Our trip to Children's Mercy

Good morning! I want to say thank you to all of our sweet friends & family who kept us in your prayers & thoughts yesterday! We survived the day, we are home, & Jett is doing wonderful- even better than expected! We have much to be thankful for!

First, before I share about our own little journey, let me say, that the surgery Jett had to have yesterday was "cake" compared to what so many children at Children's Mercy are going through. I have had friends who have had to spend weeks by their child's bedside at this hospital, & their strength as mothers/fathers/parents amazes me. As I saw sick children being pulled around in wagons all day yesterday, my heart absolutely broke for them. Some people were going through huge life threatening situations, & some were just having same day surgery {like us}. The one thing we all shared as parents is that we were putting our children & our trust in someone else to care for them & I believe that is hard for any parent to do. Yesterday as we walked out the doors, with our baby all snuggled up in our arms, I counted my blessings that we were getting to take our child home with us. That is not the case for so many of these precious families, & my heart cannot help but ache for them. My "hard" days with Jett don't hold a candle to the "hard" days some of these parents & children are going through. I hope I don't ever forget that.

So here is a summary of our day yesterday {so that we will be able to remember & share with Jett one day}!

We all 3 woke up around 8 :15 {I know, I know, it's not right that an 8 month old sleeps in until after 8. Trust me, I'm sure our next one won't ever sleep, & I will get my payback}. I knew immediately when we woke up, that we were surrounded by many prayers because of the overwhelming sense of peace that I had. Jared fed Jett his bottle {the only food he was going to get until after the surgery}, & we spent the morning playing & snuggling him up! We laid him down for his morning nap at 10-I figured it would be short since he wasn't able to get his tummy full from his usual {solid} breakfast- but he slept until 11:30! So far so good {don't know why I worry}!!!

We were scheduled to arrive at Children's Mercy at 12:45 pm. That meant that Jett could eat one {breastmilk} bottle at 8:45 {luckily, I a small supply in the freezer for him}, clear liquids until 10:30; then NOTHING after that. I was so worried about the fasting part of this whole procedure. Have you seen my little Jett Jett? He's a linebacker. Linebackers need food. He loves to eat, & I was so terrified that he was going to be a bear! Again, why do I worry?!!! We arrived at Children's Mercy, & he was a perfect little angel! He talked, squealed, played, & really didn't get fussy until the nurses & doctors started poking on him & touching him. He made me laugh because he would literally push their hands off of him {hmmm, I think he might have a little bit of my personality}.

Finally, around 2:00, after meeting with the nurse, doctor, & anesthesiologist, the OR nurse came in. I have to say that every single person on staff at Children's Mercy {that we came into contact with} was nothing short of amazing. They were so friendly, so comforting, & just had a way of making us feel like everything was going to be okay. But it was the OR nurse {Amy was her name} that I believe was a true Godsend. She came in the room like a breath of fresh air. The way she spoke to us, the way she interacted with Jett, just the energy she gave off immediately lifted our spirits! She has a gift, that's for sure-and yesterday, she was our little gift. She helped us gather our things from the room we were in & led us to a hallway where my sweet baby would be handed from my arms to hers. We stood there in the hall, & she began explaining the next steps: that she would take Jett one way, that Jared & I would go another way to the elevators...........{this is where I lost it}. I started trembling, & tears filled my eyes, & I could hear that she was talking, but could not make out a word she was saying. She gently touched my arm, & her eyes filled with tears, & she said to me, "It's okay. I had to do this exact thing when my son was 6 months old, & I stood here & cried too. It's all okay. I will explain everything, & if you don't remember it- the ladies in the waiting room will tell you everything you need to know." She proceeded to tell Jared everything {which he did a great job of taking it all in & remembering} & I held on as tight as I could to my little boy for a few more moments. She then held out her arms, & it was time to place Jett in them. As I handed him over to her, Jett looked at me with a little smirk on his face, as if he was saying, "Look how big I am. It's okay, Mom." I was so thankful for that moment. I could see that he was calm, that he trusted Amy, that he liked her. As we walked away, I cried some more, & Jared just wrapped his arms around me & told me over & over again that he was going to be okay.

