Out of the bay and hopefully out of the woods

Bridger did well last night. So well, in fact, that they moved him out of the "bay" and into a regular room here in the CICU. It's nice to be out of all the hustle and bustle and have a bit more privacy. The nurse practitioner came in this morning and removed his 2 chest tubes and pacemaker wires. He had a complete fit, despite getting Morphine, but now that the chest tubes are out I can finally hold him! He settled down pretty quickly once he was in my arms and took nearly 3oz from his bottle. I am hoping to try and nurse him for the next feeding. He is a baby that LOVES to be held, rocked, bounced, etc. so I think he will be much happier now. Good for both of our anxiety levels!
He still looks quite puffy and isn't making much urine, so they have him on a lasix drip (a diuretic to remove the excess fluid accumulating in his lungs and tissues). They aren't planning to wean him off of any of the cardiac drips today because of the episode he had yesterday. The plan is to keep things as is and allow his heart and vasculature to adjust to the changes from surgery. It sounds like he will be in the ICU for a couple more days. He is off the high flow oxygen now and down to just 1 liter.
He is a pretty big hit here in the CICU- known for his feistiness but also for his cuteness (obviously!). He definitely has the fight in him and some day I look forward to reminiscing with him about this roller coaster ride that has been his infancy!
We are looking forward to seeing Keller and Becket tonight. It is Grandpa Thom's birthday (happy birthday Grandpa Thom!) and we are meeting up for dinner.