Monumental Moments Part 2

The weather forecast for today called for snow. As most of you know, we don't see that much in Louisiana, so we were a little excited. When we got up this morning, though, we were a bit disappointed. There was no snow to play in, so instead we decided to go up to the pool deck to get out of the room for a bit. It is indoors, but is a glass enclosure. It's nice and warm, and you can see most of the city up there. Then we got an idea. The pool is heated! So, we took Parker for his first swim and he LOVED it! I cannot wait for next summer now. 

And of course we needed a snack after.

Needless to say, he is pooped! 

One month Kidneyversary!

Today makes one month since Parker was given his super kidney! It honestly feels like it happened a lifetime ago, though. Things are so much different since the surgery, not only for Parker, but for our family. Our life no longer revolves around dialysis. It's amazing how much freedom we have to raise our child now. Before surgery, everything in our life- napping, feeding, errands, appointments, parties- was all dictated by one machine. On Monday I had the pleasure of shipping that machine back to Baxter. It was a bittersweet day in the Porche family! Now, we can do as we please as long as we bring his food and medicine with us, and that is such a relief.

Parker is doing so much better physically. I don't think that he necessarily felt bad before surgery, but only because he didn't know better. Honestly, we didn't know that he was feeling bad, because he never presented as a "sickly" person. Most people who came across him made the comment, "Oh you would never know anything was wrong with him", and it was true. Other than the feeding tube taped to his face, there were no obvious signs. Now that we see his energy level, and how fast he is progressing, we realize exactly how much he was being held down. He is full throttle, all day, everyday, now. For example, before surgery, he was barely walking. He only learned  how to about month before, and would take a few steps, get tired, and sit. Now, he is literally running everywhere, and climbing on everything. By 11:00 at night, Jason and I are exhausted, yet Parker is raring to go. Eventually, before midnight, we have to put him in his crib and let him cry it out. Some mornings he is up before 7:00 a.m., while before surgery he was occasionally sleeping until 11:00 a.m.

My baby is starting to really enjoy tasting new things. Anyone who has been around Parker knows that feeding and medicines have been a major frustration for us. If you even so much as looked at him the wrong way while holding food, he would go into a full blown temper tantrum. I mean the kind of tantrum where onlookers think you are torturing your child. There was a point where giving medicine was a three person job- two holding him down, while the other squirted medicine in his mouth and coerced him into swallowing it. Now, I am happy to report that he willingly takes all of his medicines by mouth. I ask him if he's ready to take his medicines, and he answers "eh", which means yes- or "I want" depending on the circumstances. He comes and sits in my lap and he opens his mouth waiting for them. He only takes 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening, which is less than he was on before surgery. It is such a a huge sigh of relief. He absolutely knows where the pantry is with all of the snacks. Its on top of the cabinet so that he cannot reach it. He raises his arms up to reach for it and the whole time he is repeating "eh, eh, eh". While he isn't chewing much of it, and hardly swallows any of it, the fact that he wants it is the biggest accomplishment of them all. He walks around with his crackers, chips, cookies, bacon, French Fries, chicken nuggets,  etc and he licks and slobbers all over it. Once it is slobbery and soggy, he usually throws it on the floor. This is something that we are trying to work on fixing before we get home, because I'm sure our dogs would enjoy every crumb of it. We've gotten him to try ice cream once, but haven't been successful since. He tends to like things that are dry and crunchy rather than wet, cold, or mushy. 

As for city life, well we are happy that we came here, however we are beyond ready to be home. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and that we were sent here to get the best care for Parker. I'm not saying that we wouldn't have gotten good care from New Orleans, but I thoroughly believe that this is where we were meant to be. We have made the best of it, and gotten out to enjoy it while we could, but there is no place like home! 

Monumental moments..

Last night, which was Halloween, was a monumental moment in our house. For the first time ever, Parker got a real bath. I mean the type of bath where he was submerged in water, splashing, and playing with toys. He has never had this before. While he was on dialysis, he wasn't allowed to sit in water, because of the dialysis catheter. It was a source of infection, and we couldn't risk that. The doctors only allowed us to "sponge bathe" him. Basically, we layed him on a towel and washed him with a soapy towel and then used a clean wet towel to "rinse" him off. 

He was hesitant when we first put him in the water. Of course he was, he had never sat in water! He was clinging to me tight, but I held his hand, splashed the water myself, and gave him some toys. Instantly he was okay. He played in the water so long that we had to drain it and run more warm water. He loved it so much that he screamed when it was time to get out. 

This afternoon he was some kind of cranky. I was trying to finish up some work on the computer, and Jason was cooking. Finally, I set my computer aside and went to play with him. He got up off the floor, and started walking. The whole time he had his arm stretched out and he was making his "ehh" sound, which is what he does when he wants something. When he turned around, I told him I didn't know what he wanted. The only thing I could see in that direction was Jason's shoes, and I couldn't see where he wanted those. He grabbed my hand and we walked. He went straight to the bathroom door and started beating on it, saying "ehh". I opened the door for him, and asked what he wanted in there, all the while thinking he must of hid a toy in there and I closed the door on it. Nope, he walked right up to the bathtub, leaned over, and pretended to splash. He looked up at me laughing. He was absolutely, 100% trying to tell us he wanted a bath. So as we speak, he is splashing in the tub, and we have already changed the water once. I think he will be a water baby like mommy and daddy!