Apparently being vague makes imaginations run wild! No, our son was not born a girl! It has always been very obvious that he is a boy!
My chief consultants informed me that people's imaginations may cause much more embarrassment to Zack than the actual procedure, which was never a big deal to me anyway, so...
Zack's procedure was a corrective circumcision. That's it. No biggie. It took 20 minutes and turned out great.
I'm not sure what happened when it was originally done, but it never seemed right to us, so we went for a consult at 6 months. The urologist--the only pediatric urologist in the area--gave it a B+, but we wanted an A+! After the surgery, when he looked at it closer, it was apparent that when it was originally done, something slipped or Zack moved, so it was crooked. The doctor, in his words, "sharpened the pencil," and now it looks normal!
It's annoying that he had to go through all of this for something that should have been done right the first time, and it's sad that the doctor does about five of these per day (most worse than Zack's apparently), but it's correct now and we're happy with it. And we know Zack will be happy too! Just don't ever mention it to him!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Zack's A+ Procedure
Normally I'm an open book, so I apologize in advance for being intentionally vague in this post. I write this for family record-keeping purposes, but will remain a bit elusive in an effort to spare our little guy from potential embarrassment in the future.
On Tuesday, October 12, Zack was admitted to Palmetto Children's Hospital for a scheduled out-patient procedure. We were told to arrive at 8 a.m. for a 10 a.m. surgery. Surprising, Zack was his normal happy self despite not being fed. I'd woken him up and given him a bottle of breastmilk right before the 4 a.m. deadline. (I knew he'd get more from a bottle since night-time breastfeeding puts him to sleep.) Aside from his normal case of "daycare crud," he was healthy and weighed in at an adorable 22.5 lbs!
Many of you know that we lost our dog, Lexi, under anesthesia while she was being spayed. Given that our dog was the "1" in what we were told was about a 1/10,000 chance of occurring, we've been understandably terrified of anesthesia. (I'm actually very skeptical any time "odds" are given for anything.) I think the doctors had a little laugh about this concern, because the first thing the doctor said (with a smirk) after the procedure was, "Well, people are different than dogs..." The comment itself wasn't a huge deal except that I'd told the anesthesiologist, not the doctor doing the procedure, so obviously they'd talked about it.
THANK GOODNESS PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT THAN DOGS, and Zack came out just fine. When I walked into the recovery area, a nurse was giving Zack a bottle and told me he was hungry. I must have come off as some sort of formula adversary, but really my shocked look was because I was surprised they'd feed a baby without checking with the parents first. They quickly told me it was just sugar water, so he was still ready for his mommy (mostly for comfort at that point)!
Now, two weeks after the procedure, we are VERY happy with the results! Our doctor had informed me ahead of time that at least 99% of his patients' parents are very pleased with his work, but again, I don't work well with projections. (Another example: our doctor said in 20 years of doing these procedures about 5 times/day, Zack's particular situation was unique, meaning the ONLY one like it. That squelched any doubts I'd had about this being the right thing to do!)
We were very pleased with Palmetto Children's Hospital and the entire experience. Everything actually ran ahead of schedule and we were in and out within 3.5 hours. Of course, I should expect EXCELLENT care for what it costs! Can you believe those 3.5 hours cost about $10,000?!! The hospital bill alone (not including the specialist and anesthesiologist, which will bill separately) is about the same cost as Zack's birth and our subsequent 2-day hospital stay! We feel extremely blessed to have good insurance, especially since we are less than $200 from our out-of-pocket max, so we will be paying considerably lower than the 10% that we'd normally owe.
This experience makes me count our blessings:
1.) Generally good health and well-being of our children - we do not take this for granted. I'm sad that there is even a need for a "children's hospital," and I'm glad we were only there for a few hours. God bless the children (and their families) who are there for longer. *I think about Averi Fisher every day, and send love and prayers to her and her family. (Can't Keep Me DOWN)*
2.) Cocky doctors - in our experience, the good doctors seem cocky. (I guess they have a right to be?) This has been our experience with vets as well.
3.) Good insurance - I know many people are struggling in this area right now, so we really are very grateful.
Overall, for us, including Zack, the outcome of this experience is an A+! (That's kind of an inside joke.)
On Tuesday, October 12, Zack was admitted to Palmetto Children's Hospital for a scheduled out-patient procedure. We were told to arrive at 8 a.m. for a 10 a.m. surgery. Surprising, Zack was his normal happy self despite not being fed. I'd woken him up and given him a bottle of breastmilk right before the 4 a.m. deadline. (I knew he'd get more from a bottle since night-time breastfeeding puts him to sleep.) Aside from his normal case of "daycare crud," he was healthy and weighed in at an adorable 22.5 lbs!
