A Day of Firsts

I was expecting to walk in this morning being told that Nolan had a fussy night because I ended up staying in his room until about midnight. He was so agitated, and I think most of it was teething. They also weaned his methadone towards the end of the day yesterday, albeit just a little bit, I do think it brings on some crankiness. When I got here I was told he pretty much slept through the night only having to receive Tylenol once. I was relieved to hear that, and really his demeanor was very pleasant the rest of the day.

Of course I have to mention the weather. It was snowing pretty much the entire day, then turned to sleet and I hear it is supposed to turn back into snow tonight through the day tomorrow. My mom was supposed to come tomorrow, however I am not a fan of Route 22 in the winter, so we think it would be best she wait until Thursday morning. BUT, I told Nolan that it was snowing out because this marks his first real snow storm! We hung out quite a bit this morning, then he took a good nap until about 10 am. While he was napping, Child Life came in and asked me about my husband requesting Nolan to receive a haircut. I reluctantly agreed to it only because I know Matt really wanted his hair evened out. PERSONALLY, I would have let it go, I haven't even cut Riley's hair yet! BUT, this is Matt's boy, so I will let him make the hair decisions because he is certainly not making Riley's hair decisions!

Around 10 am music therapy came in (which he loves so much) and then the hairdresser, along with another fellow heart mom, Holly Wagner, who helped set up the haircut. I later learned that she lost her son, Benjamin, to Congenital Heart Disease not long ago. When Benjamin passed away they vowed to help CHD families, educate others about the importance of organ donation and raise CHD awareness. Their organization is called Ben's Battle Buddies. I feel bad because I didn't know until a few minutes ago that she was who took time to find a hairdresser to come out and give Nolan his first hair cut. So, THANK YOU, Holly! I appreciate all the help other fellow heart families provide to current heart patients. I hope Nolan's Heart of Steel (soon-to-be) not-for-profit can do the same someday when we get through this.

Anyway, so Nolan's second "first" of the day...his first hair cut! He did pretty well and had a crowed of spectators watching. When people think of Nolan, they think of the HAIR! Now it's all even and he looks like a little gentleman. Really, he looks like his dad...I guess he is a gentleman, too. :) Nolan has a good guy to look up to.

After the haircut, Nolan took another nap for awhile until physical therapy came by. We spent a good amount of time with the physical therapist. He laid on his side, we worked on tracking toys from left to right and he had some tummy time. Worn out, we put him back into his purple chair where he hung out for a good portion of the day. I tried to give him some bananas, but he wanted nothing to do with it...so, I will try again tomorrow.

That was pretty much our day! He is just getting up from another nap and I think I am going to hold him for a little before I go to bed. He had a really nice, comfortable day. Tomorrow he will be getting his echocardiogram and maybe a head ultrasound. We'll also work him in PT and OT tomorrow, too.

THANKSGIVING IS ON ITS WAY! I am very thankful that we made it to where we are today, the progress Nolan has made and for all of you!

ONE MORE DAY CLOSER!

#nhos
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