More pictures

Here are some closer pictures of his cast. It is heavy, but I have been able to pick him up a couple of times. We tried a wagon out and took him down to the lobby and tried the interactive wall. He is doing well and tomorrow we will try to wean him off the epidural at 6 am and possibly release him if we can get a handle on his pain orally.

Surgery

spica cast with blanket keeping him decent :) (he still has a catheter) brushing his teeth :)

this popsicle was the beginning of calmer times. I am so glad he has his bear

Finally settled in his room, armed with his bear and watching Winnie the Pooh

They gave him a medicine to help calm him before they took away - starting to get sleepy while Grandma blew some bubbles :)
Here he is pre-op. What a cute guy - He melts my heart, I am loving his half smile here. :)
Michael had his surgery today at UMC in Tucson. It went really well and Dr. Valencia was able to do both hips today. The second hip was scheduled to be done in two weeks and I am so glad that he was able to do both today. Hopefully, we can be done with surgeries for a while! They cut out a wedge of the femur on each leg and tipped the head of the femur into the hip socket. They put a steel plate and four screws in to hold it in place. Then they put him in a bilateral spica cast. They put in an epidural to help with the pain. This way they can numb him with a non narcotic medication and limit the amount of medicine they need to give him. They had to give two doses of morphine when he was waking up, because the epidural hadn't fully kicked in yet. Ironic that my youngest son was the first one in our family to have an epidural! But, it seems to be working very well and he has only had tylenol since he left the recovery room. They will try and wean it tomorrow and we will see how that goes. It is really hard to watch your child in pain. I am so proud of him. He is tolerating everything so well. He has sensory issues, so he hates the IV and the leads on chest and pulse/oxygen monitors on both his big toes. But he hasn't fought them as hard as I thought he would. I know we have a hard road ahead of us, but this bump (It is a really big bump) is done!

I picked the red cast for him because his brothers love red(I love you, Jacob and Andrew). They gave me the option of a couple colors, including bright pink. We are brainstorming coping strategies for the cast. The nurse and surgeon both suggested a red wagon loaded with pillows to get him around the house and other places. It isn't as bulky as a wheel chair. He will need the wheel chair for preschool, but I am not sure otherwise. Any ideas?

School!

All three of my babies are now in school, at least part of the day! It is incredible to me, I am not sure where the time went. But, when I look in the mirror my wrinkles also show proof that time, indeed has passed! :) Andrew started 2nd grade and Jacob started Kindergarten. They are both in a Spanish Immersion class half of the day. It seems to be going well. I don't know how much spanish they are picking up, but neither one of them are extremely frustrated. They warned us that that might happen. Andrew is not crazy about the increase in homework, but loves that they get two recesses. Jacob really likes school, but is way ahead of many of them. So we are on our second big 1st grade reading book at home. We read stories while the other kids are doing letter flash cards at home. I am thankful for the spanish, because that is something that is completely new to him.

Michael also started preschool! My baby! I think it is a really great thing for him, but hard for me to let him go. He is getting speech, OT and PT services there. He is in a small class, which is wonderful. I am happy with the teacher. She seems to work well with him. The bus (!) picks him up at 11:35 and then I pick him up at 2:45. The first two days of school I took him and he cried when I left. But, the bus has cured the separation fears. He is a bit intimidated, but loves the bus. He takes his teddy bear and hugs him for dear life and enjoys the short ride to school. Mr Dale picks him up and buckles him in and he is set to go.

I am sad that my boys are in school. But glad they are gaining knowledge and working hard.

I am volunteering in Andrew's and Jacob's classrooms at least once a week. We decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to go into Michael's. I am glad that I can be there and am so happy that they get excited when I come and they still want to be seen with me in public. :) I am so grateful that I am their Mama.