Daddy Can't Call You "Trigger" Any More (hopefully)

We got to the hospital at 7, and had to wake poor Makena up a little after 6. She had no clue what was going on!

Makena HATES doctors and doctors offices and knew immediately we were in one and started crying when we first got there. (I took my tiny camera that I despise with me to the hospital, and I'm reminded of why I got the new camera...most of these are blurry and annoying).

We did a LOT of waiting around in our little "cubby" hole in the day surgery unit, but luckily there was a tv in each little room that we could operate. Since we had a ton of time to kill, she eventually warmed up to the area and started exploring by climbing up and down off the chairs. :) She even got to wear a cute princess froggy gown.

The nurse took her temperature when we first arrived and she had a fever of about 100 degrees. :-/ I hoped it was just because she was so worked up (and screaming). She'd been perfectly healthy up until today. We waited around until 8:00, and the nurse gave her medicine (by mouth) to relax her...and did it ever!!! It was one of the funniest things (and slightly scariest things) I've seen in my entire life!! She was so care free...pretty much "high"!! The doctor drew an arrow on the thumb that was to be operated on and she thought it was one of the funniest things ever! She was slurring her baby talk and accidentally blowing bubbles with her spit, and laughing all while doing it! She no longer cared about the room full of doctors/nurses and was pointing and laughing at every one. They took her temperature again, and it was still about 100...but they all said that with no underlying symptoms they really felt ok about operating since it's such a short procedure. All though nervous about it, I'm really glad they ended up doing it because I think taking my drunken baby home at that point would've been scary! And, it was just good to get it over with and not have to worry about it all over again! Makena didn't even whimper when I handed her over to the nurse to head back to surgery. That made a Momma's heart happy! :) It would've been hard if she was taken from me screaming!! The anesthesiologist said they were just going to use a mask over her face to put her to sleep, there would be no needles or tubes down the throat if everything went smoothly (and it did).

We originally planned to just sit and wait on her, but the PA recommended that we go and grab a bite to eat because she knew we were tired and nervous and said that an empty stomach would make things worse, especially when we were going to need our energy when she came back from surgery. I'm glad she talked us into it! We'd given them our phone number and shortly after eating (and we were eating FAST), they called us saying the surgery was over and went smoothly and expected it to take about 20 minutes for Makena to wake up from the anesthesia. Well, our little girl was a fighter and woke up IMMEDIATELY after that phone call, so they called us again and told us to head up there. As we walked through the day surgery unit doors, Makena was being carried out screaming, just like they warned us she would! I was so nervous about holding her. I didn't want to hurt her arm any more than it was already hurting, but at the same time, I wanted her back in my arms! She was grabbing at the cast trying to pull it off. She was screaming a scream I've never heard before and was really worked up. She was inconsolable. She didn't want to be held, and she didn't want to be laid down. It was one of the hardest moments of our lives! There were several times I almost lost it, but luckily Luke and I remained strong for each other, and got through it without too many tears! I knew if I let the tears fall, I wouldn't be able to make them stop! All I wanted to do was endure the pain for her! I would've given ANYTHING! It's so hard to see your baby in pain and scared out of her mind. I'm sure she felt funny from the anesthesia and didn't know how to handle it. I could tell it wasn't our normal Makena. There were a few times she'd stop crying, and I thought it was for sure the end of it, and then she'd be set off again. She probably cried a good 30 minutes solid, if not longer. During that time, she wouldn't eat any food or drink anything...and kept pushing offering hands away from her like she was scared of the objects being presented to her. I was afraid this was going to go on for a while and was a little worried she'd end up falling asleep (and, in order to go home, she needed to eat and drink something), but suddenly, out of no where, she stopped crying and starting talking to us. She was slurring her baby talk again and we all started laughing hysterically (including Makena). AHHH, what a moment! Finally, our sweet baby was feeling better. It was a rough few minutes of not knowing what to do, or how to make it better, but, it all worked out!

She's doing really well! She hated her cast at first, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her too much right now. It's amazing how quickly babies seem to adjust. Today is all about Makena. :) I'm seeing a lot of Barney in our future!

Makena is a tough cookie and takes pain pretty well. She's definitely been a little more fussy than usual today, but I'm sure that's a mixture of being exhausted, pain in her little hand, and annoyed about the cast! She's been on Tylenol with codeine today too, so I'm sure that's contributed to her sleepiness. I've heard babies bounce back so quickly! And I'm looking forward to being able to remove her cast in 10-14 days!!!!

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers! We definitely felt them!

Love,
Raschel and Luke

This is when we got home, and she was still a little loopy (though not NEAR as bad as in the hospital!) I'm telling you, it was almost scary how weird she was being!! But, I could only laugh, or I'd cry! haha!! Silly girl! I wish we had it on video! :)

Trying to crack a smile:

Posin':