When I last posted we had just been to the dermatologist about a cyst on Vivian's head. Flash forward a few weeks and we were meeting with the plastic surgeon we had selected to have it removed. Again, just like the dermatologist, she was super nice, and very reassuring. If you're going to have a dermoid cyst, Vivian's was apparently in a good location. A simple incision and scoop it out. It was in a place were there was no chance it had already tunneled into the brain (we talked to another mom that morning who had needed to take her daughter for an MRI because her cyst was on her nose...so glad we didn't have to do that as well!). Steve asked how often she dealt with this type of cyst (he always thinks of the good questions to ask...I usually just sit there and nod), and she said she was consulting with 5 patients that day for the same thing. We felt good. She explained that because of Vivian's age she would need to use general anesthesia, though, and because of that she wanted to wait until she was one. We weren't too excited about that idea, but it had to happen.
I scheduled the surgery for a week after her first birthday. What I didn't know when I scheduled, was that the minute she turned one, the rules for eating prior to the procedure changed. I didn't find this out until a few weeks before and it was too late to change anything. The minute she turned one, she could no longer have any more solids (milk included) beginning at 11 pm the night before the procedure. Had she been under one, she could have had breastmilk up until a few hours before. And my kid was still getting up around 4 am for a snuggle and some milk. This created a problem.
It was a problem of my own creation, as it was really more of a comfort thing for Vivian. I was going to have to get strict. I actually tried to give her back a pacifier to get her over that 4 am need, but she refused to take it, which really was probably better in the long run. So I spent a few nights prior to surgery implementing a new round of "cry it out". By the night before her procedure I was fairly confident that we would be fine. We had gotten the phone call that her scheduled arrival was 7 am, and she usually eats breakfast around 7:30 or 8:00. At least we would be out of the house before breakfast time, and maybe could keep her a little more distracted in a new place.
The morning of her surgery came, and Steve and I got up and began to get ready. At 6:25 Steve got her up and as quickly as possible got her changed and dressed so we could get out the door. I tried to remain in the background as much as possible to try to avoid her wanting to nurse. We scooted out the door, and she was her chipper self in the car. We got checked in and she was loving the waiting area. She was having a ball banging her hands on the little tables and checking out the outlets (honestly...in a children's surgical center you would think they would have outlet covers??). A nurse called us back and we went through the whole medical background (that I had already given a week earlier on the phone) and got her into a gown, and still she was loving life. Being all cute and flirty with the nurses and the doctor when she came in.
But soon the cute and flirty ended. The minute there was no action, and we were left there just waiting, baby girl realized she was hungry. And my child goes from zero to HANGRY in a matter of minutes. And where does she look when she's hungry? To me. All she wanted was to come to me. Steve decided to take her for a little walk in the hall and found a great, big, textured mural that she was feeling and looking at. As long as she was distracted, we were okay. But there are only so many toys in my bag, and only so many times walking the halls that were going to amuse a one year old. Our super helpful nurse grabbed a toy from their collection (one of those ones that you push the buttons and the heads pop up), and Steve brought it back in the room and kept her occupied for a few more minutes.
I know the nurse felt bad we were waiting because I heard her talking to one of the other ladies about getting Vivian's anti-anxiety meds ready to go so the minute she got the call from the doctor she would be ready. They give a very mild anti-anxiety drug prior to the procedure to help with the separation and the baby being in a strange place with strange people. The second the nurse got the call, she was in our room ready to go. The other benefit of the med was that it helped Vivian forget she was hungry. Within minutes she was waving her hand in front of her face, and giggling. Her favorite game became pushing my head back and forth, at which time I realized that it had been quite a while since I cut her finger nails. I ended up with some serious scratches on my chin from her repeatedly grabbing me. And those heads jumping out of the toy became the most hysterical thing in the world!
Shortly after, they came and took her back, and we were shown out to the waiting room. I barely had time to get comfortable when the doctor came back out and said everything went perfectly. We chatted with her for a minute, when a nurse showed up and said Vivian was already awake and fussing. Usually they have the babies sleep for a half hour or so, but my kid was up within minutes - no surprise to me! She did doze back off once I was holding her, but woke again a little while later, and was happy as could be! We started to gather our things and as we walked out she was waving and laughing with all of the nurses. We scooted out the door and were home by 11. I couldn't believe it.
We had been told by the nurse to not let her do too much walking, and to be sure to carry her everywhere because the anesthesia wouldn't be completely out of her system for a few hours. Well that was next to impossible. She got in the house and, although definitely a little wobbly on her feet, instantly went for all of her usual favorite play things...shopping carts to push and cars to ride on. Steve had to remove a few things to the basement. We also had been told to take it easy with food, and that she probably wouldn't want to eat much until dinner time. Within minutes I was making her a peanut butter sandwich. Truth be told, Steve and I both thought she was in a better mood than she had been in days!
