The Good and Bad
May 22nd, 2008 | 
Author: Yesterday we received something in the post that i have been waiting for , for a while. Nope it was’t the Princess Lucy Sleeping Bag that i ordered for Eilidh (although that did come and so far so good as she is unable to escape from it) or the second batch of Homebirth DVDs for Rebecca and i to watch (which yes came to) .
It was the letter from the hospital with a date for Rebecca to go back in, her surgery is scheduled for the 3rd June . To say im terrified is not a strong enough description .
I know at this point its not a big deal, she will be put under anesthetic and a scope placed down her throat . Dr K (as i will now call him ) will be able to see how much webbing /joining is left and later on that same day we will be able to talk about the next more. If possible he may try to do some separation during the operation to avoid going back under again.
In the grand scheme of things its not a big deal, plenty of children and adults go through worse on a daily basis BUT Rebecca is my baby. We are putting her under anesthetic which is both unpleasant and always presents a slight risk . We have no idea how she will react to it or feel once everything is done, we have been told to expect an overnight stay although they may let her come home if she seems ok.
I don’t want to do this, i want to forget the whole sorry situation and go about our lives. I don’t want to be dealing with operations, surgeons and hospitals ever again (part of my reasoning behind the home birth)
but i also want my daughter to have the best life she can. I just hope she understands that.
Does anyone have any recommended reading material for kids going into hospital? I was thinking maybe this one but am not 100% sure.
Today started just as crappy, sure the morning went fine but food shopping was a nightmare. Take two fussy, tired toddlers and what do end up with? Both Craig and i were stressed to the max fighting with them both over everything. By the time we got home he and i were barely talking.
The good mentioned in the title? Well happened at that moment, we both sulked and opened the mail for the day. Craig was the first to crack the smile showing me the letter, not everyday you get some extra money in the post :). Now we are not talking millions but enough to get caught up in some bills and help with the next month or so (which we thought was going to be very tight before the extra money from Craigs working full time came in ). We are no longer worrying about Rebecca’s birthday but thinking about what to get her.
The other great bit about it? We are using a little of it for a sexing scan, rather than waiting till 28 weeks to see if we end up getting it free (which was doubtful as im booked in for it on a Wednesday, previous scans had on Wednesdays were done by a grumpy woman who acted liked we had asked for a limb when we mentioned finding out the sex) we are getting it done next Thursday at 3pm . I CANNOT WAIT lol
Today was also Day 1 of toilet training, i finally decided to stop messing around and actually given it a shot. Rebecca is showing all the signs she is ready and uses the potty constantly, the only thing holding her back was me.
For day one she done great, she had no accidents in the house . When going shopping in the morning we put a Feel and Learn nappy on her. I wasn’t wanting to risk her having an accident in the middle of the shops, i asked her constantly if she needed to pee and was always told no. When we got home yes the nappy was wet and she didn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest. Im going to avoid using them as much as possible and hopefully after a few days they will not be needed at all.
This afternoon we took a walk to the shops and to get Courtney from school , wearing pants of course.
She done great and on the way home we passed our flat , at first she said yes to wanting to go in and pee but changed her mind after my sister teased her about getting left behind (Gee thanks Sis x) . A few minutes after getting to the school she had her first accident. We didn’t make a big deal out of it, discreetly changed her underwear and left her to it. Before we left she did ask to go to the toilets in the school but never done anything.
Going out and having to hold it is still a new thing for her, but for day one i think she has done wonderfully and im so proud of her.
Posted in Uncategorized
May 22nd, 2008 4:35 pm
Ugh. I feel the same way. I have been putting off and putting off a tiny little procedure for Joey because they will use general and it freaks me out. And his is just outpatient. It is just scary to think about.
Wow! Impressive potty training! Yeah!
May 22nd, 2008 10:07 pm
Hi, I just read your post about Rebecca having surgery. I hope she’s ok. I hope it is nothing serious.
Hope you’re anjoying spring. We’ve had a really cool, wet spring.
Take care!
Sharla
May 22nd, 2008 10:33 pm
I think any mother would be nervous about her child undergoing surgery, regardless of the risk. She’s your baby; you’re entitled to be scared.
May 22nd, 2008 11:57 pm
Of course you are worried about the surgery! She is your baby. But in the long run, it really is best for her.
YAY for surpise money and all the good it brings!!! Can’t wait to hear the big news. :o)
May 24th, 2008 1:41 pm
It’s so normal for you to be scared to death! I get anxious when mine need shots! Try to think how relieved you are going to feel two weeks from now, when it’s all over with
Its’ always nice to get some extra money, it may not be everything but it sure can help when things are tight and stressful.
I’ll be sitting here impatiently, lol, waiting to hear about your scan!!!!
May 25th, 2008 6:06 pm
My heart goes out to you, I know exactly how I would feel it was my child too. I hope everything goes for the best. And congrats on the potty training,money and now being 24 wks. Good luck with everything, I’ll be thinking of you.
May 27th, 2008 9:29 pm
I can’t imagine how scary it is for your baby to undergo surgery, but you are definitely doing what’s best for her. I hope the surgery goes well! We are out of town, but I’ll try to make sure I check your blog on the 3rd for an update. Good luck.
May 28th, 2008 11:11 pm
We’ve had a range of surgeries/procedures on Emma, ranging from very serious, life-threatening surgeries, to very simple easy procedures. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter what procedure/surgery is going on - it is always hard to watch your baby go through something. We had a very hard time when Emma was put to sleep for a dental procedure where they were capping a tooth and fixing chipped teeth. Many would think that after dealing with open-heart surgery with her that we’d find it to be a breeze. It was hard! There are the feelings to protect and keep your child from harm. And it’s hard when we can’t protect them from things like this.
Point being, lots of hugs to you. It’s never easy no matter what is being done, especially when they are put to sleep for it! I hope it all goes well and they are able to fix whatever the problem is…and that you will be okay through out the whole thing. HUGS!
That book looks like it might be very helpful for Rebecca. We’ve also found that going into a lot of detail the day before the procedure is very helpful. We don’t do it much before a day ahead because otherwise it adds a WHOLE lot of anxiety to them. Books are great, and so are using dolls to demonstrate the procedure. We used to visit Child Life and they would use dolls to explain certain procedures to Emma. They would put an IV in, the doll would go to sleep. They would do a basic version of the procedure itself on the doll. Then the doll would wake up, etc. They never hurt the doll, like no cutting her open or anything! Anyway, kids do better when they understand what is going on. When they are super young like Rebecca, there’s only so much they can understand, but they did do the doll therapy with Emma when she was that age.
Good luck with everything!
teresa