The many moods of Peter

Hello everyone,

Peter's mama here again. Medically speaking there's not much to report today--Peter is about the same with regard to the chyle leak, etc. Tomorrow afternoon he is scheduled for his tracheostomy. The doctors will take the ventilator tube out of his nose, and instead his breathing will run through a stoma (opening) in his neck. I have mixed feelings about another hole being made in Peter's body and am immensely intimidated by the amount we have to learn in regard to caring for the breathing tube if Peter still has it in when he goes home. However, the advantages to Peter are many--he will be more comfortable without sedation and be able to move around more. All the doctors and nurses have been very positive about how much it will help speed his recovery.

Today the nurse described Peter as "feisty". Translated from nurse language this means that he put up a fuss when they had to do stuff like turn him, change his diaper and suction out his breathing tube. I have seen the pouty and offended expression on his tiny face when these things are being done. Eyebrows knit together in a deep frown, he glances over at the side of the bed where the nurse is standing to see if she is about to do any more unpleasant things to him. Luckily all the nurses we've met are good-natured souls who don't hold a patient's resentment against him.

But Peter has also discovered how to smile. Last week we caught him smiling in his sleep some, and today he had lots of wide awake smiles for us and for Michel's parents! (No one had better try and convince us it's only gas.) A smile really transforms his little face, which usually wears a rather thoughtful expression. This week we will try to catch it in a photo. After tomorrow we'll get to see his face without any more tape or breathing tubes!