Pain Monster

I feel like Travis had a c-section yesterday and we brought home his little pain monster bundle of joy.

I kept having flashbacks yesterday of my time in the hospital when I was induced. Then when we got home, we had to get up every three to four hours to feed the pain monster. And by feeding, I mean stuffing Travis full of Ibuprofen and Hydrocodone.

I'm having serious baby flashbacks here, people. Travis even had a "FALL RISK" wristband just like I did!

Oh and besides giving him pain meds, I also had to change the ice on his ice pack. That reminded me of making formula bottles by the glow of the nightlight. I periodically tried to feed Travis yesterday evening and then through the night, but he was to nauseous for most of the offers.

So, the schedule yesterday didn't go exactly as planned. They made it sound like he'd be out of there by 10, but he didn't actually check out of the hospital until the afternoon. We got to day surgery on time and they gave Travis a gown and socks to change into. They took him in back at 6:20 and then I sat in his post-op room while I waited. I had my own bathroom, TV and reclining chair to "relax" in.

At 8:30, his doctor, a cute little woman in pink scrubs, came in to tell me how the surgery went. She said it all went exactly as planned. Throughout the five minute talk, she said "He's got GREAT anatomy," three times. Uh, what does that mean?! She said it the last time as he was walking out the door. WEIRD.

Soon after the doctor left, Brenda came from dropping Aiden off at daycare. I had assumed they would bring him back right away for his "recover period", but by the time 9:20 rolled around and he still wasn't back, I started to panic a little. I went out to find a nurse and he told me that they would keep him for close to an hour in the recovery room outside the operating room. He told me I could go visit him there, so I rushed down there with Brenda.

Travis was really groggy, but he wasn't loopy. We were only allowed one person at a time, so I went in first. I stayed for a couple minutes, then let Brenda go in. After a few more minutes she came back out and said they were going to be bringing him up soon so she would meet us there. At 10 o'clock, I walked up to the room with him getting pushed on the bed by a nurse.

We spent the next several hours waiting for Travis to "void". AKA, pee. At 1:30, he needed some pain medication, which meant he had to wait at least an hour before he could go. Even if he peed. At 2:10, he finally had to go to the bathroom, so the nurse unhooked him from the IV and I helped him. The pain he incurred during the walk, most likely crossed with the anesthesia, made him really nauseous. He breathed through it, thankfully. He was terrified of vomiting after an abdominal surgery.

When I got him back to the bed, I called for the nurse. The CNA came in to hook Travis back up to his IV bag. While she was hooking him up, I ran out to fill up his ice pack. When I got back, the nurse was gone and Travis asked me to check his IV because his back was getting wet. The nurse hadn't unclamped the line AND she turned some valve the wrong way, causing his back to get soaked. She gave him new blankets and then ran out. I think she was embarrassed. I was irritated.

By 3:30, Travis' nausea was gone and he'd stayed long enough to let them know he didn't have any serious adverse reaction to the pain medication they gave him. We were talking with the RN when Travis realized he had a heart monitor patch stuck in his arm pit hair.

REALLY?! The guy's not enough pain? Now we have to yank a sticker out of his arm pit hair?! It took 5 hard yanks before the thing finally came out. Travis was a champ. He didn't even flinch. Or maybe the pain meds were doing their job.

I went out to pull up the car, while Brenda waited with Travis and the nurse. By 4 o'clock, we were on our way home and Brenda was headed to pick up Aiden from daycare.

The rest is history!