Ashlyn's surgery

Ashlyn had surgery! We have known we needed to have her umbilical hernia repaired for a couple of years now, but of course kind of kept putting it off! I wasn't too excited about my baby going under the knife! Luckily it is a pretty simple, quick procedure. I didn't even tell her about it until the day before! I learned my lesson after telling her about her 5-year-old shots WAY to far in advance! So the day before, I told her what was going to be happening, and I told her that she could choose a special toy at the store that we'd buy and it would be waiting for her at home to play with as soon as we got back from her surgery. She chose a new Chubby Puppy set. (thanks again Sam for introducing her to these super annoying little toys! ha ha) That bribe worked super well! We had to be there at 6:30 so I had to wake her up super early. She popped out of bed so excited to get her surgery done so that she could play with her new Chubby Puppies. (patting myself on the back)

Grandma sent her this cute little bear to be her special "hospital bear." She named him "Stripe." (ha ha!) It was perfect to have a new special little buddy to go with her! They even let her take him back when they took her back for the procedure. A few other friends and relatives sent Ashlyn little cards and gifts, which was so nice. She loved it!

Ashlyn's birthmom called and skyped with her the day before too, which was fun! (I thought I got a better picture of the two of them but apparently not)

On our way! We were EARLY. First time for everything, right. We had to sit in the parking lot for like 10 minutes before we went in because I didn't think they'd even have the doors unlocked. I was nervous! Ashlyn was... well, seemed pretty excited!

Waiting.... she had a smile on her face most of the time! She loved the attention from the nurses and doctors. When the nurse was asking her how she was doing, she told him "I'm not even nervous, you know why? Because my daddy gave me a blessing to not be nervous. And I'm not!" Talk about melting my heart!!

The surgery was so quick! I was thinking I'd have way more downtime! I read hilarious Bachelorette mock-recaps to keep myself preoccupied, and it worked pretty well! I didn't even have time to get all caught up on them before she was back! She was super disoriented and trying to like roll off the bed when they first brought her back to me when she was waking up. She wasn't like, angry though. I was totally prepared for her to be acting like a beast, I had been warned by several people that she probably would! They left her to me to wake her up, and when I was trying to wake her up she was kind of mad. But as soon as the doctor popped in to check on her she perked right up. ha ha, typical. After that she was groggy and quiet, but still cheerful. She was a star patient! They gave her a balloon and a little fan as her "prizes" and I couldn't believe how excited about those she was. 

Took a picture of her IV because I knew she wouldn't remember it

Sleepy.... but happy. What a cheerful girl.  

She really bounced back so quick. She was quiet the whole way home and for most of the morning, but she wasn't acting like anything was bothering her. By the time we picked up her pain reliever prescription and picked up Elan, she was pretty awake. She had a lot of fun playing with her new toys at home and I finally forced her to lay down and watch TV for a while.... for heavens sakes she had just had surgery! You would never know. I also required her to rest on her bed for a while, thinking of all days she'd for sure fall asleep.... nope! She didn't. Sheesh. She really didn't act very down and out at all. Which I'm glad for, I guess! I just had to keep putting the reigns on her. We could tell that she was feeling a little yucky in the evenings for a couple of days.... she never ever asked for pain reliever but when she'd start acting crabby we'd give her some and could tell that was what she needed. Anyway, her belly button healed up great, and she really liked showing the bandage to everyone we saw. At her week-later checkup the doctor said it looked great, and that the scar will probably be hidden and not even noticeable. Her only restriction is no jumping on trampolines for 3 more weeks. She was a little bummed that she'll miss gymnastics class for a while, but not the worst that could happen! We were blessed and I'm glad it all went so well.