Pro

Here are the rest of the Professional Pictures. I love them!!!! Let me know which ones are your favorites so I can get them out to you. I am assuming most people want at least a 15x17 of my little man :).

Consolidation

On Tuesday the 27th, Carter went in to have his Consolidation bars put on. We had to stop distracting his jaw on Saturday due to the extreme amount of pain he was in. We did not know what was going on, but we could no longer let him suffer like that. It was a sad realization, because we did not get the jaw pulled out as much as it needed to be. And also the right side of his jaw needed to come out more, and we were not able to do that. So, the surgery did not go as we had hoped, but we gave it our best shot. Our main goal was to improve his breathing, and that was accomplished. For the future, he will need lots of orthodontic work, and possible the Mandibular Distraction again.

We had to go into the OR to have the consolidation bars put on due to the amount of pain Little Carter was in. It is always hard to give your baby up when you know they are going to put him to sleep. I am not sure I will ever get used to it. While they were in there, they were able to find out that the top pin on the right side had pulled through the bone. That is why he was in so much pain. I could only imagine how bad that had to hurt. It just breaks my heart thinking about it. He now seems to be doing much better, and we have gotten lots of smiles out of him finally. The consolidation bars will probably stay on for about 6 weeks, and then we will finally be able to get in his neck again and give him kisses!!!!

Tim is finally feeling better after surviving the flu. He however has passed it on the Carter and Me. I did get Carter started on Tamiflu, so hopefully that helps him through this. Seriously, he has been through enough this month!!!

The pictures are just before surgery. Sorry no pictures of his New Bling yet, I will try to get on that tomorrow.

Deulings

Nick surprised Teresa with a trip to come see us this weekend for her Birthday! They got here on Friday night and stayed until Monday afternoon. We had so much fun hanging out with them and little Isaiah. We spent most of our time in Park City checking out the sites and hanging out in the hot tub. Mom and Dad came with us, and I think they really enjoyed finally getting away from all the house work. On Monday, we went to Antelope Island to see the great Salt Lake. No Buffalo burgers, but whatever. The weekend was great except for the fact that Tim got the H1N1, and Carter was in tons of pain due to the fact that one of his pins slipped through his bone.

We loved having the Deulings here, and can not wait to see them again. Come again soon, we miss you!!!!

Seriously

Seriously, do I have to have the cutest baby in the world?? He can get away with anything!!!

Poor Boy

Ahhh, sleeping on my back finally!!! It feels soooo good!!!

Carter had a horrible day yesterday. He seemed to be in terrible pain for hours and hours on end. It was worse than any day we had in the hospital because we were with out the IV pain meds. I have no idea what happened to him, my best guess is that he could have fallen on the pins and irritated them. They were bleeding some, so that is how I have come to that conclusion. He would not let me put him down, and he would just whimper, yes, whimper. It was heart breaking. I would walk him around the room for hours and when I would go to bend my knees to sit down, he would start to cry again. It was horrible. Today he is some better, but not himself. We see the Dr. again tomorrow, so hopefully he will have some answers for us. We are so tired of distracting him. We had originally thought we were only going to have to do the distraction for 10 days, and now we are on day 12, with still quite a ways to go. His breathing is still awesome when he is sleeping, so that is a blessing!!!

Distration

Carter has been doing so well since he has gotten home. Last night he slept in his bed, on his back, and we could hardly hear him breathing!!! It was so amazing!!!! It just makes us so happy to see his chest rise like a real person, in no distress at all. We are so happy with the progress he has made. It truly has been such a blessing to see him no longer in distress.

We went to his first Dr. appointment today. Dr. Muntz distracted him to the side so we had more room to move forward with his jaw. It is really neat how the distraction process itself seems not to hurt him. The resident was very excited to see Carter and said Carter was his favorite patient. It was cute. We are going back on Monday for some more distractions.

So, all in all Carter is doing amazing, he is off the pain meds and making great strides towards breathing like a champ. Go Carter Go!!!!

Home

We got to finally go home on Saturday. It was so great to finally walk out of the hospital with our little man after 5 days there.

