Waking up

OK, time for more than a two-word update: Blaise has indeed put her reconnected GI tract to good use and had an inaugural poo. I never thought I'd write those two words next to each other, but there it is, folks. Inaugural poo.

I'll spare you all from further details, although anyone who cares to know more is welcome to ask...others already have, and we swear won't think you're weird (OK, that does depend slightly on what you ask us). The point is that this is what we were waiting for, and it seems like it's happened a few days early. I remain a paranoid dad, so I couldn't help but ask her nurse if we were sure this was a good thing. Anything unexpected strikes me as potentially worrisome, so it was nice to hear that her surgical team was "thrilled" that her intestines began waking up ahead of schedule. "Pervasive return of bowel function" was the phrase her day nurse used to describe Blaise's progress to the night shift nurse, which was pretty cool to hear. Besides the actual direct evidence, her nurses were listening to her belly throughout the day and heard some good gurgling noises that indicate everything's coming online. We're still thinking of this as a nice first step, of course, since Blaise still has a lot of healing to do. This is also a brand new physiological function she's got to get accustomed to, so there may yet be some bumps in the road. For now though, it's exciting that her body seems to be taking it's first steps towards working it out.

Besides that rather big update, she continues to do well in the NICU. Still some discomfort, but she's responding well to Tylenol and getting fewer doses of morphine (at a fairly low dose, even). Still within the realm of what her team expected and not interfering with her interest in being talked to and played with. If anything, I think she may be a little frustrated that she can't do more right now. We're still going to be on 7 North for another few days, but hopefully it won't be much longer before she's back upstairs...10 East is just a bit more conducive to hanging out and playing, and I think Blaise will be very glad when that's an easier option. We're all still doing well though and keeping our fingers crossed for continued progress.

OK, that's it for now...but look for some new pictures and videos tomorrow, courtesy of Erin's mom and her Aunt Maureen.