The Day After

Twenty four hours have passed since Asher came home from hospital, and I think it's safe to say at this point that he's doing really well! We have kept on top of his pain meds every three hours to keep him comfortable, and other than a bit of complaining right around that three hour mark, he has seemed back to himself! I am hoping that by tomorrow he will need the drugs less and that within a couple more days he will feel completely fine. He is such a star and I couldn't be more proud of him and how he NEVER complains. I swear to you that kid is a living, breathing angel. And don't get me wrong, I love Nolan and his crazy personality to death, but all day yesterday I kept thinking to myself "Could you imagine if this was Nolan?". Wow, what a different experience it would have been with Mr. Crankpot!

While Asher may be feeling better, I spent the day feeling like I was hit by a truck. Asher actually had a good sleep last night, but because I was not used to having him in our room, I did not. I was worried about him so every time he stirred, so did I, then I would lay awake thinking about the day. I think yesterday Jordan and I were running on straight adrenaline in order to keep it together for Asher, and today that has taken its toll! Yesterday was emotionally difficult for us, even with no complications, so it stands to reason that we would be exhausted given how the day ended up. Although we knew he was never in imminent danger yesterday, it was not fun to be reminded of all of the times in the past when he really was.

It's funny because in some ways I think that yesterday was harder on us, given how many complications we've seen the boys go through already, yet in other ways I think it made it a bit easier to understand (although we were scared regardless). The nurses in surgical daycare were quite concerned about his sats being at 89 or 90, rightfully so, but to a parent that had no knowledge of what that meant I think it would have been much scarier. For Jordan and I who regularly saw the boys plummet to the 30s and 40s (and once to SIX!) I suppose we didn't get as worked up about it as we could have. And as I mentioned yesterday, WOW did it come in handy to have a former peds nurse for a husband! In the NICU, he was so distressed and immersed in the worried dad role, he never commented a lot on the medical stuff, other than to translate (not to mention he had never taken care of a 2 pounder). But yesterday, his assurances came frequently and confidently that Asher would be FINE and that made a world of difference to my sanity.

Asher is sleeping soundly, back in his room with Nolan, so here's hoping I do the same tonight and we all wake up tomorrow feeling like a million bucks!