Caleb is doing really well post surgery. He's dealing with it very well. In fact, after he got up from his nap Monday afternoon, it was almost like he had never had surgery. He was running around, eating, falling on the floors, everything that he was doing before. He does have burning when he pees, but other than that, no issues. He does get worried about his stitches though and he doesn't want his penis to be touched, or if I do, he immediately says, "Don't take the stitches out mommy" with tears in his eyes and a small wimper.

I continue to open up the incision, like they tell me to, and it's SOOO much easier to do now. I apply the antibiotic on the incision site, and give him medicine orally to help with the burning issues. The morning hours are a little ify with him because it does burn and he still wells up after he pees the first thing, but after the medicine is in him, the rest of the day is fine. In fact, I'm down to just once a day - and it's only been 4 days post surgery! My little man DEFINITELY takes after me in this regard. LOL. Sorry Jordan!

Each day there is huge improvement with his stream and in fact, I notice he's very quick to use the potty now where it used to take him a few seconds to actually go. So, he's having to relearn the feeling and to get to the potty quicker than before. He almost is in tears by the time he gets there, because he needs to go, like right then, but he manages to hold it a bit longer so he can sit down. And sure enough, the moment he's down - BANG - there's the pee. LOL. But, he's yet to have big accident, so that's good.

Got some pictures over the last day. We even got to go outside because the weather is beautiful temperature wise. Yesterday was cloudy but we made the best of it and enjoyed our walk.

From Today:

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Watching TV

Sorry this is so late, but it's been a rather tiring and hectic day. We finally have some quiet time around the house. Between Caleb and Zoe, we were on our toes most of the day. LOL

Caleb had to be at the hospital at 6am this morning. We got there, got our admission papers for both Caleb and Panda (his stuffed animal), and sat in the waiting room until they called us into pre-op. Caleb did really well, wasn't nervous at all. He got dressed up in his hospital gown, sat down and watched TV until they were ready to take him back into the OR.

While he was in the OR, Jordan and I waited in the waiting room until it was all over. They came to get us about an hour later where Dr. Schropp talked to us about the surgery. He said that the urethral opening was a lot tighter than he thought and that the scar tissue/adhesions were farther in then he though. He was able to open him up, and bigger than normal to allow for SOME closure. However, it will stay on the bigger side, so that he will grow into it.

He was scoped and some good news was that all internal passageways and organs were perfect and normal for where they needed to be. Which means, no backflow/reflux into the kidneys. Praise God for that. So, what needed to be fixed, was fixed and hopefully no other problems.

We finally got to see him and he was already awake, sitting up and eating graham crackers and drinking apple juice. Needless to say he did NOT ask for me first. I was a little sad about that one. LOL. After getting him dressed, we took him home where he fell asleep about an hour later and slept for about 4 hours.

The big challange today has been getting him to urinate. The first time, the moment after he woke up, was easy, but it hurt him a lot. He cried and cried. But, the next time we took him, he refused to do it. It took us an hour for him to calm down enough to actually do it. Even running the water didn't help. Poor thing. He finally released it and he was ok, but I think the next few times are going to be very hard.

He actually took a look at himself tonight while he was in the bath and he thought there was a spider on his penis - it was the stitches that he was looking at. After telling him that it was a stitch and that it would stay there until his penis felt better, he started to do ok. But, now he's worried it's going to fall out too soon. LOL.

He's in bed now, but we'll be taking him to pee right before we go to bed. Hopefully we'll have some good luck this next time around and it won't take too long to get him to go.

He's taking medicine for pain and we're putting neosporin with an antibiotic in it on his incision, so we should be good for the next few days - I hope.

Caleb's Surgery Pictures:

Patient Panda:

Our little patient before admission:

Changed and ready for surgery:

Mesmorized by the TV:

Hat on and about to go into the OR:

About to be wheeled out:

After surgery and already eating:

Full shot of the recovery room bay:

Getting ready to go home:

A bit drugged up:

Not too drugged up for a funny face:

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Sleeping

Tomorrow is the big day. Caleb is doing well with it all. We've talked about it and he understands that he's going to the hospital, getting a "shot", going to sleep and having his penis worked on. Whether or not, he really knows the magnitude of what is going on, I'm not sure. I guess we will find out tomorrow.

Jordan and I are feeling good about everything. You're always going to have some worries/concerns because it's your baby, but nothing to the point of waiting on a serious procedure.

I will update tomorrow after we get home. Chances are it's going to be more in the late afternoon before I can actually get to writing. I plan on taking pictures tomorrow (just becuase it's a part of his growing up), and I'll post some pics too.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Being read to by daddy.

Today was such a beautiful day that we decided to go to the park. We had a great time. Unfortunatly, it was pretty wet, muddy, and still snowy in spots on the playground, but we made the best of it by running around the park, playing follow the leader and finding the perfect stick.

Being that it was just a hair above 50 today, it couldn't have been a better day to just get out of the house. We all have been inside the house for far too long, and it felt good to be out in the wind, sunshine and outdoors. We're supposed to be near 60 sometime this weekend, and you can bet we're going to be taking advantage of that as well.

Caleb's Photo(s) of the Day:

And a video for your viewing pleasure:

Video: Finding the Perfect Stick (Warning - it's 20 minutes long)

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Being read to before bed.

Added pictures to our main site today. Check them out here. The ones added today was Feb 10-Present

So, we took about a good two weeks off for preschool and I started it up again today. Caleb did fantastic. Did his letters great (added three more), and did his numbers great (added the number 13). He just whizzed through it and he had fun with it. I was very impressed considering it had been awhile since the last session.

