Teeth surgery...

Ok here it is the teeth blog..

A few days before surgery time we got a phone call from the hospital, they said Pea wasn't allowed anything to eat past midnight and no nursing past 2am (anyone that actually knows Pea knows that not nursing at night is a bit of a struggle so we knew we were in for it) we were also told no food or drinks past 6am but that she could have water, apple juice, jello or a popsicle till 6 am. So I really pulled out all the stops. Pea has never had a real sugar popsicle and she has certainly never had jello, she has had apple juice before but only ever as a little treat and never more than a few sips.

So 2 am hits and I tell Daddy to move over in bed so I don't fall back asleep and accidently nurse her, he does and we both go back to sleep until 4:30 when I hear Pea saying "other side" like she wants to nurse. I try to let Daddy comfort her a bit but within a few seconds she is screaming bloody murder. Now when I say I pulled out all the stops I really mean it, I had my mum come down after work and sleep on my couch, at 4:30 am I pulled the "Nana's here" card and she was still not too happy but once she came out and saw her and we turned on the tv she settled a bit. We only had to distract a few times from nursing, (she tried jello and a popsicle but didn't really want either) and before we knew it it was 6am and time to head to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital Pea got distressed, if you look in my archives you will find an entry about a traumatic hospital experience, since then she has been really scared of doctors, nurses and clinics with the hospital being the worst. She cried in my arms for awhile and we met a really nice nurse who taught me the relaxation pressure points and helped us talk through getting the emla on Pea's hands for the IV. Then Pea got some "sleepy juice", which is actually called Versed, it helped her start to calm down but she was fighting it a lot. At that point we got to talk to the anesthetist and the dentist and go over the plan again, I didn't even have a whole lot of time to feel anxious, I was just focusing on my daughter and her needs. Then the nurse came to get us, Pea was relaxed on my shoulder when we went into the operating room, she was smiling at people and singing the "ABC's" with me and it was so cute to see the anesthetist chime in. Something worth knowing about Pea before we get to this next part is that she is very attached and she has a hard time warming up to people, it is normal and when she warms up she is fine but she will never just go to someone she doesn't know...unless well, she has versed!

The nurses asked me to suit up and asked Pea if they could hold her, she practically dove out of my arms to them and was totally content. I heard her ask "Mama is?" when she was going into the room so I said "I'm right here baby" and quickly followed in. When I arrived in the room she was laying down on the OR table already. The nurses were getting her bandages off and her hands ready for an IV. I helped take one bandage off and gently stroked her tummy and sang her songs, she tried to sit up a few times but only to look around. The anesthetist then held the gas mask in front of her face and let her breathe the gas for a few minutes to get a bit more sleepy before holding it on her face. Once she was a bit more relaxed he held it right over her face while I sang to her and she drifted off to sleep peacefully. The dentist escorted me back to our room and said he would be back right after surgery.

The wait was not as long as I feared. A few tears were shed by me but I was thankful to have my loving husband and my mum with me for moral support. When the dentist came back I was so relieved, he said everything went great and Pea was in recovery still sleeping and that as soon as she stirred the nurses would come to get me. He told us he saved her front tooth and was able to crown it instead of extraction, she got a few crowns and a few fillings and all of her bottom teeth were perfect. We talked about prevention (nothing I didn't know but had to ask if there was anything else I could be doing- there wasn't) if I could nurse her right away after surgery (he said I could!!) and then about how she would feel and what she could eat for the next day. I was surprised to hear she would be more or less herself the next day.

Finally the nurse came for me and my mum and Trev said I didn't even look back at them, I ran to my baby girl and found her laying on a bed just stirring a bit, then she started to cry a little and say "mama baba" (her word for nursing). She was attached to a bunch of machines and still had an IV in so I asked if I could pick her up, the nurse said of course and so I scooped her up and sat in a rocking chair with her. She continued to ask to nurse so I asked if it was ok, the nurse was a bit nervous that she might still aspirate being so sleepy so she wanted me to wait 5 minutes until her cry was a bit more feisty. That felt like a long wait but I sat and rubbed her head until she was fine to nurse. They warned me that nursing so soon after surgery meant she would probably vomit so I was prepared. She nursed for about 45 minutes in recovery while she was waking up and as soon as she was awake enough to see where we were she started screaming to "GO HOME!!" The nurses saw how well she was doing so they removed her IV and the blood pressure cuff and heart monitors and let us go to our room, when we got there Pea was very clingy and just nursed and cried to go home, so they let us go! And from there on out it was a piece of cake. No vomiting and not much more crying, she was a bit upset about the way her mouth felt but she got used to it by the afternoon. My mum left right after making up my pot of turkey soup while I nursed Pea and then Daddy Pea and I all took a nap. When we awoke Pea was in good spirits and was up to her usual antics by bedtime.

Her teeth look amazing, they look beautiful and strong and I am so thankful for everything the dentist, doctors and nurses did to make our visit a positive one. I am thankful for our wonderful friends and family for all their words of encouragement especially to me the past 5 months, this was an incredibly hard decision but one I am VERY glad I made.

I am so proud of my little girl.