Get these tubes out!

We were warned that yesterday would be a tough (if not the toughest) day and it definitely was. Elijah was waking up off and on in a very groggy/drugged state and the day was spent trying to keep him as comfortable as possible. We had a period of time that was a little scary because they couldn't get his blood pressure where they wanted, but eventually they got it under control.
The hardest part was figuring out the right balance of pain medication and muscle relaxers. Obviously he's a baby and can't communicate specifically about what's bothering him so it was a guessing game. When he would wake up he'd wiggle around which would only makes things more uncomfortable for him.
It is definitely NOT a fun time watching your baby cry/cough but no sounds come out (because of the ventilator) and little tears rolls out of his eyes as he looks/squirms around in obvious discomfort.

Even though it was a difficult day, that's the norm after such surgeries and he is still doing great. Last night before bed they gave a steady dose of a drug to help him sleep comfortably through the night as all the other drugs cleared his system (certain drugs affect the lungs and have to be out of the body before extubation).
He had a very good night and is currently snoozing away this morning.
The Dr. just came by and said it was okay to keep weaning him off his ventilator so he'll be able to get rid of that nasty tube in the next few hours. His chest tubes needs to stay in for one more day because of a possible air leak.
Overall he has constantly impressed the Dr's and it's nice to see him being "disconnected." He's off almost all drugs at this point and his catheter is also being taken out. By tomorrow he should have a couple IV's removed (they'll leave the one in his neck) and be on his way to being totally wireless!

We'll get to feed him later and hopefully hold him a little :)

Thanks for all the praying and support, please keep praying for him to continue recovering like a champ.

ps. Elijah's mom is amazing, I think that's helping him recover fast, he wants to be held in those arms!