She took a great nap, woke up starving and wanting more to
eat, and we went outside for a walk and even decided to go grab something for dinner. Besides the steri-strips on her head, you would never know this was a kid who had had a surgical procedure that morning.
In the grand scheme of things, I know that this was very minor - that we could have been dealing with something much more serious. But no one wants to see their child have to go through anything like this. I think what made it the most stressful for me was the waiting. It was months between each step in the process, which was fine at first when we really thought that it was going to be nothing unless WE decided we wanted it removed. But then when we knew that she was going to have surgery, and we had to wait months for it to happen. It was this thing just looming in the back of our minds that we had to just keep waiting for. There was plenty of time to worry about what might happen. But, it's over now, and we can move on to worrying about other things...like when those top teeth are finally going to break through!
The morning of her surgery came, and Steve and I got up and began to get ready. At 6:25 Steve got her up and as quickly as possible got her changed and dressed so we could get out the door. I tried to remain in the background as much as possible to try to avoid her wanting to nurse. We scooted out the door, and she was her chipper self in the car. We got checked in and she was loving the waiting area. She was having a ball banging her hands on the little tables and checking out the outlets (honestly...in a children's surgical center you would think they would have outlet covers??). A nurse called us back and we went through the whole medical background (that I had already given a week earlier on the phone) and got her into a gown, and still she was loving life. Being all cute and flirty with the nurses and the doctor when she came in.
But soon the cute and flirty ended. The minute there was no action, and we were left there just waiting, baby girl realized she was hungry. And my child goes from zero to HANGRY in a matter of minutes. And where does she look when she's hungry? To me. All she wanted was to come to me. Steve decided to take her for a little walk in the hall and found a great, big, textured mural that she was feeling and looking at. As long as she was distracted, we were okay. But there are only so many toys in my bag, and only so many times walking the halls that were going to amuse a one year old. Our super helpful nurse grabbed a toy from their collection (one of those ones that you push the buttons and the heads pop up), and Steve brought it back in the room and kept her occupied for a few more minutes.
I know the nurse felt bad we were waiting because I heard her talking to one of the other ladies about getting Vivian's anti-anxiety meds ready to go so the minute she got the call from the doctor she would be ready. They give a very mild anti-anxiety drug prior to the procedure to help with the separation and the baby being in a strange place with strange people. The second the nurse got the call, she was in our room ready to go. The other benefit of the med was that it helped Vivian forget she was hungry. Within minutes she was waving her hand in front of her face, and giggling. Her favorite game became pushing my head back and forth, at which time I realized that it had been quite a while since I cut her finger nails. I ended up with some serious scratches on my chin from her repeatedly grabbing me. And those heads jumping out of the toy became the most hysterical thing in the world!
Shortly after, they came and took her back, and we were shown out to the waiting room. I barely had time to get comfortable when the doctor came back out and said everything went perfectly. We chatted with her for a minute, when a nurse showed up and said Vivian was already awake and fussing. Usually they have the babies sleep for a half hour or so, but my kid was up within minutes - no surprise to me! She did doze back off once I was holding her, but woke again a little while later, and was happy as could be! We started to gather our things and as we walked out she was waving and laughing with all of the nurses. We scooted out the door and were home by 11. I couldn't believe it.
We had been told by the nurse to not let her do too much walking, and to be sure to carry her everywhere because the anesthesia wouldn't be completely out of her system for a few hours. Well that was next to impossible. She got in the house and, although definitely a little wobbly on her feet, instantly went for all of her usual favorite play things...shopping carts to push and cars to ride on. Steve had to remove a few things to the basement. We also had been told to take it easy with food, and that she probably wouldn't want to eat much until dinner time. Within minutes I was making her a peanut butter sandwich. Truth be told, Steve and I both thought she was in a better mood than she had been in days!
She took a great nap, woke up starving and wanting more toeat, and we went outside for a walk and even decided to go grab something for dinner. Besides the steri-strips on her head, you would never know this was a kid who had had a surgical procedure that morning.
In the grand scheme of things, I know that this was very minor - that we could have been dealing with something much more serious. But no one wants to see their child have to go through anything like this. I think what made it the most stressful for me was the waiting. It was months between each step in the process, which was fine at first when we really thought that it was going to be nothing unless WE decided we wanted it removed. But then when we knew that she was going to have surgery, and we had to wait months for it to happen. It was this thing just looming in the back of our minds that we had to just keep waiting for. There was plenty of time to worry about what might happen. But, it's over now, and we can move on to worrying about other things...like when those top teeth are finally going to break through!
No comments:
Post a Comment