Little Tough Guy

Last Wednesday, Andrew had some minor outpatient surgery. He was such a trooper! We went to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's outpatient center and I have never been more impressed. Poor little guy wasn't scheduled for surgery until 2:10 and wasn't able to eat after midnight the night before with the exception of some popsicles up until 10 am the day of surgery.

We had to be at the surgery center at 12:10 and everything worked like clockwork. We were taken back to our own room where they had a basketball hoop, pickup trucks, a rocking horse, etc... Andrew had no clue what was going on! He was too amused with all the new toys (and the fact that the nurse promised him an orange popsicle after he was done!). I got to take him back to the surgery room and stayed with him until he fell asleep. I held his hand as he breathed in the mask and the nurses and anesthesiologist were so wonderful! They made him think he was blowing up a big balloon. Just before he went under he struggled a little bit and then was out like a light!

I, of course, left the room with tears streaming down my face. My little baby, laying on this big table in the middle of a huge sterile bright white room just overwhelmed me! I knew this was routine, circumcisions are done every day and there was nothing to worry about, but still! That was my baby in there! About 45 mins later the doctor came in and said he was doing great, all went well and we need to follow up in 4 weeks. Have I mentioned how impressed I was with this whole thing? I was... really, really was. Heck, they took him back to surgery 10 mins BEFORE his scheduled time. When does that ever happen??

Andrew came into recovery and snuggled with Keith while he drank his apple juice and ate his popsicle. He wasn't too happy to see me since I was the one that took him in that other room, but it was okay. Once I asked him if he wanted french fries and chicken nuggets we became fast friends. :-) We were allowed to leave about an hour later and headed straight to Wendy's. Keith and I hadn't eaten anything either because we couldn't eat in front of Andrew! I was dying!!

The doctor gave us a prescription for tylenol with codeine. As much as I knew that medicine was to keep my little guy from hurting, I was secretly thankful to have the medication to keep him still for as many days as possible since the dr said no jumping, running, etc... for 5 days. 5 days keeping a 3 year old immobile. Cake, right? I knew that the tylenol with codeine would be my saving grace those first 48 hours until.......................... I realized the codeine made my child hyper. Can a girl not get a break??

Andrew was all over the place. One of the hardest parts was trying to get him to understand that he wasn't able to stand on his own since the coddle (not sure if that's spelled right, but apparently it's like a mini-epidural) hadn't worn off. It took both Keith and I to watch after him those first few hours. And to think... I was so looking forward to sitting and snuggling with my little guy.

Despite bouncing off walls, Andrew was as affectionate as he's ever been. He'd be playing with his train, come over and said "I need a kiss", get his kiss and head back to his train. Or he'd be playing with his frying pan, turn, run over and grab me, say "I love you" and then back to "cooking". It was so, so cute.

One funny... soon after we got home we had to explain to Andrew that his peetkah (Russian for boy's body part) had a boo-boo because he was ready to just monkey around with Keith. Well, we take him into the bathroom to go potty and he yells out "Hey!! I'm going pee-pee with my new peetkah!!". He was so excited and so proud! :-)

So, anyhow, I spent Wednesday - Sunday home with Andrew and, to be honest, I wasn't sure how we'd do. We couldn't do any of our normal outings - McD's play area, monkey joes, etc... I didn't know if we would survive being in the house, not running and just "chilling out" because I don't think three year olds know how to chill. Let me just tell you - we had an awesome five days. For the first time since we've been home, I felt "in control". Hmm... that probably requires more explanation, huh?

For the first time since being home with Andrew, I didn't feel like I needed Keith to walk in the door at 5:00 and save me. I didn't feel like every temper tantrum ruined my entire day. I was able to discipline him and he listened to me without me having to blow my stack. I didn't need Keith to put him down for his nap because he wouldn't listen to me - he went willingly. I didn't need to leave the house to have fun with my son... we had fun just hanging out. That's not to say we didn't have our "moments" but those moments were few and far between and we overcame them rather quickly. All in all, it was a very successful five days. I'm going to miss the kiddo tomorrow!

Oh... one more funny... Since I was the one taken Andrew back to the surgery room, I had to wear a gown and cap. I had gotten Andrew changed into his and I turned to Keith and said "I don't understand why I need to put this on and tie it in the back and show the world my butt!" Keith says "Ummm... Beck? You put it on OVER your clothes." :-) He followed that up with "You need to put that on your blog". :-) Yep - I was about to get naked.

On that note, I'll leave you with some pictures of our trip to Children's. I should mention that Andrew is doing great and only held off jumping, bumping, bouncing and straddling for about 24 hours. :-)

In the waiting room.... reading a book with dad!

In our "room" reading the same book with mom!

Ummm... this is the 6th time in 5 minutes we've read this book. I'm having FUN!

Learning to shoot hoops! It's easier to make a basket with your mouth wide open, ya know.

Dunk!

Recovering with daddy

Leaving in style

Have a great week!

Becky