We made our way down to the waiting room & waited for what seemed to be an eternity (when really it was only 40 min). The doctor came & met with us & let us know that Jett was out of surgery & in recovery, & everything had gone just fine. WHEW!!! The only question I had was, "When can I see him?" We waited another 30 min or so, & the lady called our name & said we could head upstairs to "Reunion Avenue"! I couldn't wait!! We went up to the 2nd floor, & for some reason, I had in my mind that Amy would be standing there, & she would hand Jett over to me, just as I had handed him over to her- it would be a quick exchange- just like that. I'm not sure why had that in my mind; I should have known better. Instead, as we looked down the hall, we could see a different nurse, standing next to this tiny, lifeless little body on a bed- it looked like our little Jett Jett. As we got closer, we could see that he was sucking away on both his thumbs-yep- it was definitely our little Jett Jett. When he heard our voices, he opened his eyes just barely, & they quickly rolled back. He looked so pale, so limp. His eyes had dark circles under them, & there were indentions all around them where they had placed coverings over his eyes to protect them. We went into the recovery area with him, & the nurse informed us that she had given Jett some pain medication because he seemed very fussy when he first woke up. She also let us know that his tummy was full- that he took 2 oz of apple juice, & when they attempted to take the bottle away, he had a fit! So, they gave him 2 more oz. & that seemed to be enough (that's my sweet Jett! Don't mess with his food)! The nurse asked me if I wanted to hold him- ummmmm YES!!! She picked him up & placed him on my chest, & after letting out a HUGE burp in my face, he just snuggled right up & went to sleep. He made a few little wimpers {like he used to do when he was a brand new baby} & I just rocked & loved on him. We spent about 30 min. in the recovery area, changed his clothes, got his prescription, & headed to the car. Thankfully, he slept soundly through all of it, & once we put him into his carseat, he continued to sleep soundly all the way home.

Once we arrived home, & walked in the door, Jett's little eyes popped open, & he looked like our fiesty, full of life little Jett man again! He chugged down a bottle, spent a little time playing, & he let me rock him to sleep in his nursery. Jared sat on the floor in the nursery, while I sat in the rocker, & we chatted while I held Jett as he snoozed away in my arms. We both just stared at him, so thankful to call him ours. I enjoyed the moment of just holding & rocking my baby. He usually doesn't sit still long enough to let me rock him, so I tried to soak it all in! After about 30 min, he woke up & Jared & I gave him a sponge bath. He hated it- & honestly I don't blame him! He was cold, & to be frank, Jared & I aren't any good at giving sponge baths. I'll be glad when he can be back in his regular tub, splashing away! After his miserable sponge bath, we gave him his bottle, he fell fast asleep, & we put him in his crib. Jared & I both were expecting that he would wake several times in the night, due to pain, but would you believe that he didn't wake up until 8:15 this morning?!! I checked on him several times during the night, & he was so tired he had barely changed positions. Bless his heart!

This morning he woke up like he always does- talking, squealing, & rolling all over his crib! When we went in to get him, he was all smiles! We couldn't help but be proud of how tough our little guy is! He is an angel, & Jared & I have said over & over to eachother that we don't deserve him. He handled everything with such resilience & ease {better than his Momma did}, & we could not be more thankful!


Yesterdy was a long, exhausting day, but at the end of all of it, we are blessed beyond belief because we have eachother, we have amazing friends & family, & we have a beautiful, healthy little boy! There isn't much more we could ask for!

A few words to our sweet little Jett Jett- You are the the toughest little baby we know! You are our sunshine & you light up our lives every single day! You are so very precious, & we are honored to be called your parents! We are blessed that God has allowed you to be so healthy & strong, & we pray that He continues to keep you that way! You have so much love from us, & from so many friends & family- & you always will! We love you & are so proud of you!
Mommy & DaddyBoy