Super (Bowl) Sunday!

What a great way to end the weekend!! Went up and held Liam for the morning. He's been on the stronger pain meds since 8 am yesterday. He's just had a few doses of Tylenol throughout the past day and is tolerating that well. We all pretty much have come to the conclusion that he's fussing more because he's hungry now than in pain. I think he's just getting doses when the surgeon comes around to feel his tummy and check his incision. Other than that he's feeling great! He was so much more alert this morning so it was fun getting to finally know some of his personality! He had a great time listening to his music on my iPhone (Renee & Jeremy- "It's a Big World"- a must have!) and I showed him a ton of pictures of Riley. He was so interested in the pictures, really looking intently at the photos. Thinking he needs a Shuffle and a digital photo frame in his bed!

No more poopy diapers since yesterday, but drainage is pretty non-existent and he's wrapping up his antibiotics tomorrow. I asked about starting Kangaroo Therapy (skin-on-skin cuddle time) soon to increase bonding. His attending doctor said she saw no problem with it and we could probably start tomorrow!! Liam would get unwrapped and get to snuggle up to my chest under a blanket- I just need to keep him away from the snack he so desperately wants!! (See pic with his mouth open- Feed Me! Should be the caption. The other picture is how I found him in the AM- I Don't Do Mornings)

After the morning visit with Liam, we got to visit with my brother Jeff, sis-in-law Leah, and their son Jax (can't believe he's a year old next week!). They drove over to get a tour of the RMD House from Riley and then we all went to breakfast. It was great to visit with people from "the outside"!

After getting our tummies full, Steve, Riley, and I sat down for another round of Monopoly (yes, Riley wanted to play AGAIN). And the grown-ups lost AGAIN. Is Riley the next Donald Trump (but with better hair and hopefully better choice in women)? About that time, Steve's parents came into town and Steve and his dad went up to the NICU while Nana stayed back to entertain Riley and I got a much-needed nap. Poor Nana ran the gamit of various outdoor sports (basketball, soccer, volleyball...) until it was time for some Super Bowl goody-making! One of the volunteers at the house has taken a shine to Riley and offered to make Rice Krispie treats with him for the Super Bowl. He was so excited and even wrote a note (Made By Riley) just to be sure everyone knew he contributed to the spread.

And what a spread it was! The volunteers decorated the common areas (living room and huuuuge family-style dining room) with streamers, balloons, signs, and hats for each team (complete with cheeseheads!). They had the "house divided" Packer fans watching one TV, Steeler fans watching the other. The goodies included wings, chili, meatballs, sliders, pasta salad, Rice Krispie Treats, and tooons of popcorn with different flavor sprinkles to put on top. The place got packed and it was fun to hear the different sides of the common rooms cheer on the teams.

We got Riley packed up and out the door at half time to get ready for the school week. (Forgot to mention earlier Sheryl and I went up to the NICU just before the game to get some time in with Liam. He had just been cuddled by Steve and Mal so we just enjoyed watching him sleep contently). Steve and I got up to visit Liam again in the evening (but I kept tabs on the game via iPhone- thank goodness for technology!).

So glad we went because we had a great night nurse that waited for us so we could do some hands-on with Liam! We got to do a sponge bath with him and he tolerated things pretty well. He even got a little shampoo and smelled so yummy! His incision site has healed so well- no seepage since the first day post-op, so we were cleared to take off his big bandage on his tummy. The tape had been irritating his skin so it was nice to get one more thing off of him. All he has left are 2-3 little pieces of tape over the stitches.

After bath time he got all swaddled up and got a great cuddle from Daddy. Steve starts back to work Monday so he'll miss the daytime visits from here on out. We played his music for him again and then had to put him down for the night. He was soooo content and peaceful, hopefully he gets lots of rest tonight and keeps on the road to recovery.

It was weird saying goodbye to Steve and coming back to the RMD House by myself after such a busy weekend. He's been here with me the whole time and has been even more supportive and more loving than I could have ever imagined- I got spoiled having him with me for the past 10 days. He waited on me hand and foot all hours of the day and night, he got me healthy and moving again, and has been spending quality time with Riley, as he always does, all while being ever-present in the NICU as well. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to go through this with.