Anastasia's Surgery

Here she is ready to go!

I only found out the day before the surgery when her time would be. We were lucky we had to be there at 6:15 am and would be the first one of the day. The down side, we had to be there by 6:15 am. 

The night before her surgery Anastasia could only eat until 12:00 am and nothing after that. Which was going to make for a long night. We went to bed around 10:00 pm, set an alarm to wake me up to feed her at 11:30 pm. I told her to drink as much as she could because that's all she's getting for a long time. I don't think she listened to me. 

Well, 4:30 am rolls around and off goes our alarms again. But we didn't need them, we were awake from trouble sleeping. We finished up packing what we weren't able to the night before. Loaded up Anastasia who was in a happy mood until she realized she was hungry. Then she screamed and kept it up until we were driving in the car. She fell asleep shortly after that. 

We get to Primary Children's (where we got an awesome parking spot!) and my anxiety began to increase. I tried to calm myself down because if I freak out, then so will Anastasia. Charlie showed no signs of worry. He just kept reassuring me that everything would be fine. That this is one of the best children's hospitals nationwide. But I was still a bit nervous. It's like the logical part of me walked away and I was left with neurotic me. 

We check in at 6:15 am and we wait (for nearly an hour). Then we're called into the pre-operation room. There we were instructed to give her a good wipe bath with operation grade sanitizer. They also brought out her hospital pajamas and some cute little pink socks. We got her all ready to go. Finally, a sweet OR nurse came to collect her. We walked with her as far as possible. Then she took my miracle baby away for surgery. 

I almost lost it.

We went down to the cafeteria to help pass the time and to actually eat some breakfast. After all, we'd been up for over 3 hours and it was breakfast time anyways. To be completely honest, I didn't want to just sit in the waiting room with other anxious parents for nearly 2 hours. The whole time I was a bundle of nerves. I knew she'd be okay but I was plagued by all the "what ifs". 

Finally we headed to the dreaded waiting room. We check in with the receptionist and wait. I think we timed it pretty good because 30 minutes later the doctor came out to tell us how everything went. She had all 3 hernia's repaired. (She had a 10% chance of having the third hernia but they checked anyways. Which was good because, she suffered from it.). 

Another 20 minutes pass by and then we're called to the PACU. I got to see my sleepy, baby girl. Who was beet red! Which was a side effect from one of the medications they had given her. Anastasia was inconsiable. Just screaming and screaming. The nurse gave her some good pain meds and I swear 5 minutes later she fell back asleep. Pain free and calm. However, the pain medication had a side effect as well. Her O2 staturation decreased and she needed some O2 support. 

Once she was stable we were transferred to the Post Op unit. That is where Anastasia and I would be staying the night. I got a sweet picture of her peacefully sucking her thumb in her sleep while getting a bit of O2 support. Since everything was going good Char went to be with the other kiddos at Grandma's house. 

I decided to take a little nap while she slept. I'm glad I did, after a 90 minute nap she was wide awake. She just wanted to be cuddled and the pain to go away. The rest of the day was spent holding her and getting in some snacks. Time just seemed to drag on. (Ever notice time seems slower in a hospital? Or is that just me?)

I think the nurses did a great job on her pain management. But the baby was up ALL night.  Around 2:00 am the nurse offered to take her while I got a quick nap in. The chair was uncomfortable but apparently when you lack sleep, you can fall asleep anywhere. I remember thinking, "Geez, well this will be a short nap." Next thing I know I'm awake up and it's 5:00 am. I checked the hospital grade crib and Anastasia wasn't there. But I heard coos not to far away. At the nurses' station there are 3 nurses fawning over Anastasia and she is just cooing back to them. She didn't take a nap the whole time they had her, they said she was making up for being under and sleepy during the day. 

We got word since she was doing so good we could be discharged. I called Char at 6:00 am and cringed at having to wake him up so early. Little did I know he was almost to the hospital. He was there in no time. We loaded her up and the nurse walked us out. Anastasia finally fell asleep in the car. 

Now we're in recovery mode for the next 3 weeks. She can't do tummy time since it would put pressure on the incisions. She's just getting pain meds and unlimited cuddles. (To Rory's dismay).