The doctor confirmed that his circumcision was healing well, which was a relief. If you haven't seen a healing circumcision, it isn't pretty and we didn't know if what we saw was normal. We had him circumcised on Monday by a physician trained as a mohel. After doing some research and going back and forth on whether or not to circumcise him, we decided that if we did, we liked the idea of having a doctor who was also a mohel doing the procedure since we felt that a mohel would take a more holistic approach. Also, Aaron's pediatrician doesn't do them, so we needed to find someone else to do it.
The doctor we chose was the one who performed the bris for Aaron's pediatrician's son and came highly recommended by both her and a rabbi we know. Since he works at Kaiser, we had to pay out of pocket, but felt it was worth the cost to make sure it was done by someone with a lot of experience and well recommended. This doctor used Lidocaine to take the edge off and had us give Aaron infant Tylonol afterwards. It was still a traumatic experience for all involved (except maybe the doctor), and I am envious of my friends who did not have to be present during their son's circumcisions. Although it was probably good for Aaron to have his parents there to soothe him (and to breastfeed him immediately afterwards), it was one of the hardest things we've gone through so far. I hope we don't have any more sons because I'm not sure I could do it again.
We also learned a new word at the pediatrician's office: transluminate. Apparently, Aaron has some fluid on his right testicle called a hydrocele. First, the nurse practitioner and then later the doctor, turned off the exam room lights and lit up his testicle by pressing the little flashlight they used to look in his ears and nose against his scrotum. The whole thing glowed red and they kept saying "It transluminates well." This means that it is just fluid and not something worse. They said he could get a hernia in there, so they need to keep an eye on it. If it lasts past a year, they will need to correct it. I'm not sure what that means and I'm not sure I want to know. Chances are good that it will resolve itself within a few months.
I hope Aaron forgives me for blogging about this when he is older.
In addition to the weight gain, we can also see other changes in him just in the past week. He has more eye control and is starting to look up at me when he is eating. His arms, which we affectionately called "chicken wings" since they were constantly bent at the elbow (making dressing him a challenge) have started to unfold more. And he seems more alert during his waking hours.
Things Aaron still needs to learn:
- Diaper changes are not a form of torture
- You will not starve to death in the length of time it takes to have your diaper changed
- You cannot fit both a fist and a nipple in your mouth at the same time
- If you are hungry, a nipple works better than your fist
2 comments:
a friend of mine at work has a little boy, nearly a year old now, who had to have surgery to descend one testicle. the doctor used a local anesthetic and gas, an panadol (which is like tylenol), and flynn was pretty much unaware of the trauma his parents had to witness. they were very nervous, but relieved when it was over and all was ok.
they're such tiny delicate things, but they recover well!
I have been following Aaron's adventures through your blog and I am happy to see him doing so well. It is impressive how they go through so much during their first weeks and yet how well they seem to adjust to any situation.
Take care... (of Aaron, Thom and most important of all take care of yourself)
Post a Comment