Wake Up Sleepy Head

Paxton slept from the time they arrived home yesterday around 1:00pm until 7:00am this morning. Susanne kept going into his room to check on him to make sure he was okay. He would stir occassionally crying and moaning, but he would never open his eyes. Usually it was because he was due for his next dose of pain medication or because he had a wet diaper.

Susanne was curious to see if Paxton's gagging episodes would resolve after his cleft palate repair. She thought that she would be able to determine this best once he was back at home on his normal schedule. Unfortunately, his first morning back began with some difficulty. He spent time trying to figure out what to do with all of his saliva, followed by gagging, and finished off with vomiting a few times. It was comparable to how every other morning started out before the surgery, except that now nothing came out of his nose. Hopefully, his ability to swallow would take a dramatic upswing over the next few months. Susanne knew it would still be an uphill battle, but she was ready for the hike.

Once Paxton recovered from this episode, he was ready to fall back to sleep. Susanne was shocked that he wanted to close his eyes again after he had just been sleeping for 18 hours. Susanne knew he was tired, but not this tired. She followed his cues and tucked him back in. He was out within minutes. It wasn't until 9:00am that he was ready to play. He woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He looked refreshed and renewed. Susanne was happy to see him acting like his old self again. He was smiling and laughing. He was clapping and kicking. He even managed to coo a little bit.

Susanne played with Paxton on his play gym. This was the first time they had done this for almost two weeks and it felt good. Susanne wasn't sure if she was dreaming, but she was almost positive that Paxton seemed stronger. He was grabbing and holding his toys better than she had ever seen him do in the past. He was so deliberate with his actions. Susanne was so proud of the little guy. It hadn't even been a complete hour before he was rubbing his eyes and yawning again. She had never had surgery, but she imagind that it must take a lot out of a person. Back to bed he went.

Susanne was prepared to slowly work Paxton into his regular schedule. She didn't want to push him too hard too quickly. She was going to take it one day at a time just like she had been doing every day since he was born. That had proven to be the best approach.