Alek got circumcised on Wednesday. I was very concerned about the separation issue but not really worried about the surgery until that morning.

We woke up early and got the kids dressed (Alek couldn’t have anything to eat or drink so I took their sippy cups of water out of the room while they were asleep and distracted them all morning so they wouldn’t ask for breakfast) & we were on our way to the hospital.

The surgery was scheduled for 9am so we had to be there at 8. Mom met us at the patient check in where they put a bracelet on Alek who was so excited that he jumped off my lap to show it to his sister who of course, wanted one too.

Then we went over to day surgery and they played with each other running around and touching everything before they called his name. They let us all go back with him and had me put him in this little tiny blue hospital gown with whales on it. He looked so cute I wish I had brought my camera! Ana was teething and had been up most of the night with a slight fever (got to love those teeth!) so she was pretty cranky when we told her that she couldn’t take off her clothes too. That’s when the nurse brought them each a doll to play with that they could keep with them and then take home. I thought that was pretty nice of them! Anyway, the nurse was great & Mitch & I were shocked that he actually sat on her lap (on the floor) and let her take his temp. and listen to his heart & lungs (he was so happy that she let him play with her “toys” that he didn’t care what she did to him!!!).

After playing in our little area for a while, they gave him some oral liquid meds to make him more relaxed & he asked to climb up on the bed (obviously meant for small children with a top and sides that could be pulled up) & then they wheeled him away. Mitch went with him as far as the OR doors and he never looked back. He was too busy checking everything out I guess. They told me they gave him gas before the IV and he never cried or anything. Ana, however, got very upset that they took her brother away but Mom distracted her and we all went to wait in the day surgery lobby.

Ana played with her toys that we brought and ate a late breakfast I had brought in my bag and went for walks with my Mom while Mitch and I played with his new Russian program (he brought the laptop with him). I think the program is defective because it said Mitch’s accent was better than mine but that’s another story, and then Ana fell asleep on my lap.

After about an hour, they said one of us could go back to recovery. Mitch jumped up and was gone about 15 minutes before a nurse came and got me. They said Alek had really good lungs and was calling for Mama. Luckily Ana was half asleep so I was able to pass her off to Mom without any trouble. They brought me to recovery and Mitch was sitting in a rocking chair holding Alek who was screaming for me. Somehow Mitch & I switched places (I’m not sure how) and he left. They only let one parent in at a time and he had told them it was time for a shift change! I held him and sang to him for I don’t know how long but the Russian songs really calmed him down. He played with his cup of ice and ate some of it and only would start to cry again when he asked to get down and the nurses said no, that the medication made him to wobbly. Then he would cry and call out “Ana”. This happened about 3 times until he got distracted by my singing and then it would start all over again.

After a while, they let me carry him into the area that we had been in right before his surgery and they went to get the rest of the family to join us. It took awhile to find them though. Mitch took Ana to the gift shop and found a sale! So 4 puppets and dog that barks & a car that shakes later, they all came in. Ana came running up to Alek and then stopped short & looked like she was about to cry. In order to make sure he didn’t play with the IV, they had wrapped up his arm in gauze and it looked like a cast! Ana pointed to it and said “boo-boo”. We told her it was OK and she started giving him toys. By the time they came in Alek was quite happy because he was on his 3rd cup of apple juice and 2nd cracker. By 11:30am we were in the car driving home and he was acting totally normal.

We all ate scrambled eggs and went upstairs to do potty time. When I took off his diaper he didn’t even notice. They had wrapped gauze & tape around it and it looked like it was in a cast. Ana kept staring at it and looking like she was going to cry. Alek noticed her face and looked down and gave me a confused face like “should I be upset by this?” so I gave him a big smile and told them both it was good & they have been fine ever since! Except that I don’t think he’ll be rubbing up on the inside of his potty anymore, everything else is normal.

About an hour into their naps, the drugs wore off. He woke up crying so she woke up crying and they both were not happy. Her teeth were really hurting her & he starting saying ouch & pointing to his diaper so Mitch went across the street to get his acetaminophen with codeine. Within ½ hour he was back to normal and has been ever since. Unfortunately, codeine does NOT make him the slightest bit sleepy!!!

The next morning I took off his bandage and he’s a little bit swollen but he doesn’t cry anymore. He just says ouch if he bangs into something (or Ana pushes him into something) and that’s it. He’s a little confused that he points down there but gets kissed on the head instead.

They said no bath for a week because they didn’t want him sitting in water so today, 2 days later, I gave them showers and boy did they have fun! I think they thought they were playing in the sprinkler again!!! So overall, it was a lot better then I thought it would be and I’m very glad it’s done and over with. The only thing I would have done differently if I had known was I would have waited until AFTER the pool closed.

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