Day 4

Today was the best day yet! Carter got some OK sleep last night, and woke up ready for a nap again. We did his first distraction this morning for the first time, and again tonight. He handled it really well, and it is easy to do. Mom and Dad came again today, while Tim and I took a walk outside. Carter ate 16 ounces today, and is working on another bottle right now. He is looking so much better. We are just using the Lortab now for pain. If all goes well tonight, we should be heading home tomorrow!!! We can not wait, especially since we now have a noisy roommate!

Oh My Goodness

Thank you so much for the wonderful pictures Brooke!!!!!!!! Theses are soooo amazing, I got goosebumps when I saw them. Can Carter get any more cute??? Check them out at:

http://oliverminiejclientpreviews.blogspot.com

I know, you love them too don't you????? Thanks again Brooke, they are so amazing!!!

Improving

These past few hours, we have noticed a big improvement in Carter. He is smiling, laughing, and giving fives. He took a couple of good naps in my arms today, and got to take a sponge bath. He also received a nice surprise delivered to our door. Uncle Jason and Aunt Steffany had a dog and balloon delivered to him. He is in love with both. His favorite color is red, so the Elmo balloon was just prefect. And the dog, Tim and I have named Scrappy. Once you meet Scrappy, you will understand. We are not sure how Kenai will get along with Scrappy... But Carter loves him!!
Happy Birthday Grandpa. Sorry we could not see you today, but Carter ate some Ice Cream to celebrate.

Day 3

Last night was a rough one. Carter seemed to be in a lot of pain, and was not able to go to sleep until 3:30 AM. They came in to draw blood at 6:00, so his sleep was short lived. He is now asleep again, with a lot of pain meds on board. Hopefully he will be able to get some rest today. The doctors will be coming back at some point today to remove his drains and the distraction starts tomorrow. Oh the fun never ends.
The sleeping accommodation at the hospital suck, but their complimentary breakfast cart rocks. Tim found a couch in the middle of the hall last night to sleep on. I slept on a tiny pull out chair. Dr.Muntz said if we were comfortable with the distraction, then we could possible go home on Saturday. Lets hope for that!!!

The IV that they had started in surgery infiltrated tonight. They had to start a new one, that they thankfully got on the first try. It was horrible for both Carter and Me (Tim somehow planned to be down getting dinner at the time...). Carter is now finally resting peacefully in his own bed. Let hope this last all night. He ate about 6 ounces today.

Day 2

Carter slept well last night, only woke up about 3-4 times. We are keeping him nice and up on his pain meds so we don't have to play catch up later. He is seeming to be in quite a bit of distress at this time, and wont sleep. We got out of the ICU this afternoon and are now on the Med/Surg floor. Mom and Dad came up for a visit and babysat for us while we took a walk outside. Well, Mom babysat, and Dad, as you can see in the pictures took a nap. Let hope for lots of sleep tonight for Carter and to a better day tomorrow!
Carter's new name: Chipmunk.
These are all the pictures we have taken today. I don't have the energy to sort through them and just post the best, so you get them all. Enjoy.

Out of Sugery

We finally got to see Carter around 4pm. He is in the ICU for the night and doing well. There were no complications with surgery. We are so glad to be done with the surgery itself. Carter is still a bit drowsy, but such a love. The nurses said he just tried to climb out of the bed right when he woke up. Everyone is of course in love with him. We are so proud of him and cant wait for him to start feeling better. Hopefully tomorrow morning we will be able to go to the floor where the room will be a little more private. We are also looking foward to feeding him in the morning. It looks like we will be here until Sunday or Monday. Keep him in your prayers, he needs them!! Warning to Uncle Jason: Pictures may be too graphic for your stomach and heart, I am warning you!

Pre-Surgery

Carter went into surgery around 12:30. Every body here has been so nice and helpfull. It was horrible handing him over to the anestologist, but we got through it. Carter just looked him in the eyes and went away with him. It was the worst feeling in the world. Mom and Dad got to come back with us, so that was nice. He is a trooper and a tough kid. We love you Carter!!!

Pickin'

This past Friday, we decided to go out in the country and find us some Apples. So, Dad, Mom, Kathy, Carter, and I all set out on a little adventure to pick Apples. This place was a cute family owned place, that also had a big pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun, a long drive, but so worth it.
Carter goes in for the Mandibular Distraction tomorrow. It is set to start at 12:30. He needs your thoughts and prayers. Thanks for all the love!! I will keep you updated on my little champ.