We were told it would take 1-2 days before Philip would be extubated (taken off the breathing machine) and weeks before we could expect the bowel to do anything. Well guess what? Last night at around midnight there was a happy piece of dootie in Philip's diaper (I have actually have a picture, but maybe you just want to take my word for it...), and as of this morning he is awake, alert and breathing all on his own (actually, he was breathing on his own last night, but they waited until this morning to extubate him).
You might be wondering how a baby who has never had anything put in his stomach is able to poop (I know I did). Well, his stomach is still creating bile and there are only two places for the bile to go: up or down. They have a suction tube going through Philip's mouth and down to his stomach to suck it up and out, but if the bowel is open and functional, some (or all) of that bile will make it down and out. Ever since the poop last night, nothing has come up and out of the suction tube, so will I be on the lookout for more good stuff down below!
Since all of this happened so quickly (less than 12 hours post-op!!!), I'm really not sure what the doctors will do or how fast they will initiate feeds. They may want to give the bowel a little more time to rest before they take any big strides, which is understandable. And of course, once we do start feeds it will be VERY slowly through a tube and it could be weeks before he is able tolerate full feeds. This mama is just so proud, beaming and thankful that I had to share the good news. I've never been so thankful for anything in all my life, so it is very appropriate that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
Our prayers for poop have been answered. **relief sigh**
Okay, I'm just too excited... Check out that poop!
Philip is the gift that keeps on giving. When the doctors say one thing about his condition, Philip surprises them every time with a miracle. What a blessing our little guy is. Love you guys!!
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