Many of you know that we lost our dog, Lexi, under anesthesia while she was being spayed. Given that our dog was the "1" in what we were told was about a 1/10,000 chance of occurring, we've been understandably terrified of anesthesia. (I'm actually very skeptical any time "odds" are given for anything.) I think the doctors had a little laugh about this concern, because the first thing the doctor said (with a smirk) after the procedure was, "Well, people are different than dogs..." The comment itself wasn't a huge deal except that I'd told the anesthesiologist, not the doctor doing the procedure, so obviously they'd talked about it.
THANK GOODNESS PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT THAN DOGS, and Zack came out just fine. When I walked into the recovery area, a nurse was giving Zack a bottle and told me he was hungry. I must have come off as some sort of formula adversary, but really my shocked look was because I was surprised they'd feed a baby without checking with the parents first. They quickly told me it was just sugar water, so he was still ready for his mommy (mostly for comfort at that point)!
Now, two weeks after the procedure, we are VERY happy with the results! Our doctor had informed me ahead of time that at least 99% of his patients' parents are very pleased with his work, but again, I don't work well with projections. (Another example: our doctor said in 20 years of doing these procedures about 5 times/day, Zack's particular situation was unique, meaning the ONLY one like it. That squelched any doubts I'd had about this being the right thing to do!)
We were very pleased with Palmetto Children's Hospital and the entire experience. Everything actually ran ahead of schedule and we were in and out within 3.5 hours. Of course, I should expect EXCELLENT care for what it costs! Can you believe those 3.5 hours cost about $10,000?!! The hospital bill alone (not including the specialist and anesthesiologist, which will bill separately) is about the same cost as Zack's birth and our subsequent 2-day hospital stay! We feel extremely blessed to have good insurance, especially since we are less than $200 from our out-of-pocket max, so we will be paying considerably lower than the 10% that we'd normally owe.
This experience makes me count our blessings:
1.) Generally good health and well-being of our children - we do not take this for granted. I'm sad that there is even a need for a "children's hospital," and I'm glad we were only there for a few hours. God bless the children (and their families) who are there for longer. *I think about Averi Fisher every day, and send love and prayers to her and her family. (Can't Keep Me DOWN)*
2.) Cocky doctors - in our experience, the good doctors seem cocky. (I guess they have a right to be?) This has been our experience with vets as well.
3.) Good insurance - I know many people are struggling in this area right now, so we really are very grateful.
Overall, for us, including Zack, the outcome of this experience is an A+! (That's kind of an inside joke.)
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Family Day at Frankie's
(postdated 11/14/10)
Brian's work held its annual Family Day at Frankie's Fun Park. Breeley was still a little young for most things, but she was able to ride as a passenger on the go-karts, go down the big slide, play on the huge indoor play maze, and do some of the arcade games, including bowling.
Her first go-kart ride: She looked so tiny in the seat, but she seemed to like it!
Brian's work held its annual Family Day at Frankie's Fun Park. Breeley was still a little young for most things, but she was able to ride as a passenger on the go-karts, go down the big slide, play on the huge indoor play maze, and do some of the arcade games, including bowling.
Her first go-kart ride: She looked so tiny in the seat, but she seemed to like it!
She LOVED the slide! Big surprise.
I came out of the bathroom to find this. I thought it was funny how Brian wheeled Zack in between the seats, and Zack was watching so intently.
Breeley liked bowling, and got lucky a few times with a spare or two!
Concentrating on her form.
It all became a bit too much for Zack. An arcade provides lots of stimulation!
Breeley was on the real Wheel of Fortune in utero, so it seemed only fitting we try our luck. I did well, but the girl before me had been a jackpot winner of 2,000 tickets, so the machine was pooped out. Breeley spent longer here than any other game!
Who cares about tickets? This game provided the greatest reward in her eyes!
We didn't have nearly the ticket success of last year, but we had enough to get some Gamecock car coasters and a pack of silly bandz. Little did I know what a hit those would be! Breeley's 7-yr-old cousin let her wear some when we were with them last weekend, and Breeley apparently knew these were all the rage with the cool big kids! She couldn't wait to open them and hasn't taken them off since! Thank you, FN, for providing several hours of fun and $25 silly bandz!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Scarecrow Day
(postdated)
Since storytime isn't in session in October, I was looking for something fun for us to do on Tuesday. I came across "Tiny Tot Tuesday" for 2-4 year olds, a program put on by the Historic Columbia Foundation at the Robert Mills House. The event did not focus on the history of the house or grounds, but I was interested to learn that Robert Mills was the first architect born and trained in the US and designed some of the nation's most prominent buildings, including the Washington Monument. He also did not actually live in this house, but he was hired to design it.
