Aidan's Birthday and First Surgery (Or turning 4 and getting sedated!)

Oh my, it's been forever since I've posted something. Ugh. Time just gets away from me. Doesn't help when I find lots of "projects" for myself. Well, let's pick up where I left off. First up, Aidan's birthday! Aidan is now officially 4! I have always loved this age. It was my favorite room at the daycare. Kids at this age are so inquisitive and are really starting to put the pieces together mentally. Aidan has always asked a lot of questions but now, his questions are more in depth and detailed. And one question usually leads to another. How does this work, why does it do that, what is it for? I love this! I love the challenge of taking a challenging concept and breaking it down in a way that he'll understand and make sense to him in his frame of reference. He's also more independent now and makes friends quickly. He's still not very interested in sitting down and writing letters or counting for me. It's boring, he says. You have to trick him into doing it or if he shows interest, pounce on the opportunity. He's grown into the sweetest, kind hearted, smart little guy and I can't imagine my life without him.

This year we had his party at the Transportation Museum. This having the party out of the house is totally the way to go! They did everything but the cake. Party favors, snacks, plates and cups, you name it. So much easier and less stressful and the kids had a fabulous time. After the party we took everyone for a train ride. What a great day!

The week after Aidan's birthday was his surgery. Off we went to the children's hospital, after a stop at Walgreens to pick up a new toy to ease our anxieties, where we were checked in. We got matching wristbands and Aidan got cute little scrubs. I wish I had had my camera! After we were briefed on everything, Aidan was given a sedative before we moved to the holding room. They said it would relax him and make the separation easier for him. (Where's mine then is what I was thinking.) They warned us it would make him loopy. Oh boy did it. It was hilarious. I laughed so hard at him, I cried. At one point we were telling jokes when he tried to tell the nurse a knock knock joke. Half way through he stops talking and starts staring off into space. After about 30 seconds he looks back and gets this goofy grin. He was so out of it. From holding they took him to the OR, which he says he remembers as being full of cool stuff. I guess the sedative didn't "block" his memory like it was supposed to. Oh well, he didn't freak out being separated from us. We had pretty well prepared him for most of what went on. The book Franklin Goes to the Hospital was fantastic for helping him understand what it would be like. While he was in surgery we waited. It went pretty quickly and the surgeon popped out to talk to us afterwards. When we were finally able to go see him in recovery, only I was allowed to go back. (Well only 1 parent was allowed and Julien knew better than to protest.) Aidan was still asleep when I got there but when he woke up he was none too happy. He wanted his IV out right then. He didn't want to drink anything. He wanted to go home. It took a bit to calm him down and when we were moved to post-op the IV was removed. There was more fighting about drinking his juice, which he had to do before we could go home but he finally calmed down and drank it so we could go home. For the first few hours at home Aidan needed help getting around due to a caudal they had given him. Think like an epidural but, just a shot in the back that numbs. Once that wore off I gave him some Tylenol 3 to be safe. Now, the doctor had said a day or two recovery and I thought there was no way. But once that Tylenol 3 kicked in he was ready to go outside. The next day he was playing like nothing ever happened. It was incredible. He did get a little sore that week from walking too much but overall his recovery was very fast. The week after surgery we returned for a post-op check where we were told we could remove the surgical bandage and he could take a real bath again. And that was it! All repaired and all better. I wish adults healed that quickly.

Well, that brings us up to the beginning of October. Next time I'll tell you about 2 Iowa trips, a half marathon, another project I've given myself, and Olivia's costume. It's never dull around here

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.