Better and Better Every Day

Today Jack (otherwise known as Super Why) seemed to have a really good day. This picture is with his favorite nurse, Laura, who he got to "surprise" with his Super Why disguise. Elijah and I didn't get up to the hospital until after noon, but Josh had some good news for us when we arrived. This may be more information than some of you want, but Jack had his first bowel movement this morning (since pre-surgery). This is one of the things that we had been waiting for him to do before we will be allowed to go home, so it was good to get something checked off. We also are having almost no problems getting Jack to take his medicine now, due to an interesting solution. We're now mixing all of his medicines into an ounce or so of Sunkist orange soda... that's right - Mommy's beverage of choice. Which is of course what makes it special and acceptable and he drinks it immediately with no whining. So whereas I'm not exactly thrilled about sharing a soft drink with my three-year-old, it's SO worth it to avoid the torture.

The only medicine that is still giving us a little bit of a problem is his new potassium. It tastes really terrible, and we can't mix it with soda. It has to be diluted into 4 oz. of water or juice, and he refuses to just drink it fast through a straw. So we have to squirt it, syringe by syringe, into his mouth and convince him to swallow it quickly. His last dose actually went really well, but it's not much fun. The problem of him spitting out the hydrocodone has basically been solved by him feeling fine without it. Right now he's only taking regular ibuprofen for pain and seems to be staying comfortable.

After lunch today, we got to take Elijah and Jack back to the playroom. They both had a really good time. Elijah played with a twisty ramp for cars and a rocking horse, and Jack got to paint a couple of pictures and watch the cranes work outside the window. They also both enjoyed singing songs with another little boy who came into the playroom... I can't decide if Jack is going to be a future musician or just a preschool teacher. He led the whole room in singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy and You Know It." Jack was too busy playing today to take a nap at all, so I'm hoping that he will get a good night's sleep tonight.

Jack has also made friends with a couple of little guys on the floor. They both have baby sisters who are the patients, but we've had a little Cozy Coupe/ Big Wheel pack cruising the halls. The thrill (of course) is crashing into each other. Boys are boys, even in the hospital. He's already looking forward to getting to go to the playroom again tomorrow and riding the police car some more.