is doing well. He averages between 20-30 ml with the bottle and prefers the Walmart parents choice nipple(recommended by the Slp). He is doing really well and has been a good boy for us. We are so thankful and so blessed. We have our well child appointment at our pediatrician tomorrow. Please pray that he doesn't get sick. I don't like having to take him but am geared up with tons of blankets to sit him on and purell and Lysol wipes. Hopefully I can update with more news tomorrow but so far so good!

Below is a pic of our first meal together ,Corbin and Mason at home for first time together, and of Mason chilling at the house taking it all in stride. We are so thankful!

Headed home

After a 169 day stay in the Nicu where we met wonderful people who have touched our lives forever, we are headed home. God is good.

Rooming in

Our view for the night. If all goes well we may go home tomorrow!

Surgery update

It has been a long day but Mason's surgery went well. Surgery did reveal that his shunt was not working properly so he changed it out. He also wasn't happy with the fit in his belly so he fixed that as well (so he has a little incision on his head and on his tummy). Mason was able to be extubated before he even came back up to the NICU. Atleast he has perfected that! He was still very upset after surgery because he was so hungry. You could hear his tummy rumbling. When we got the ok from the dr. he took 20 cc out of a bottle and then was exhausted. I really think he hasn't got any consistent sleep for several days. He has been more content and able to sleep better today after surgery, still needing some tylenol for the recovery from the surgery. 

Trying to get relaxed before surgery.

On the way down to surgery this morning. 

As long as he continues to do well and recovers well we are still on schedule for coming home this week. I will have to admit that I am a little, well, a lot nervous. I am sure we will be good once we get into a routine. We better get some rest tonight because I think we are going to be in for a busy week!