a down belly button

Jilly was born with an umbilical hernia- basically a really big outie belly button, and we've always known that she'd need surgery if it didn't get better on its own.  At her four-year-old checkup the doctor said she was old enough that it wasn't going away on its own.  So we waited til after the holidays then scheduled her surgery for this past Tuesday.

We had to be at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning.  Before we left I took one last picture of her belly button; I actually think I'm going to miss it!  My mom came up to watch Mattie so Bryan and I could both go, which was very, very helpful.  The whole time Jilly was happy and excited and she looked so cute in her gown.  The doctor had given us a book all about surgery and we had read it so many times she practically had the whole process memorized.  I'm so glad that she wasn't nervous because it made it so much easier for me.  I went back and held her while they gave her the gas to put her to sleep; the hardest part was definitely leaving her there on the operating table.

I went to the waiting area with Bryan and was excited to finish my book but I never got to finish because in what seemed like no time at all the doctor was there telling us it was all done and she did great.  We went back to see Jilly just as she was waking up.  I was prepared for her to be really confused and upset, but she was so calm.  She just snuggled on my lap until she was awake enough to eat a popsicle and drink some juice.  We stayed for about an hour til they cleared us to go home.  Right before we left they took out her IV which turned out to be disastrous for Baby Rachel.  I hadn't eaten much all morning and it was really hot in that room and I am THE biggest wimp of all time when it comes to blood and needles.  I didn't even look while they pulled it out but apparently I was thinking about it too much because suddenly I was losing it quick and I had to give Bryan the emergency signal to pass me some water and a granola bar before I was flat on the ground.  The nurse noticed that I was struggling and she insisted on bringing me some apple juice.  Definitely one of the top 10 embarrassing moments of my life.

We made it out without anyone fainting and Jilly said, "Oh, the sky woke up!" because it wasn't dark anymore.  In no time at all she was back to herself- doing crafts with Gigi (this book has been so much fun) and asking for Chick-fil-A for lunch.  She has felt a little sore but other than that you'd never know she had surgery.  She told us, "Now I have a down belly button!"