Baby E's Big Day

Yesterday was a very big day for our youngest daughter, E. Eight hours after she was born, I was shocked to learn from her pediatrician that she had 11 toes. Now, I know that this really is a minor thing, but that day was such an emotional roller-coaster that the news caused me to have an absolute meltdown. A lot of things ran through my head, including thoughts that this was a sign that she could have something majorly wrong with her developmentally. If this had been the case I know we could have coped, but thankfully she seems to be a normally developing baby so far.

The doctor's advised that we should remove her extra pinky toe when E got a bit older because its placement would cause pain which could potentially effect her walking/running when she got older. I struggled with the thought of my 6-month old baby going under general anesthesia, but I also knew that taking care of the extra toe before she learned to walk would be ideal. A month after she was born we had decided to go forward with the surgery and it was scheduled for February 5th. 

As we drove through the dark marsh on the way to the city to get her pediatric orthopedic surgeon, I started second guessing our parenting decision, "Are we really doing the right thing here?" E was not allowed to eat after midnight, and even though it was only 4 AM, I already feared the moment she awoke and I would have to deny her the bottle she so desperately wanted. 

We made great time to the hospital, with a crazy Starbucks stop at Harris Teeter en route, and before I knew it we were wandering around the hospital looking for the right Elevator. I had taken detailed notes the day before when the nurse called to confirm, but in my nervousness I completely lost all sense of what I had transcribed. At 5:50 AM we finally checked-in. 

They called us back to pre-op at 6, and the moment I had feared all along came to fruition; we were forced to wake E up to get her weight and dress her in the hospital gown. To my surprise the first 30 minutes she was all smiles--perhaps excited to wake up to so much attention! That didn't last forever though, and then they lips started quivering; it was heartbreaking. Daddy came to the rescue and swaddled E up in her fuzzy giraffe blanky, and she fell back asleep until 7:30. 

The last half hour before they brought her to the OR was tough. There were also other people in the pre-op area waiting for surgery. A 3-month old baby boy needing heart surgery,a 12-year old girl getting a umbilical hernia repaired, and another 6-month old baby boy who's procedure I could not overhear (I know, I'm super nosey). I couldn't help but feel like the worst parent ever looking around the room at children who absolutely needed these surgeries, and my baby just having a toe removed--purely cosmetic some might argue. 

E did wonderful, and she has already bounced back and acting normal today. I am sure she misses her beloved jumperoo though :) At the end of the day, I am glad we had the surgery to remove her extra toe. I think that this was a relative easy process for her, and as she gets older it would have been a lot harder on her--especially if her foot was already hurting her beforehand. I know not everybody would agree with the decision, but I guess that comes with the turf of being a parent. I know I may not always have the "right answer", but I think I am like any mom who just wants what is best for my kids.