Surgery Day

Since Caringbridge doesn't like the size of my pictures, I'm going to post them here.  The first few pictures are from the day before surgery.  Yesterday we had Ben's pre-op H&P appointment.  Although it was an easy appointment, there was a lot of waiting, which means we had a lot of time where we needed to entertain Ben!

There is only so much you can do in a small exam room with limited tools, and thus, we resorted to cleaning the chairs.  :)  I just love this video of Ben, hard at work.  The surgeon answered all our questions and we were on our way!

Being the smart guy that he is, Ben totally knew something was going on today.  He didn't sleep great at night and was up before 4:00.  Even though we didn't have to be to the hospital until 7:00, we were all ready to go well before we needed to leave.  That never happens.  Amazingly, despite the limited sleep, he was in a great mood the whole time.  Just a typical day of exploring new toys and making new friends.  Par for the course for this little one.  

While it was easy to keep him entertained in the waiting room, the pre-op holding area was less exciting. 

Naturally, he wanted everything that he wasn't supposed to have.  

Thank goodness for glove balloons and medicine syringes.

The only time he wasn't happy is when he actually had to take the medicine from the syringe.  It was versed, a medication to make him a little loopy and to make him forget everything, so I was a little nervous when he spit half of the medication out.  

But when he didn't cry as they wheeled him away, I knew that he at least got some of it!  Such a relief! Even though he had some happy medicine, I was so proud of him for being the bravest little boy ever.  I wish I could say the same for myself!  He sat so nicely.  He was just looking around, taking it all in.  So stinkin' cute. 

The surgery lasted about an hour and a half.  This was shorter than we were anticipating, and therefore we were suspicious that this may not be the last one.  Unfortunately, we were correct.  While I am bummed we will have to do this all again, I am so thankful that everything went well during surgery and that we have such a cautious doctor.  The surgeon was very pleased with how everything went and said that everyone in the OR/PACU loved him.  How could you not?!

While I prefer my healthy, active, busy little boy, I cannot complain about getting to hold a snuggly little boy all day.  

It's not that he was unhappy all day, but he definitely wasn't himself.  We could tell that he was in pain because every time he moved the wrong way, he would cry out in pain and shake and it was so horribly sad.  He did get visits from my parents and Andy's parents though, and all of them managed to get a few smiles.  

While Nana songs, snuggles, and books are way up there on the list of Ben's favorite things, I don't think anyone was able to get a bigger smile than...

Hope, the therapy dog!  Ben went from snuggling sleepily in my arms to sitting up straight and alert as soon as the dog walked it.  It was soooo cute.  She kept licking his little hands and he was in heaven.   This seemed to work better than the pain meds!

After another bottle, Ben eventually fell asleep in his bed, as opposed to someone's arms, for the first time this afternoon.  Andy and I are currently camped out in the dark in the corner of the room, hoping that he sleeps well tonight!  We are also hoping and praying that tomorrow is better.  It is so hard to see him knocked down, as it really takes a lot to slow him down even a tiny bit.  So unbelievably proud of my tough little baby boy.