The waiting game.

“I think I’ve discovered the secret of life – you just hang around until you get used to it.” ~Charles Schultz

I spent another day at the hospital with my baby boy. I suppose it’s quickly becoming a home away from home that we’re trying to accept. Chance and I made the most of the day and hopefully sharing a few more moments as we wait will help you all smile a bit as we watch this little guy recover.

He woke up in a pretty good mood today.

We started the day with lots of smiles and giggles.

It didn’t matter who was talking to him…most of the day he seemed to smile. I’m convinced he’s out to win the hearts over of all the nurses and doctors.

We had a few moments where he wasn’t feeling his best…but moments like these didn’t last as long today.

Jaylen visited again while Hope was in school. I love how much he wants to try to make his little brother smile.

I’m in love with how big of a heart this little boy has.

Chance spent some time on his belly again today. He’s getting a little annoyed with just laying around in this hospital bed.

This kid cracks me up…check out his latest trick.

Oh, and he thinks this is funny too. He did this several times today and at one point he did it when he had a room full of doctors and nurses in the room chatting with me and all we could all do was laugh…then he smiled…yes, he’s got everyone here at the hospital in love with him.

Jason brought the bumbo to the hospital. It made Chance’s day being able to sit for a change. He spent a little time watching cartoons contently.

Leave it to spongebob to keep my baby boy happy.

Another priceless moment with Jason & Chance.

This is the device collecting the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). In less than 2 days he’s had somewhere around 300 cc’s drain from his head. It basically drains once the pressure in his head reaches a certain level set by his doctors. They measure everything that comes out and make sure he gets IV fluid for anything draining. The good news is that his fluid has been clear today so we’ll continue to watch it and pray that no additional blood presents itself in the CSF so we can move forward with surgery soon.

Today we met with the hematology doctors. The initial lab work came back showing one level a bit higher than normal and another number not quite as high as they anticipated it might have been after surgery. I’m no doctor and I’m loosing track of all the acronyms and terms I’ve had said to me in the last two days but from what I understand they’re going to do more tests to see if he has an issue with his blood clotting. They don’t feel it’ll be a major concern, but if there is an issue it’ll be good for them to know before future surgeries as it might affect what they do prior to surgery. So it sounds like more labwork for my baby boy soon so we can rule out or confirm if these things are issues at all.

Chance has been nursing for all of his feedings but we’ve been giving him juice once a day. He’s gradually getting better at holding his bottle. Okay this didn’t last more than a minute or two…but it’s a big deal for me.

Jason left with the kids early this evening…they took a few more minutes to tell Chance bye. There’s no doubt how much the kids adore this little guy.

Chance has been doing better at falling asleep without being held. I think that it’s harder for me not holding him as much. With all the wires it’s a huge hassle to take him in and out and then also adjust the device that drains fluid from his head. This is usually how he falls asleep most days…with one hand on his head.

He startled so easy…all these final photos I took and he woke right up immediately after he heard my camera shutter click. I can’t help but admire this little guy.

My family has come to realize that me taking photos is a way of life for them. I’m often one to take photos around moments when most might not. And tonight as he slept lightly and kept waking up I nearly just put the camera down but I’m glad I took another photo that woke him up because in doing so I was able to take this photo…that pretty much summed up Chance’s day…he ended the day with a smile on his face.