Skin of Your Teeth

Susanne and Moppy didn't get to bed until around 1:30am. They were hoping to be able to sleep at least until 4:30am, but that didn't happen. Paxton woke up just shy of 3:30am. Like clockwork, he would wake up right before his next dose of pain medication was due. He had been doing this everyday since he had his surgery. Susanne knew that the discomfort would lessen over the next few days, but she hated the thought of her baby being in pain at all.

Paxton had become accustomed to his mommy coming to his rescue anytime he cried. She had never let him just "cry it out". She knew if there were tears, then something was truly wrong. He was such a mild mannered, happy-go-lucky baby. Crying was not his go-to emotion. He only ever did it if there was an actual reason. Also, she was hypersensitive about him getting upset because his oxygen saturation level would drop drastically if he did. She knew from past episodes that his oxygen levels could drop into the low sixties. Unfortunately, this still occurred even after his two heart procedures. This was dangerous and it wasn't worth the risk!

Moppy and Susanne had checked out the night before. This was necessary because they had to be at the airport around 6:30am in order to have enough time to check their luggage and get through security. They left later than they would have liked, but still felt that they would make it on time. It didn't help that it had started to snow AGAIN. It seemed like the snow followed Paxton wherever he went. He had experienced more snowstorms in his one year of life than Susanne had her entire life before he was born.

When they finally arrived at the airport, it was packed. The line for checking bags was endless. They stood in line for well over an hour before they got to the front. They knew they were pushing it to make it to the gate on time. Thankfully, it wasn't their first rodeo. They made sure to be extra prepared when they got to the security check. Once they were through the first portion of the security process, Susanne encouraged Moppy to go ahead so she could try to have them hold the plane for them. After every possible liquid was checked, Susanne ran to try and make it. She was more than relieved to find out that the plane was running behind. This gave her a chance to catch her breath and recuperate. She also had time to pull up and administer Paxton's medications. He was also due for his next feeding, but Susanne made the executive decision to skip it to maintain her sanity.

When they were finally called to load the plan, they were shocked that they didn't provide time for parents that had children. This was standard for any airline, but they must have forgotten to call it. This meant that Susanne, Moppy, and Paxton had to fight against the crowd. It was not an easy feat.

Paxton slept most of the flight. He only got upset at the end of it. He was restless and ready to be home already. As they were landing, Paxton thought that it was the appropriate time to have an explosion in his pants. The word explosion was actually an understatement. It had become somewhat of a tradition for Paxton to do this. Susanne couldn't remember any flight where Paxton hadn't left his mark. She had to invariably change his outfit upon arrival to their destination. It constantly shocked her how he continued to one-up himself with the degree of disaster that he'd create. What a messy boy!

They caught a taxi back to Susanne's house, which ended up being about a thirty minute ride. After geting all of their luggage into the house, Susanne immediately put Paxton down for a nap. He had been going strong since early in the morning and she knew he was exhausted. She sure was too! She knew that it would take forever before she could sit down because there was so much to unpack. It was in that moment that she decided to leave it for later and take a nap herself. This was the best decision she could have made. Any sleep was a bonus for her. She would take it any way it came.