Surgery

Today, we went to Marley's tongue-tie check up. We chose a new doctor to do it, because the first doctor we went to was rude and only interested in how much he was going to get paid. Keeping her occupied in the office was hard. We waited for about an hour, and it seemed they had every thing placed perfectly where Marley could reach it. She was rubbing books on the ground and yanking magazines off the shelves. There was one kid toy, but nothing she was interested in. So, after about 30 minutes of that, the receptionist quietly asked us to come back to the private waiting room. In this room, there were no toys, no magazine, no nothing. So, Marley played with the door stop for a while and then tried her very best to escape the room and parade herself down the hallway.

When we finally got called in to the doctor, it took about 5 minutes. He pretty much just said, "yep, she's tongue tied" and then answered my questions about the surgery. So, here's what happens. She will be given gas to put her to sleep. It takes about 8 breaths to put her to sleep. The procedure will take two or three minutes, and she will be left with a small stitch that will dissolve in a few days. Immediately after the procedure, they will stop the gas and it will take about 8 more breaths for it to get out of her system. Then they will take her to the recovery room and bring us back to see her. Then they want me to nurse her and we get to chill for a while.

She is not allowed to eat after midnight the day of the surgery, which is next Monday morning. I am worried about this because she still nurses at night for comfort. I know she doesn't need it because she's hungry, but it is going to be hard to comfort her without it. The other part I am worried about is when she is awake without me at the surgery. They are going to take her away from me, and she will probably be crying. How will they get her calmed down enough to put her to sleep? What will they do when she wakes up? Will she be crying alone in a crib until they bring me back? Are they going to even try to comfort her?How long will it be until I am allowed to come back? I guess these are things I should have asked today at the appointment, but I didn't think about them until afterward. I know the surgery really is necessary for her future speech habits, but it's really scary. I don't want her to be upset, and of course I want to be able to comfort her and be with her. So, those are my main worries. I don't want her to be scared.