Faux Diaper, Faux Real

Paxton had his first appointment with his pediatrician since his surgery this morning. He had not seen her for eight weeks. This may not sound like a long time for most children, but it was in Paxton's world. Susanne was doing well this morning. She was on top of it. She was able to shower, pump, eat breakfast, feed Paxton, bathe Paxton, take care of the animals, and still manage to get out the door on time. Even with it raining heavily, she was early to his 8:15am appointment.

Paxton weighed 15lbs 9oz today, a little less than his last weigh in due to his having just eaten at that time. His oxygen saturation was 89. This was better than Susanne had been expecting. Paxton's pediatrician thought that he looked incredible. She noticed right away that his respiratory rate was much improved. He seemed more relaxed and comfortable in this environment than he ever had been in the past. She was impressed with how much better his heart sounded. He used to have an extremely loud murmur, but now it was difficult to even detect. This was all due to the newly formed tricuspid valve actually functioning more normally. What an amazing thing!

The pediatrician assessed Paxton's incison to see how well it was healing. Susanne brought it to her attention that part of the sutures that shouldn't be visible were sticking out of the very top of his incision. This was preventing the skin from healing together because it was in the way. The skin around this area was inflamed and irritated. The veterinarian in Susanne wanted to clip the ends off with her suture scissors that she had at home, but the mother in her told her to wait until she spoke with the doctor. Thankfully, the pediatrician was able to remove it. Susanne was so relieved.

At the end of the appointment, Susanne had to break the bad news that they were moving. Scott had found a job in North Carolina. He was already down there getting adjusted and learning the ropes of his new place of employment. They had to cut the conversation short because they both were getting very emotional. Paxton's pediatrician had been the biggest advocate for him since day one. She never gave up on him and fought to get him the care he needed. Susanne was so greatful that she had her in her life. She felt blessed that they had crossed paths. They would definitely keep in touch. Susanne could foresee that they would be lifelong friends.

Paxton decided to clean out his system at the end of the appointment. Susanne went to change his diaper and realized that she did not have any diapers. She was so bummed because she had been doing so well this morning until this bump in the road. She could not believe that she didn't think to refill the diaper bag before she left. For the first time ever, Susanne had to use a burp cloth as a makeshift diaper. She wished that she actually knew how to assemble a cloth diaper because that would have helped her in this situation. Susanne only had a couple errands to run before heading home. Hopefully, the faux diaper would hold up.

Unfortunately, Paxton couldn't hold it until they got home. The faux diaper absorbed what it could, but he did leak a little onto his outfit. Thankfully, it was only a wet diaper and nothing more. After Susanne put him in a real diaper and a different set of clothes, he was ready for a nap. He could hardly keep his eyes open. He ended up sleeping for hours. All of the morning activities had tired him out.

They took it easy for the rest of the afternoon. Susanne worked with Paxton in between naps on some of the new skills that the therapist had shown her. He was doing well overall for just having had heart surgery three weeks ago.

Paxton was falling asleep between 7:00pm and 9:00pm every night. Tonight was no exception. The only difference was that recently he would wake up randomly wailing at the top of his lungs. Susanne was thinking that it had to be secondary to his reflux because of the signs he would show when she would go to scoop him up out of the crib. He would respond well to being held, but sometimes it would take longer for him to settle down enough to go back to bed. No matter what, Susanne could always get him to smile. This was how she knew he was okay.