They started out by reading a scarecrow book in the garden. Breeley was much more interested in playing with the rocks. (This picture makes all the kids look more attentive than they were by the end. Why is it that they always pick books that are not age-appropriate for things like this?)
Breeley's favorite was the one with the dog, which was created by Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services. We voted for this one for the People's Choice award, but I'm not sure if it won. There were some good ones!
I'm pretty sure Breeley still doesn't know what a scarecrow is, but it was still a fun program!
Since storytime isn't in session in October, I was looking for something fun for us to do on Tuesday. I came across "Tiny Tot Tuesday" for 2-4 year olds, a program put on by the Historic Columbia Foundation at the Robert Mills House. The event did not focus on the history of the house or grounds, but I was interested to learn that Robert Mills was the first architect born and trained in the US and designed some of the nation's most prominent buildings, including the Washington Monument. He also did not actually live in this house, but he was hired to design it.
They started out by reading a scarecrow book in the garden. Breeley was much more interested in playing with the rocks. (This picture makes all the kids look more attentive than they were by the end. Why is it that they always pick books that are not age-appropriate for things like this?)
Then they each had to find a hidden pumpkin in the garden.
Decorating the pumpkin with eyes, pom-pom noses, and markers.
Breeley enjoyed the pumpkin roll and apple cider.
Then they got scarecrow armbands and jack-o-lantern masks.
Zack is always so good when we go on outings, even when he's past his feeding time. I'm enjoying this while it lasts. I think soon he's going to demand to get in on the action!
We did a scavenger hunt throughout the "Scarecrows in the Garden" display.
Breeley's favorite was the one with the dog, which was created by Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services. We voted for this one for the People's Choice award, but I'm not sure if it won. There were some good ones!
I'm pretty sure Breeley still doesn't know what a scarecrow is, but it was still a fun program!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Hudson, Party of SEVEN!
(postdated)
This weekend we went to Virginia to play Mom and Dad to our niece and two nephews while their parents enjoyed an anniversary weekend in Pigeon Forge. While we don't plan to add more than one more to our crew, I will say that having five kids for the weekend was not as bad as I was expecting, and it was fun to spend time with all five of my favorite kids!
Friday presented its first "large family" challenge when pizzas had to be cooked at separate times in the oven, so the kids had to "patiently" wait on seconds. After dinner we managed to get all the kids in "PJs" (I was corrected by Lance, who said they are called "pajamas") before settling down for a movie and being conned into popsicles before bedtime. Bedtime was 100% easier than I expected. I'm pretty sure at least half of Lindsay's phone instructions to me had involved dealing with Kade's bedtime antics, but luckily we didn't have to use any rope! :) All the kids went right to bed.
Breeley was the whiney one. I think she's the only one (besides Zack) who cried at all during the weekend. We've recognized this quality before, and it was more pronounced being around kids who were not whining. She was also the only one who seemed totally grossed out by the pumpkin "guts."
Kade, who is 5 wks younger than Breeley, is the mischievous one. He's there one minute, then suddenly he's ringing the front doorbell (no idea how he got out) or bringing out two opened popsicles for a morning snack (he did this at 9:30 a.m. and again at 10:45)!
Zack was the easy one. :) Aside from the major lack-of-sleep issues he's been having, including being wide awake and ready to go at 4:00 Sunday morning, and then being overtired and not napping, he was great! He loved watching the older kids, and Kade particularly seemed to like playing with or near Zack.
I'm glad Lindsay and Brian enjoyed their first weekend away (alone) in 8 years! Breeley loved spending time with her cousins, and we had fun with our party of seven...
This weekend we went to Virginia to play Mom and Dad to our niece and two nephews while their parents enjoyed an anniversary weekend in Pigeon Forge. While we don't plan to add more than one more to our crew, I will say that having five kids for the weekend was not as bad as I was expecting, and it was fun to spend time with all five of my favorite kids!
Friday presented its first "large family" challenge when pizzas had to be cooked at separate times in the oven, so the kids had to "patiently" wait on seconds. After dinner we managed to get all the kids in "PJs" (I was corrected by Lance, who said they are called "pajamas") before settling down for a movie and being conned into popsicles before bedtime. Bedtime was 100% easier than I expected. I'm pretty sure at least half of Lindsay's phone instructions to me had involved dealing with Kade's bedtime antics, but luckily we didn't have to use any rope! :) All the kids went right to bed.
Saturday morning started early with all the kids up by 7:00 and piled into bed with us. Breeley announced she had to pee, which thrilled me since she's been on a potty strike. I was quickly informed that her success warranted a piece of candy corn for all of them. I was a bit skeptical, but relented, but I drew the line when Lance piped up and said they each got two pieces for a lot of pee! I told Brian I thought we were being treated like substitute teachers!
