"No Touch the Penit!!!"

I'll start off by saying Nicky is doing well after a long and eventful day! The fun started at about 5:25am with our typical morning ritual. We got to the surgery center just before 6am and after a bit of paperwork and handing over of the co-pay, we went up to Pre-Op. We were met by a very nice nurse who went over some info about what would be happening over then next few hours. Around 6:35am she gave Nicky some versed to make him sleepy and calm his nerves, and most importantly, take away the memory of it all! She said it would take effect in about 15 minutes...good thing...we needed to get him into the gown & he was having none of that. Almost 10 minutes later, he started to relax a bit and Momma put on his gown showing him how fun the "tiger pj's" could be. Of course, since I had them on, he wanted them ASAP..."mine pj's!" We got him in the gown, then he decided he didn't want it on - that's when the versed did it's job. Nicky became VERY calm and laid back on the bed without a fuss..."night nights. bed. doctor." I was sitting on the bed with him, along with "Mr Frog" and Daddy was on the chair next to us. Nicky looked over at Daddy, gave him a very dopey smile, then proceeded to blow spit bubbles at him! It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen! We knew at that point, he was good to go...and we wanted some of that good stuff too!

The OR Nurse & Anesthesiologist came to get him around 7am, and we watched as our baby boy was wheeled off to doom. Everyone was very nice and attentive, so we knew he was in good hands. Momma & Daddy then went to the waiting room and awaited the call that he was ready for us. The Doctor called at 7:30am & let us know that all went well, then at 7:45am we recieved the call telling us we could finally see him.

Let me preface this next part by saying this: We know he was confused, disoriented, sleepy, feeling out-of-sorts & outright weird and unhappy. However, we were not prepared for the 1 hour tantrum that ensued in the PACU! Wow, is this kid obstinate! He kicked, cried, screamed, and was completely inconsolable for the entire time we were in there! We put the Jungle Book on, thinking that would distract him a bit...nope. The Nurse & Anesthesiologist both told us that at that point, he wasn't in much pain (the Doctor put a lot of topical stuff to numb him, etc), however, it was probably a little sensitive & that the anesthesia itself is known to cause agitation in small children. That made us feel somewhat better...at least we knew he wasn't in excruciating pain! So, we grin & bared the "want juice" quickly followed by "don't want juice"; I wanna be held, don't wanna be held; "want cookie. don't want it."; I wanna sit on the floor, don't wanna sit on the floor; "clothes on. no clothes." In the end we had to act like we were walking out (going "bye bye") with him in his undies and socks, just to get him dressed, and even then we had to lay him on the bed kicking and screaming to get the clothes on him. Walking to the car (Daddy carrying Nicky) was fun too - he HATED being outside without his shoes on! Trying to put them on him in the car, at his request mind you, only resulted in Momma getting kicked. He screamed the entire way home and got even more mad when I took his socks away from him (they were in his mouth - keep in mind they were previously walking around on the PACU floor...um...gross!).

Once we were home, I sat him on the couch, replaced the socks, told he was gonna be ok & that we were over the screaming, gave him some juice and a cheese stick, and put Shrek (aka the one that saved us from the screaming) on tv, all was good with the world.

(notice the new tiger...Nicky got him from the surgery center...he hasn't left his side all day)

Nicky relaxed with us on the couch, until he needed to go "pisca"...NOT good!!! Let's just say the screaming came back and he's not a big fan of the "lotion" we have to put on the penit (hence the "No Touch Penit"!). We finally calmed him down and got him dressed (also not a fan of pulling the undies up...) and back to Shrek we went. When the movie was over, we presented him with his "penit prize"...

Charlie is his name & he came with a great Discovery Channel video all about chimpanzees that Nicky loved! We had a nice lunch, then went up for nap time...which is usually accompanied by a visit to the potty...we passed on that part & opted of a pull-up instead. Nicky woke up dry and was less than enthused about trying to go potty...more of the "no touch penit" was heard and in the end, after much coaxing, all we could get on him was a t-shirt, undies & socks!

3 juice boxes and a popsicle later, we attempted the potty again. He finally went, screamed a bit, then was consoled with a chocolate "band-aid" (thanks Nana & Pop)! All said and told, I think he's gonna survive! We've heard a lot of "doctor. cut penit. owie. band-aid. momma car." all day. I don't think he'll be thrilled the next time we go to the Doctor - I might have to just tell him we're going to the store or something just to get him in the car!