Once Zachariah had come round and felt less groggy, he started to show his little cheeky side again.

He started drumming and singing, and just being so darn cute!

I felt another sigh of relief, he was happy and he was delighted to have his Mummy and Daddy by his side, which helped our guilt as Zachariah wasn’t holding any grudges against us for what he had just been through.

Sounds silly, I know, but it’s always good to still be the good cop!

The nurses kept close eye on the little sausage and agreed to start him on slow pump feed to give his tummy time to adapt and then start the bolus feeds the following day.

The training went really well and although I was a little scatty to begin with I soon picked it up.

What was I worried about?

This was so simple and Zachariah was not bothered by it all.

We can quickly get ourselves in such a state over the things just because they are not familiar with them, or because we feel worried and out of control.

Now that we are on the other side I can visualise it all, and you know what, it’s really not that scary after all.

I no longer feel upset that he won’t be eating my meals, but reassured that he’s getting all his nutrients without the hazards of choking and aspiration.

Bringing him home was such a proud moment.

The way he has just accepted it all and got on with things has just been so amazing and taught me a good few lessons about what is important.

It’s incredible how even post-op Zachariah is teaching me new things.

Children are so resilient aren’t they, they don’t have the fears that we seem to get caught up in, their innocence can be quite refreshing and calming in some ways.

Taking his lead with it all has definitely been the best way, he’s been the one who has called the shots, therefore we have found it much easier to handle as we’ve seen him cope with it all so well.

Before the op I was telling everyone that we’re not sure we’ll make set plans as we don’t know how Zachariah will be.

In hindsight I think I was worrying about how I would be and whether or not I would be comfortable doing his feeds outside the comfort of my home.

Needless to say, there was no questions about it once we were home, it came so naturally to us that we have been out more than usual.

With Tim having time off work we were able to get out and about, Zachariah even attended his first Christmas party of the year!

I guess what I am trying to say is the grass can be greener on the other side.

Our new normal is a wonderful normal, it has made me even more accepting of things I am unfamiliar with.

I now have this new knowledge and new skill to add to my ‘Mummy’ CV.

It’s given Zachariah a better way of life, made him healthier and will hopefully allow him to become more awake and alert throughout the day.

Change is an opportunity, it’s new, it’s exciting, try not to look at change in a negative way but celebrate it and embrace it.

Really hope this helps people who are worrying about the unknown and change.