third time's a charm.

I've tried to finish this post twice already... but Ruthe has a sixth sense that wakes her up whenever I think I have time to blog at the hospital.

Ruthe's g-tube placement surgery went great!! It went by so fast - the timer on my phone says 1 hour 26 minutes 54.3 seconds (but that was from pre-op to back in her room, so I know the actual surgery was only about an hour!). In addition to the g-tube placement, they also did a procedure that prevents reflux. It has a name, but I forgot what it is. Basically, they wrapped the upper part of Ruthe's stomach around her esophagus, so when her stomach is full it constricts the opening and won't allow very much to flow through as spit-up. Everything went really well, and so far we haven't seen any problems at all. :)

Ruthe is such a little fighter and surprises us at every turn. The anesthesiologist told me it would probably take her the rest of the day and most of the night to recover from the drugs he gave her, and so wouldn't be extubated until the next day. Well, Ruthe really HATES that breathing tube, so she woke up and started breathing over the respirator that very afternoon and by 4pm she was just on the nasal cannula. I swear, I'm going to have my hands full with this girl.

Her g-tube has to be vented all the time right now, and for the next few weeks. Which means there's an open syringe that we keep elevated over Ruthe. It looks a little odd, but it's the g-tube-equivalent to burping any other baby. It also allows for any milk or formula to come up out of her belly if she's extra fussy or gassy, since her stomach doesn't really allow for any major spit-up now. And that way, everything flows right back into her belly - so we don't lose or waste anything!