A Big Week for Aidan

This week brought us two big events. First, Aidan returned to preschool. He's attending the same preschool as last year, although quite a few of his friends from last year are gone or attending opposite days. The morning of school, Aidan put on his new clothes and shoes and begrudgingly allowed me to take pictures. Then in the car and off to school. When we arrived, he instantly fell back into the routine. He walked right over to an empty basket, dropped off his backpack (they use laundry baskets as cubbies for the kids), took a box of toys off the shelf and started playing. He wasn't big on goodbyes last year and so far this is proving to be true this year as well. I could walk out without saying a word and he'd never notice. Olivia would love to stay and play with him though. She was very excited by all the kids and toys. When I came back later to pick him up they were still in circle time singing. So I peeked through the window in the door to see how he was doing. He was smiling, singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and doing the hand motions. You could certainly spot the returning kids from the new ones but, I'm sure they'll become comfortable before long. Aidan was happy to see me when I went in to get him and came home in a great mood. He even played WITH his sister when he got home. I was very happy his first day was a good one and I hope this year proves to be a great one with filled with lots of learning and growing.

The other big event this week was Aidan's consultation appointment with a pediatric surgeon. We noticed two weeks ago that "something" didn't look right "down there" on Aidan. He would get swelling and it would be sore. We thought there was a good chance it was a hernia and took him to the pediatrician, who confirmed our fears. She referred us to the surgeon who had operated on her daughter last year for a hernia. I figured, if he's good enough for a pediatrician's kid, then he's good enough for us. :) The pediatrician's office called and scheduled our consultation for us, which happened to fall during a business trip for Julien. Needless to say, Julien was very disappointed that he wouldn't be able to go but, this was the only time we could meet the actual surgeon and not a Fellow. Sorry, but I'm picky. I want to meet the guy who will be responsible for my son in the OR, even if it's outpatient and a relatively minor procedure. So, yesterday Aidan and I went off to the children's hospital to meet the doctor. (Big thanks to my friend Sam who watched Olivia for me. I know she slept the whole time I was gone and not hard to watch but it was a great relief not to have to worry about taking her with me. It was greatly appreciated.) The doctor was very nice and kept things short, sweet and to the point. He told me that the tube that the testicle descends down is supposed to close on its own but in this cause did not. The other side is fine and, once this is taken care of, will never be a problem again for him. It's a short, outpatient procedure that requires no pre-op appointments and only one post-op check. The doctor said Aidan will be back up and running a couple days after the surgery and we can even wait until after his birthday if we want to. Apparently this is more common than I thought. The intern with him said they do 10 of these a week. Wow! So after that appointment I felt better. I spent some time talking with my friend Sam too as two of her children have gone through surgery here in St. Louis. She told me the procedure for knocking the kids out and what the day of surgery would be like and that relieved a lot of my anxieties. I was worried about Aidan having to be stuck with needles. It was a great relief to know that wouldn't happen until after he was out completely. In the end, this will be harder for Julien and I than him. He won't remember anything due to the anesthesia. In a week they will call and schedule this surgery. In the meantime, I'm trying to prepare Aidan without freaking him out. They gave me a list of books to read to him and they even do hospital tours. It'll be scary for him but I hope we can at least take some of mystery out of it for him. It always helps to know what to expect.