The Problem With 6 Year-Olds, Part 2

They are sassy, mouthy, and rude.*

The End.

*Okay, so not all the time, and I'm sure a lot of it is just bad timing due to spring fever and whatnot; but, dang! The girl is driving me nuts!

The Problem With 6 Year-Olds

The problem with 6 year-olds is that once they turn 6, they want to be 7.

E is already asking me about when her next birthday is. She's already counting down to 7.

*sigh*

*blink*

*blink*

It seems just like yesterday that E was doing the hula at my parents' house.

*blink*

It seems just like yesterday that she was in her first ballet recital.

*blink*

It seems just like yesterday that she was twirling around with her sister in matching Christmas dresses.

*blink*

It seems just like yesterday that she had crazy hair and crazy clothes for school.

(Okay, so that was last Wednesday. Whatever.)

*blink*

My baby, my firstborn, my darling E turns 6 today.

Happy Birthday, Honey! I love you very much.

He's Back!

Do you see this little boy?

This is my little man. My Bubba.

I haven't seen him in almost four weeks,

and I'm so glad he's back!

Surgery Success

M's surgery went well this morning!

We had to get there at 7:00 am, but his surgery wasn't scheduled until 8:30 am. Have you ever tried to keep a tired, hungry, thirsty, bored, 25-pound 15 month-old entertained for an hour and a half with no toys, food, or drink?

No?

I don't recommend you try it anytime soon.

Gah!

Anyway, soon after we arrived, the anesthesiologist came in to explain what he going to do (gas first, then IV port once he was asleep). We had just assumed the gas was going to happen in the prep room with us there watching him fall asleep.

Um, no.

After waiting, and waiting, and waiting, a very nice male nurse came up, asked us if we were ready, and then held out his arms for M.

I know my heart skipped a beat. THAT I was not prepared for.

So, after prying M from my sweatshirt, I handed him over to this very nice male nurse who promptly walked away with my screaming little boy in his arms.

Fortunately, I was too shocked to be emotional.

Mr. Einstein and I then headed back out into the waiting room where we finally got to eat our breakfast and drink our now-lukewarm coffee. I had every intention of blogging from the waiting room, but due to a dead laptop battery and no outlets to be found, I didn't, obviously.

We were told that the surgery would only last about 20 minutes, and that M would need another 30-40 minutes in the recovery room to wake up before we could see him.

ONE HOUR LATER the surgeon finally comes out and tells us the surgery went well and that M was just now resting in the recovery room. So much for the 20 minutes we were expecting. (Okay. In all fairness, the surgery probably did last 20 minutes. Of course, anesthesia came first, then surgery prep, then surgery, blah, blah, blah. I just wasn't prepared for having to wait an hour after they took him to hear how everything went.) I had been trying really hard not to worry and not to let my mind wander to negative possibilities. It's probably a good thing I was so tired from lack of sleep and so wired from caffeine all at the same time.

Regardless, everything went just as it should. The hernia was taken care of and the little bit of M's hydrocele that was left was also closed up. He has interior stitches, but no exterior ones. The wound was left "open" but taped up with some super-duper waterproof tape. He was, of course, groggy when we finally got to see him, but he just cuddled in close and sucked down water and apple juice as fast as he could.

After another half hour or so, M was declared good to go. His IV port was removed, his incision inspected, his diaper and clothes changed, and we were off. Once we got home, he snuggled for a bit, then was off our laps and down on the floor playing with C and running around the house.

What a goofball!

Before you start questioning the wisdom of this, the surgeon said to let M do what he wanted. If it hurt, he wouldn't do it. It is completely amazing to me that this little boy who was in so much pain last night and had surgery this morning was his usual happy self within an hour of being home. Just amazing!

Right now, he's napping. In a little bit, he'll have a snack and a bath. And tonight there will be no more pain or worries.

God is good!

And I'm so glad this is over!

A Long Short Weekend

Friday evening, around dinnertime, M started having one of his "episodes." We didn't think too much of it, since he's been having them off and on for almost three weeks. However, around 9:30 pm, he started vomiting. Again, we didn't think too much of this. We just figured he had a stomach bug on top of his hernia.

I know, right? Poor guy.

He was vomiting every couple of hours or so throughout the night, until about 4:00 am; and he ended up sleeping in until almost 10:30 am, which is really unusual, even when sick. He wasn't hungry when he woke up, his hernia hadn't receded, and he he couldn't even keep water down. Turns out, when a hernia doesn't recede quickly enough, it can cause vomiting. So, we headed to the emergency room.

We have wonderful neighbors who took care of the girls for us and even fed them lunch.

The ER doctor put M on an IV of saline (for hydration) and even had the nurse give him some morphine. Once the morphine kicked in a bit, the doctor had to force M's hernia to recede. Poor little guy! He was screaming! It was painful to watch and listen to. A respiratory doctor happened to walk by during all of this. I was just standing in the doorway with my back turned away from M, and I smiled sheepishly and told the doctor I couldn't handle it, so he came in to help. Mr. Einstein was brave, though.

Once everything was back where it should be, M perked right up, as kids tend to do. He was his normal chatty, playful self within five minutes of the doctor finishing. They kept us just short of another hour for observation then released us with instructions to keep M on a clear liquid diet for six hours. I was trying to figure out how we were to keep a 25-pound 15 month-old from eating. The kid eats all day, when he's feeling well! So, he ended up eating popsicles for the rest of the day, which suited him just fine.

All in all, we were in the ER for about three to four hours. Hopefully this doesn't happen again.

We have a consultation with a surgeon here in town on Tuesday afternoon. We're hoping for a quick surgery scheduling. I can't handle much more of this!

The girls feel ignored, I'm stressed out, Mr. Einstein is stressed out. This needs to end soon for the health and sanity of my family.