Thanksgiving

Aunt Rosie came to visit from Seattle to help while baby has his last surgery and celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with us and our cousins. Good times!

Yeah! The girls were so excited!

Baby liked snuggling with cousin Missy

New outfit from Aunt Rose

Elijah, Kaia, Helena, Thula, and little Stuart

Me, my sister, and my fav cousins! And yes, I realize that it does look like everyone is coming to visit me in the nursing home. 

Baby turned 5 months old at the hospital, Nov. 26 This is the first day at the hospital before they started flushing out his intestines in preparation for surgery. Still feeling happy! But in a few hours he will have had his intestines flushed out for several hours through his stoma, surgery in the morning to reverse his colostomy, and  have fasted for 4 days! I'm so proud of little Stuart, grateful for Big Stuart's strength to lean on, Aunt Rosie's help, medical expertise available to us, and everyone else's help and prayers. 

Now he has the GI tube to force the fluids he needs to help flush everything out of his stoma. He didn't like having the nurse stick the tube in his nose. She did it wrong the first time and he had to get an x-ray to see if everything was alright. When she pulled it out they discovered that it had coiled in his nose. The second attempt went better. 

playing in his hospital crib

the nurse brought him some toys to play with

Can you find Stuart's name on the surgery sign?

Right after sugery. He slept for several hours and then after he woke up he was very cranky for the next couple of days. 

He only wanted to be held. Stuart and I would take turns holding him . Stuart held him in the evening and I would hold him throughout the night. 

He has an IV in his foot. The nurse put a diaper over it so he wouldn't pull o n it. 

First poopy diaper two days after surgery. 

We took our own photos the night before discharge. Baby started feeling a bit better. 

Cuddling with Daddy. A volunteer group brought baby the red blanket. It was so nice!

No colostomy! It was different having to change a poopy diaper. He has had some yucky diaper rash and difficulty sleeping since the surgery, but otherwise he is a healthy happy little boy. We are so grateful that everything went well for him. 

When we came home from the hospital the girls and Aunt Rosie were decorating for Christmas

little Stu relaxed!

He received those toys in the hospital.

And Lela decided to throw up afterwards. Aunt Rosie stayed up with her all night! What a blessed angel I have for a sister. 

Thula played the part of the heralding angel in the church nativity play. Aunt Rosie helped get her costume together. She also sang a solo, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." It was great!

Lela likes to play Don't Break the Ice!

Thula's cross country team had an award/pizza party at the YMCA pool. Of course Thula had a blast swimming all night.