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Conner resting up for surgery tomorrow! 
Sleeping with daddy
Sleeping with mommyConner is scheduled to have his surgery tomorrow afternoon. He is going to get his feeding tube placed and the nissen procedure done. Both are fairly common procedures, which is comforting, but of course we are still a little anxious about it because it's "surgery". They have to make 5 incisions for the feeding tube and another incision for the nissen. Our sweet little Conner will be all hooked up again to oxygen and I.V.'s and medicine. He has had a rough few days this past week, so we are praying that his body will handle the surgery well and that he will be able to make a quick recovery. The surgeon said that it takes around 10 days to recover, but I just keep telling myself that it will take about 3 weeks so that I'm not dissapointed if it's longer, and will be pleasently surprised if indeed it is shorter recovery time.Conner has such an amazing little spirit. He truly is the sweetest baby. He rarely cries, and is consoled very easily when he does. His little body has been through so much and yet he just keeps the most relaxed, laid-back disposition. The nurse that put in his I.V. today said that when she was getting it ready, Conner cried like he knew what was coming, but then didn't make a sound when she actually put in the I.V. and said that he just looked up at her with his big blue eyes...and then when she had to put his hand on a little flat board to keep the I.V. in, then he cried. I could'nt have asked for a more precious, perfect little baby to have to go through all of this with. He truly has made this journey so much easier. He is full patience, joy and the Light of Christ. When he looks at me with his big, beautiful, alert eyes, I feel peace and hope and know that everything is going to be just fine. We know that Heavenly Father is watching over him and comforting him. We are so blessed so have Conner as our son!
Conner is going to have surgery this coming Monday to have his "G-tube" placed and also a procedure called a Nissen Fundoplitation. Conner had a PH probe test done last week which measured the acidity of his reflux and the number of times he refluxed in a 24-hr period. The results came back that Conner was pretty much refluxing constantly. With this procedure, they basically wrap the top part of the stomach around the bottom of the esophagus. This acts as a muscle and prevents Conner from refluxing and throwing up. This will protect him from aspiration and getting fluid/food into his lungs. Conner "silently" aspirates and although his doesn't eat anything orally right now, when he refluxes, the reflux sometimes aspirates, which is very dangerous for him. The "nissen" will be a very good thing for him.
We will be using the "G-tube" as his only feeding source for the next month or so. The goal is to gradually build him up on his oral feedings once he passes the swallow study. We hope that Conner will be able to nurse/bottle-feed exclusively after a few months of having the g-tube. The g-tube will remain in place until after his heart surgery, because he will need a feeding tube again for a bit until is he strong again. It is projected that his heart surgery will be when he is about 6 months old.
Conner is getting so much more facially expressive! It's amazing and wonderful, and just about the cutest thing you could imagine! The past 3 days when I have arrived at Conner's bedside, I put the side of the crib down and put my face right above his and start talking to him. Just in these past couple of days, he has totally started to respond to me through his facial expressions and eye contact and smiling! It's like he really starting to be excited when he see's Paul or I, and it is just so fun! It's amazing the progress he is making. It seems like just 2-3 weeks ago he was still sleeping a lot and just hanging out, and then like boom, all of a sudden he is being awake for a good portion of the day, and being so much more alert and and learing to use his face to express himself. I can hardly believe that Conner is going to be 9 weeks old tomorrow! Happy 9-week Birthday Conner! We love you!!!
This is our little family Easter picture! When we came to visit Conner at the hospital, there was an Easter basket waiting for him! It was so cute! There was a onsie, book, stuffed bunny, blanket and candy. The generosity of others is amazing, and it is a wonderful blessing to feel the love from the service that we have received in so many different forms.There have been days when we have been driving home from the hospital, exhausted and hungry, and we get a phone call from a ward member or neighbor who 'happened' to have extra leftovers from their dinner, or who just decided to make us dinner. I have had strangers say they would pray for our baby, and so many family and friends who have fasted in Conner's behalf. We have experienced the charity of others and have been incredibly blessed through this difficult time. We have the sweetest baby who reminds us daily of the love of our Heavenly Father and that he is ever so aware of each of us and our heartaches and joys.I see the innocence of Conner and I know without a doubt that he came into our lives with his special little heart for a purpose. We have learned more about patience, compassion, and empathy in the past 8 weeks then we have our entire lives. We have learned that when our hearts feel heavy and we feel discouraged, to realize that there are many that have it much harder. We have been the recipients of the most genuine kindness and have felt true love from so many wonderful people.
I know that the Savior gave His life for us because He loves us. I know I can turn to Him and that He can teach me to lay aside my worldly desires and weaknesses and become more like Him. I know I can reach my divine potential through relying on the Savior to guide my life and show me how to more fully love and serve others. We can live again because the Savior gave His life for us. Happy Easter!
Mmmm, I just LOVE this adorable little boy!! I really wish I was with him right now and could snuggle and cuddle him and kiss his chubby little cheeks! He makes the cutest little faces and pulls his mouth in the silliest little ways. And he loves to balance his bottle on his head too- Daddy taught him how to do this.
This is Vicky, one of Conner's primary nurses. A primary nurse means that we asked her to be Conner's nurse whenever she is working, and she accepted. We were so happy when she accepted the invitation! From the first day that she took care of Conner, we knew we wanted her to be one of his primary nurses. She raved about how sweet our baby was and there was something so special about her. We feel so confident and so good when we know she is with Conner. She loves Conner, and we know that he can feel her love and that it makes a difference in his care. We are so happy knowing that even when we are not there, that if Vicky is taking care of him, he is being adored and held and loved. Every time we are there with her, she says the kindest, sweetest things about our baby (and what parent doesn't love that?!) and she is such a genuine person! The other day when I was at the hospital, I went to the parent's lounge for a break, and when I came back to Conner's bedside, Vicky was holding and rocking Conner. (When I had left, he was sleeping in his bed). It was just a simple act, an easy task, but it meant the world to me. It meant that my baby was being taken care of in that special, maternal way that nothing beats. It meant that he didn't just have a nurse that was recording his daily activity, charting medicines and doing her job, but that she truly went the extra mile in providing my sweet little baby with love and affection. Today Conner had another Swallow Test done. It showed that he has improved in a lot of ways since his last swallow test that was done 10 days ago, but he still didn't 'pass'. The nurse practitioner that came and talked to me today about the swallow test results put a real downer on the situation (didn't focus at all on the positives of him improving) and when she left, I felt sad. I felt like my baby did the best that he could and all she could say was that he 'failed'. My heart felt heavy. I was holding Conner in my arms, and he was sleeping so peacefully. I looked at his little face right next to mine and rubbed my cheek against his soft head. Vicky was standing next to me, at her computer making some notes, and when the nnp left, she turned to me and said how sorry she was, and asked me if I was ok. I couldn't even answer as tears rolled down my face, but I tried to mumble an "I'm o.k." Then I heard her sniffle, and I looked up, and she was crying with me! We have such an amazing nurse! We love Vicky and we are so thankful for her and her remarkable way of being not only the best nurse for our baby, but a wonderful support to myself and Paul.
