Super-Lula!

So, Talulah is pretty much a superstar. No, really.

She did absolutely amazing when going in for her surgery. We all went in (Talulah, Mommy & Daddy) at 9:30 am because they called and said there was a cancellation so we could get in early. I was really happy about that, thinking that little miss wouldn't have to be hungry and thirsty for as long, but it didn't actually pan out that way.

We went in and Talulah was assigned to bed 12. While we were waiting to be assigned our bed, I leaned over and mumbled to Donovan, "Is it weird that I feel like an extra on Grey's Anatomy?". That's how little hospital experience I have. I looked at their white board with all of the scheduled surgeries on it and people hollering this and that and everyone just doing their jobs. Apparently to this mama, Hospital = Grey's Anatomy.

Anyway, we went to bed 12 and Talulah gets her hospital pajamas - a blue open back gown with yellow and white striped pants. OMG, she was adorable. Happily put them on and chilled out on her bed.

Remember when I said she loved doctors? Yeah, that pretty much goes for any medical staff. Talulah was so happy any time they monitored anything and she just sat there patiently cooperating. Her Daddy and I were so proud.

We watched part of Up and part of Tangled on the iPod. We read some books (I brought WAAAAAAAAY too many to the hospital. Better to be prepared though, right?), pretended to sleep on a lump (lump = giggling Talulah) coloured some pictures, played "let's jump like a maniac off the bed and hope somebody catches me" and when Talulah started to notice her thirst we took more desperate measures.

It was fort building time. We built a fort with the hospital bed and a sheet. Talulah's really into hiding lately. So she hid in the fort and we had to search the entire area before we found her. Plenty 'o giggles to be heard every time we said, "Where's Talulah?".

When we "found" her, we wrapped her up in the sheet and held her like a baby. The spin-off from that was that we decided to see if we still remembered how to swaddle. It's much harder to swaddle an almost three year old with a full sized sheet than it is to swaddle a newborn with a receiving blanket, but we managed just fine.

(All of this was happening while what looked like students were toured around the unit. We got a few smiles for our antics... But hey, our kid was happy!)

Then, it was off to the train tracks. Well, the train tracks in the day surgery unit of the Children's Hospital anyway. One of my favourite things ever is when Talulah says her version of "chugga chugga choo-choo" which is "kaka kaka tschoo tschoo" over and over and over again. I caught it on video (which I'll post below) but you have to listen really well to hear her quiet little voice.

Around 12:30 it was clear that she was bored, hungry and thirsty. She tried to escape us and run away but we were too fast for her. She said a few times, "I want to go to my home" and I felt so sad for her.

When it came time for the porter to wheel Talulah to the actual surgery area, Talulah layed on her bed while she was wheeled around. She thought it was pretty cool. She also thought it was pretty cool to see all the fish, dolphins and many sea creatures that long term patients had made, which were on display.

The anesthesiologist came to talk to us and tell us what we can expect while Talulah's getting put under. He said it's sometimes hard for parents because kids can make a gurgling sound, thrash a little bit, and their eyes roll back when the anesthetic kicks in. We were told that only one parent can go in with her... Poor Daddy didn't even have a chance. I shot my hand up right away to indicate I'd be the one going in with Talulah. We agreed in the end that it was for the best anyway so I don't feel THAT bad. ;)

I got dressed in a cap and gown (just like you see on Grey's Anatomy, although at this point I wasn't thinking even a little bit about Grey's) and I carried Talulah into the operating room. She sad on the operating bed (table?) with her back leaning on the anesthesiologist. He showed her the mask and put it over my mouth so Talulah could see what it looked like. Then, he put some bubblegum scented drops in the mask and let her sniff them. When he was sure she was going to stay calm he gave a nod to the nurse to turn on the gas. Talulah just continued to breathe. Calm and SO AMAZING. The doctor warned me that she may start to thrash around at "this" point, but she didn't. She closed her eyes and her little head nodded to the side. I helped pull her bum down the bed so she was lying down, gave Talulah a kiss and then a nurse escorted me out.

I remember the nurse telling me how much she loved Talulah's name and if she wasn't too old to have kids she'd totally use it for a girl, yadda, yadda, yadda... But I was too out of it to respond appropriately. As soon as I wasn't with Talulah, my calm demeanor disappeared and I was a basket case. But hey, I'm sure they expect that.

The surgery was quick. Donovan and I headed to the waiting room and sat for about half an hour. Our pager went off which meant we could go back to the day surgery unit to be with Talulah when she came out of recovery. We rushed in just as Talulah was getting wheeled back into her space on her bed. She was awake and happily sucking on a very red popsicle.

She was quiet, and the popsicle didn't leave much room for talking... But man-oh-man did she LOVE that popsicle. She's such a sweetheart she even shared with her Daddy when he asked for a lick.

Donovan and I crowded our faces in with hers and just watched her enjoy her popsicle until it was all gone. She drank a bunch of apple juice while the nurse took her blood pressure and monitored her breathing.

The surgeon came to talk to us and told us she did great. That there was LOTS of fluid in her ear so we could expect to see more drainage. He gave us some ear drops to avoid an infection for the first few days and answered all of our questions.

The nurse came around to check Talulah over one more time and then she was discharged!

We got Talulah dressed, and as we were leaving she asked for a cookie. She knows that we always stop to get her a treat on the way out of the hospital, and surgery wasn't going to make her forget this time either!

Remember when I was nervous that she'd have a bad experience and stop loving doctors/hospitals/etc.? Well, just this morning when we were leaving for daycare she said, "I don't want to go to daycare, I want to go to the hosplittle." So, I guess I don't have to worry about that. :)

Here are some pictures of our little superstar in action:

 Getting all set up in her hospital pajamas.

 Loving getting handled by the nurse.

 Getting Daddy all set with a princess sticker.

iPod movie. :) 

Mommy getting in on the picture action. 

Fancy bracelets.

 Time for some colouring!

 Little artist.

 Fort building time.

 Where's Talulah?

 There she is!

 Got my swaddle on.

Kaka kaka tscho tscho 

Post surgery, post Popsicle.  

Are there any more Popsicles down there? 

At home, ready to relax... Or build some more forts, whatev.

(She's in there... if you look really hard.)

And hey... If you have some time for a video, check out Talulah playing with trains. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4MAZNboijk