Dear Santa

Instead of visiting us in Birmingham, could you please come to Millbrook tonight because WE ARE HOME!!!!!!!

Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I kept meaning to run to the hotel and get online, but I never could leave my little buddy! He is doing so much better. He slept wonderfully both nights in the private room. He would wake up more alert each day and today he actually smiled at us for the first time!!! What a Christmas present that was. I cried my first happy tears in that I've cried in a while when I saw that big smile.

He is eating a lot! It is a good thing I've got a good freezer stash of milk now because he is pigging out. He just had some solid (baby) food for lunch and loved it. His ear does have a little infection (the incision has the infection, not a normal ear infection) so he is on an antibiotic for that. It is bleeding and pussy some, but it actually looks better today. He is still hoarse, but there is voice there now, just a raspy one. He desperately needs a bath, so that is on the agenda for tonight. His neck looks great, I think it is itching him some from the stitches healing.

Last night he started crying for the first time in a while (it was actually a good sign that he was crying, before I don't think he had the energy to). The crying lasted too long and seemed a little to pained. I asked the nurse to check his IV and it had almost come out again and was clotted with blood. Poor baby, he was trying to tell us something and it took us a while to know what it was. (Actually it didn't take us long, it took the nurse long to believe us. She kept assuring us it was OK. Well then why is he screaming when you press on it??) Anyway, we talked her into taking that out and he still cried for another 30 minutes or so. Papaw Ruff finally got him settled down and he slept for 12 hours straight!

He is on so much medicine it seems like!!! Prednisone twice a day (weaning him off of that for the next 9 days), Zantac twice a day, Keflex (antibiotic) three times a day, and Elidel cream for eczema twice a day. I think the antibiotic hurts his tummy :(

I am going to post some pictures from the hospital this afternoon. Right now we have to run to the grocery store before they all close. We have no food in this house!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!