It only took 3.5 hours to get us all ready, so around 10:30 we met up with Ma and Pappy and headed to the Pumpkin Patch at Sinkland Farms. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed feeding the farm animals and playing in the hay maze and haypile.
We ate PBJ sandwiches--which Emma helped me make!--and listened to a live folk band, then took a hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins.
Along with the traditional big orange pumpkin, we went searching for some white ones ("to make ghosts"), and Kade found a green one. Even after getting those, the kids somehow each ended up with an armful of the $1 small ones, so we left with at least 10 pumpkins! We also enjoyed eating ice cream and seeing a Hokie Bird man on stilts.
Sinkland Farms holds special significance to us because it is where we got married 6 years ago! I approached them about holding our wedding there, which they'd never done before, and we used the property and cottage shoppe for a bargain $150 and a framed wedding picture for advertising, which is still on the wall! Now they are advertising wedding rental packages starting at $1300! We look a bit different now, but the scenery looks about the same.
Kade and Breeley zonked out in the car, but continued to take good naps while we watched our Carolina Gamecocks beat #1-ranked Alabama!!
Ma and Pappy came back over and, with Emma's help again, made a delicious "taco bean soup," tacos, and chile rellenos. Later, the kids and Brian carved pumpkins and we decorated Halloween sugar cookies. Again, bedtime went down without a hitch.
It's interesting to see everyone's individual personalities when you have a group of kids together. Here's what I learned about my five favorite kids:
Emma, almost 8, is the sneaky one. She's wonderfully helpful and capable of all sorts of things, but before you know it she's dressing Zack up in girl clothes or licking sprinkles off the counter! I told her she has a sweet tooth, and she responded that ALL her teeth are sweet!
Emma, almost 8, is the sneaky one. She's wonderfully helpful and capable of all sorts of things, but before you know it she's dressing Zack up in girl clothes or licking sprinkles off the counter! I told her she has a sweet tooth, and she responded that ALL her teeth are sweet!
Lance, 5, is the rambunctious one. We were warned ahead of time that flips off the couch usually mean it's time for bed! Breeley is Lance's protege--she pretty much follows "Lee" around everywhere, as you can tell from the picture below, where she seems incredibly interested in whatever it is he's looking at!
Breeley was the whiney one. I think she's the only one (besides Zack) who cried at all during the weekend. We've recognized this quality before, and it was more pronounced being around kids who were not whining. She was also the only one who seemed totally grossed out by the pumpkin "guts."
Kade, who is 5 wks younger than Breeley, is the mischievous one. He's there one minute, then suddenly he's ringing the front doorbell (no idea how he got out) or bringing out two opened popsicles for a morning snack (he did this at 9:30 a.m. and again at 10:45)!
Zack was the easy one. :) Aside from the major lack-of-sleep issues he's been having, including being wide awake and ready to go at 4:00 Sunday morning, and then being overtired and not napping, he was great! He loved watching the older kids, and Kade particularly seemed to like playing with or near Zack.
I'm glad Lindsay and Brian enjoyed their first weekend away (alone) in 8 years! Breeley loved spending time with her cousins, and we had fun with our party of seven...
...but we slept pretty well when we got home Sunday night!
Monday, October 18, 2010
SC State Fair 2010
(postdated)
We headed to the state fair again this year. I would have liked to visit the exhibits, shows, and craft areas, but Brian and Breeley were more interested in the rides and food! Breeley had a lot of fun on the rides now that she hit the critical 36 inches! We enjoyed being kids again too!
Of course we had to visit the animals. (Not nearly has impressive as the WV State Fair.) At one point we saw a sow feeding her piglets. I am VERY happy that human babies do not feed with such vigor and enthusiasm!
We headed to the state fair again this year. I would have liked to visit the exhibits, shows, and craft areas, but Brian and Breeley were more interested in the rides and food! Breeley had a lot of fun on the rides now that she hit the critical 36 inches! We enjoyed being kids again too!
Zack was content to watch his sister and take in all the other sights and sounds. The fair provides plenty of stimulation!
We all got to ride the ferris wheel, even Zack.
Of course we had to visit the animals. (Not nearly has impressive as the WV State Fair.) At one point we saw a sow feeding her piglets. I am VERY happy that human babies do not feed with such vigor and enthusiasm!
We don't live very dangerously when it comes to fair food, so we didn't try the donut burger (a burger with donuts as buns--gross!), but we did enjoy corndogs, fries, polish sausage, lemonade, ice cream, and a chocolate/peanut butter-covered frozen banana.
Zack was asleep before we even left. It was fun!
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