Praying for Poop

Okay, I want to make a preemptive apology to anyone reading this who is grossed out by poop talk, but it is the main topic of conversation between Landon's doctors and surgeons right now. He had a procedure called a contrast study done on Friday. Basically, the procedure involves putting a contrast dye into Landon's intestines to make sure there aren't any obstructions or areas where the intestine healed in a bad manner called a stricture. They also find that the contrast dye tends to push out any poop that had been sitting around for awhile in the bowel.

We were happy to find out that the contrast study showed Landon's bowels are good without any sign of obstruction or other holes. This is great news because it means that Landon can be feed breast milk soon through a tube in his mouth. He just needs to do one little thing in order to get real food and that is poop! I can honestly say when I became pregnant, I never imagined that my most fervent wish would be to see my kid poop but that is the case. Since his intestines are still open, he will actually poop into a special bag on his stomach called an ostomy bag. That bag is pretty much the main attraction right now when anyone comes to see Landon. Whether it be a nurse, doctor, or Ryan and I, we are constantly peering into the clear part of the bag to determine whether we see poop. I hope he poops soon because I am beginning to become concerned about our obsession with staring at his guts and potential poop particles!

On a serious and non-bowel related note, Landon has been doing a lot better when it comes to his heart rate and the level of oxygen in his blood. He seems to be more comfortable and we are learning ways to make him feel better. He mostly only has problems now if the nurses move him or if we change his diaper. Though we still haven't held him, we can comfort him by placing our hand on his head and cupping his legs or placing his hands on his chest and putting our hand over them. This simulates the feeling of being compressed in the womb and makes him less anxious.

I also try to sing him songs I sang while he was still in me. He is probably the only person in the world who appreciates my singing! The embarrassing part is I pretty much sang him 'fighter' songs of the 80s like Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down' and Corey Hart's 'Never Surrender' along with showtunes. None of the other moms or nurses have complained yet, which is good because my crazy baby seems to like it.