Almost Outta Here (Updated 12 pm)

Everything is going great since surgery. Cooper has eaten (they gave him some pedialite) and is taking a nap on momma as I update this.

We're going to be discharged in the next 30 minutes. Will be good to get back to the casa.

Surgery Complete (Updated 10 am)

The surgeon just came out to let us know everything went fine.  The anesthesiologist is waking him up now, and as I'm typing this Supermom is heading into the recovery room to see him.

So far so good from Christus Santa Rosa hospital in San Antonio.  More later...

The Morning of Surgery (Updated 8:45 am)

We were instructed to arrive at the hospital bright-and-early at 6 am, and were in the waiting area right on time.  Unfortunately it was hurry up and wait for Cooper, and we sat for a half hour before getting checked in.  From there things progressed, and the nice nurses fitted him with this cute little hospital gown, complete with an exposed rear end.  Not such a big deal for a baby wearing a diaper, but it does let a draft through the back door.

From there we went to the pre-op waiting room and met with the surgeon.  A different group of nurses gave him a syringe full of goofy juice to calm his nerves.  After about five minutes he started to giggle at everything, and his eyes were half open.  This kid was STONED!  And it was hilarious.

From there they whisked him back to the operating room.  We've been in the waiting room for about an hour now, and they said it would be another 90 minutes or so before we get to see him.  There hasn't been an update from the surgeon (yet), but he told us we wouldn't hear much unless there was a complication.  So no news is good news.

Surgery, Again

When Cooper was diagnosed with his congenital heart defect, we were informed that the course of treatment would include a major surgery.  And we had prepared ourselves as much as we could for that inevitable day.  Thanks to the surgeons, nurses and specialty doctors that have looked after him before, during, and following the surgery he's happy and healthy.

Which brings me to the subject of this blog post.  In addition to his heart defect, Cooper arrived with something the doctor referred to as a "hypospadias".  As a male member of the human race, I will dance around this subject matter like Kevin Bacon in Footloose.  Let me put it this way...there is a condition, which needs to be repaired surgically, and the area affected is below his waist and above the thigh.

Technically speaking a hypospadias is a somewhat common defect in which the opening of the urethra is on the underside, rather than the end, of his, um, package.  Not to make light of the situation, because we are talking about surgery here, but it's a "sensitive" subject and I don't really want to go into much more detail.

The good news is the urologist believes that barring any crazy complications this will be the only surgical procedure required to make the repair.  But it's still surgery, and they're still going to put him under (there's always a risk), but when put in context with a major heart procedure it doesn't seem to stress me out quite as much.  It feels so heartless when I say that, but the anxiety I feel today is much different that what I felt a day before his heart surgery.

Anyway, tomorrow is the big day.  We leave for the hospital very early in the morning, and if all goes well we'll be home sometime tomorrow night.  I'll post an update here when I can.  If you feel so inclined, a little prayer for Cooper would be very much appreciated.

Splish-Splash

The little man is quite fond of playing around in the water.  Last weekend his paw-paw had a little birthday celebration, and we headed over to cousin *Walton & *Paddy's house for some splashing around in their pool.  (*Names have been changed to protect the innocent)

While Supermom lounged around trying to get some sun, yours truly was in charge of keeping him occupied and happy while also preventing a full-scale freak out.  It took him a little while to warm up to the flurry of activity in the pool (splashing, shrieking, etc.) but once he did it was super-happy-fun time.

Cooper also loves bath time.  Around two months ago he outgrew the small plastic tub we had been using for bathing.  Now he's in the big bathtub, and there's plenty of room for him to move around, splash, and frolic like a seal at SeaWorld.  Last week he also learned the hard, cold truth that humans, unlike fish, cannot inhale water.  The little guy was on his tummy causing a commotion when he felt the need to rest his head on the bottom of the tub.  There was also two inches of water in the tub at the same time.  The shock and horror on his face was priceless, and I don't think it is much of a surprise that bath time was over at that point.

Father's Day is this weekend, and because it's my first I'm going to be releasing my favorite father-related songs and movies later this week.  I hope momma, errr...Cooper got his dad something extra special.

Time to Finish Baby Proofing the House

Success!!!  After threatening to get up and go for the last two weeks, Cooper decided it wasn't that big of a deal to start crawling.  He's been quite capable, and has the reverse gear figured out.  He's also pretty good at going from his tummy to sitting, and vice-versa.

Just before dinner time he was playing on the floor of our living room.  Cubby is a big fan of electronics, and has three (3!) old cell phones he likes to play with.  I recently upgraded my blackberry, and have to charge the old one every few days because he really likes when the phone lights up.  But there's nothing quite like mom or dad's actual working cell phone.  So I used it for some extra motivation, and well, the results are below for you to enjoy.



This morning Supermom had left for the office, and I was hanging around until it was time to take him to daycare.  (Side note...our new daycare provider is awesome.  He has plenty of other kids to play with, and they all love him.)

I like to read him books in the morning, and we started our ritual...until he caught site of his exersaucer.  He shoved his books aside, got on his hands and knees, and proceeded to crawl across the room.  The days of leaving him unattended and playing with toys are over.  God help us.

Gimme a Head with Hair

Long, beautiful hair.
Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen;
Give me down to there, hair!

Our son was born with little-to-no hair on his head, and what he did have at birth was long-gone within a week or two.  Without revealing any other odd personal hygiene rituals, Supermom and I have settled into a bath routine that involves a full-scale wash every other day.  For days that don't include submersion, mommy uses a wash cloth for a quick rubdown.  And lotion.  Lots of lotion.

What does this have to do with hair?  Plenty.  When Cooper gets a bath you can't help but notice how long, thick and dark his hair is getting.  It's even more apparent when you try to dry his cranium.  We've been forced to use a thicker towel just because that's a lot of water to try and mop up.

Not only is it getting thick, but his hair is also getting long.  Just the other night Supermom decided to style it into the cutest little baby mohawk you have ever seen.

This picture reminded me of a conversation at the dinner table.  One of Supermom's co-workers asked the other day if Cooper is ever in a bad mood.  She asked because the photos we share always show him smiling.  The simple answer is yes, he has his moments...but, they are very rare.  What you see in the photos is pretty much his mood all the time.