Is his head SUPPOSED to look like that? Cue Panic...!

My husband and I were completely shocked that Parker was already going to be moved out of the Intensive Care Unit and onto the regular pediatric inpatient unit. Once again I learned that when a mother knows something, she knows something. I do not know what it is, but at hospitals, they always try to get Parker to drink the pre-mixed formula. He usually guzzles it down like we haven't fed in him two weeks and then the inevitable happens.

He projectile vomits.

This would not be such a big deal if he hadn't just had a shunt inserted. However, it tends to raise eyebrows when an infant projectile vomits after such a surgery. I hate to say I told you so, but I definitely told you so. I said, "Oh man, he really doesn't take that too well. He seems to vomit it up every time."

How many nurses does it take to clean up a projectile vomited Parker? 3 plus one Mother. Welcome to the pediatric inpatient unit! I think they had a private meeting discussing who would be the "lucky" nurse stuck with us the rest of our stay. Man oh man. Nothing like welcoming your new nurse!

Whenever something goes wrong like that in the hospital I immediately think the worst. What if his shunt failed? Oh no, could this be an infection? I pray to the bottle and formula Gods to let Parker eat and keep it down! This will not have been the first time I prayed to these gods and probably not the last. Luckily I packed our powder formula and bottles so Parker could try what he was used to. Sure enough - did the trick. I got Parker to eat about an ounce every hour or so. He was grazing for a good 3 days, but I did not care! As long as he was hydrated and having wet diapers I was satisfied. I did NOT want to see that IV in him again.

Recommendation to other Hydro Mommy's - pack what works for you at home. PJs, Blankies, and Formula/Bottles. Of course the second you get home you must sanitize EVERYTHING, but it definitely helps things get on their way at the hospital. Hospitals are really just a cesspool of germs.

I am not sure if you all realize how amazing my husband is. Last time Parker projectile vomited everywhere Casey took over and fed him because my anxiety kicked in high gear. Well, he did that again in the hospital. This guy, I tell you, a keeper for sure! He has no fear when it comes to Parker. Truly a blessing to both Parker and I. The best Daddy in the entire world.

Daddy & Parker - Meal Time!

We started to wind down for the evening and our nurse came in after shift change. She introduced herself and looked at me and said, "Alright sleep well."

I am like, "Uh...I'm staying here with him. I am not leaving."

She said, "I know. I also know that you slept very little last night. You are not any good to Parker if you aren't rested for tomorrow. Make his bottles and go to sleep. I got this. I have to be up anyway."

She was an angel. I trusted her and trusted everything would be okay. I slept for a blissful 6 hours that evening. It's hard to let nurses take over Operation Parenthood, but believe me, they are experts and will wake you if anything goes wrong. I wish I would have learned that lesson when I first had Parker.

The next morning I remember looking at Parker and thinking..."Wow your head is small. I thought they said your head wouldn't shrink." Then I took a closer look and I about died. Parker's fontanel, or soft spot, was completely concave. I mean, it was nothing short of a kids swimming pool. Absolutely terrifying. I sat in my chair, took one look at my husband and started sobbing.

"Other babies don't look like that," I cried to him.

Well, reality check, he's not like other babies. That reality, always lurking around every corner!

The nurses came in and naturally my nurse was training someone. Boy did she get her gold training star that day. Parker's nurse got down on my level ready for crisis mode, while the trainee stood back and watched. She was honest and said, "I don't know if this is normal. Let's call the Neurosurgeon."

"WHAT! Call the surgeon! Don't you see sick kids all the time. Great. Now there really is something wrong with his head. He's worse off than when we brought him in here!"

I was imagining Parker's brain shriveling away to nothing. At this point it had to be about the size of a California Raisin.

Shockingly, the Neurosurgeon came in about 20 minutes later and told me it was completely NORMAL. Yep, normal. My child has a swimming pool on the top of his head, but it's normal. He then goes on to tell me that it will be get even more concave. So not only will Parker have a swimming pool, but eventually, like next week, he will have a deep end in that pool. He also showed me that if you look real close you can see Parker's pulse. My husband and I have chatted about this a couple of times. We do not recall a time where we could see Parker's pulse on the top of his head, but apparently, that too is normal. I check Parker's pool 3439483 times a day.

Quickly the Neurosurgeon learned how neurotic I am and gave me a whole tutorial of Parker's new head. We needed a map to navigate all the changes. You can now see every seam, bump and soft spot. To be able to feel and see the bones and structure of his head was very much scary to me. It's hard for me to forget about what I've seen on other babies. They do not compare. Other babies have heads that are seamless-the bones seem to match well together. Parker's head, on the other hand, is like a jig saw puzzle. His head is very stretched out from the pressure. His head isn't supposed to be 18.5 inches so he will in essence have to grow into it. It has gone down a couple centimeters, but that will probably be about it. He also has a pretty bad flat spot because he can't lift that big ole head just yet.

The neat thing about the pool on top of Parker's head is that it serves as a pressure tool to the doctors. While he still has that soft spot we are able to see if the shunt is programmed properly. If the bones get too close, or overlap, then we need to adjust the pressure in his shunt. Remember, reprogramming is no big thang for Parker! Bonus!

The doctor told me that a lot of people don't think they can touch different parts of their heads, but you can (gently of course) and should, especially if you are a Hydro Mommy.

Stay in the Shallow End

Man, what a morning we already had. Wasn't up for twenty minutes before I had my first breakdown.

After I wiped my snot away and my blood pressure resumed it's normal levels, I was able to take a look at my son and not freak out. It was at that moment that I feel like Parker looked at me for the first time, like really looked at me. I smiled and he smiled back.