I neglected to mention in my last blog when Caleb's sugery is. Monday morning and an early morning at that. We're to be there at 6am (got a call after the last posting, and it was moved up). So, his surgery is scheduled for 7am and we'll still be out of the hospital late morning. They will just want to monitor him and make sure he does well after the anesthesia. I'm ok with that. So, Monday is the big day.

I'm not overly nervous about it. It's routine, nothing that is difficult to do. The one thing that I'm nervous about is the anesthesia. This will be the first time that he's going under and that would be the only thing that would actually get to him. I'm not losing sleep over it or anything, but it's always in the back of your mind. I think I'm ok with everything because what he's getting is VERSED, It's just an amnesiac, but it has sedative properties, so that's a good thing. At least he won't be COMPLETELY under. That would make me more nervous. Versed is an awesome drug for sure. What they plan to do is give him the medicine while I'm in the recovery room with him, he'll fall asleep, they will wheel him out, do the procedure, and be back before it wears off where he'll wake up and be in my arms. How neato is that?

Oh, and I also neglected to say that after they cut him and scope him, he will receive three stiches so that the area around the urethral opening will close up. The picture on that site makes it look weird, but it won't stay that way. Sorry about that, if you were wondering. LOL.

I'll begin to talk to him about his surgery in the next couple of days. I have little pamphlets that he can color and we'll talk about it that way. That way, he won't be too scared about it, if at all. If we can just get over the IV stick, we'll be good. He's afraid of needles after his really bad sickness at 18 months.

He's become quite the helper with Zoe as of late. He's getting used to having her around, playing with her (and it helps that she's into it, rather than not), and at times, burping her. LOL. He's been a great brother. Only took six and a half months. LOL.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: About to take a bath

Today we got to meet Dr. Schropp, a pediatric surgeon at KU Med Center.

I knew of Dr Schropp when I worked at OPR. Anyway, Caleb got to meet his surgeon. He's a really nice man and really took Caleb under his wing. He joked with him and me. He examined Caleb and found that his stenosis will a little worse than we had thought. All that time that I went through to try to open him up, wasn't helping after all. His adhesion is so tight that it wasn't going to budge, and surgery is the way to go.

His urethral opening is so small (the size of a pin head) that the doctor was worried about backflow, so not only are they going to do a meatotomy (caution picture of actual penis). I'm not exactly sure if what they are saying here is what is going on, becuaseDr. Schropp explained it to me a little differently. But this gives you an idea as to what MIGHT happen. Anyway, after they do the meatotomy, they will be doing a cystoscopy. This will determine if there has been any damage or irritation to the urethral cavity and bladder. He was afraid that even though he was peeing, he wasn't really getting it all our, therefore always going to the bathroom. I don't really know about that part of it, because when he does go, he does seem to go alot, but there are times where he's gone and then will go again about an hour later. So, we'll see how it all goes.

Surgery will take about 15-30 minutes tops, so it isn't long. They will monitor him the rest of the time though, so we'll be at the hospital for the majority of the morning.

Anyway, looks like it's going to be a simple procedure and all should be good.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Watching TV

So.....today was his day to meet with his pediatrician about his "problem". Turns out, it's urethral stenosis. Nothing harmful, nothing catastrophic, but it definitely needs to be repaired. Just got off the phone with a pediatric specialist/surgeon. Consultaiton is next Tuesday and hoping <fingers crossed, fingers crossed> that his surgery will be that Thursday. I'd rather get it done sooner rather than later only because why put it off?

Unfortunatly, this occurs in circumsized males as children. It's a rare occurance though and of course, he's a part of me, which means, the weird stuff is happening to him too. LOL

He's in good spirits and he has no issues other than a stream issue. We'll see how he is after surgery. LOL

Good news to report though: No more Mr. Attitude. LOL He's pretty much left the house as of late. Every once and awhile he'll get a chip on his shoulder, but it's laid to rest rather quickly.

We figured out how to keep him disciplined in preschool, so that's going TONS better. It's called - teach your stuffed animal preschool right along with you. It's cute because he plays the voice of his animal at the time, and for the most part, does fairly well. I quiz both him and the animal and it's going so much better - and most importantly, he's enjoying it.

So, there you have a recent update on Caleb. I've been slacking as of late for sure. I've just been exhausted and haven't felt like doing anything as of late. Will try to do better for sure.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Out with Grammy

And he's showing it almost everyday. He's talking back, not doing what we ask right away, then throws some major fits.

I know it's just age-related, but with having a kid that was so good for the first two years of his life, this is really kind of surprising. I really thought we would get over the terrible twos and three's without much problems. Boy, not so. He's a totally different kid when he does this. Night and day. Jekyl and Hyde. Wow.

However, we're stopping it now and we're really getting on him. It's the only way he's going to learn. I hate doing it and I have tears welling up in my eyes because he's cries are so pitiful especially when he keeps saying he's sorry, but it's the only way he's going to learn. I told Jordan the other night when we got on him for talking back, that it tears my heart out having to do this, but he doesn't think it's going to last long as long as we're consistent and keep doing what we are doing.

He still is a good kid, but it's when he decides to test us to see how far we'll go makes it hard. He's not like this 24/ 7 for sure, THANK GOD, but it's hard on us when he does start on it. Neither one of us like to get angry with him and be stern, but it's got to be done for sure.

We do make it a point though that after we get on him and he has his tantrum, we go up there, give him kisses and hugs and talk to him about what he's done and why we had to do it. We do make sure to tell him that we still love him and always will. He calms down and starts to perk up, but we hold strong and don't give in for sure. The tantrums don't last as long as they have, so we know what we're doing is working.

He's gotten to be pretty clingy to me again though like he was when I got pregnant with Zoe. NO I'M NOT PREGNANT, AND NO CHANGE WITHIN THE HOUSE that we know of. LOL.

He's gotten this stage where he won't talk to anyone but me, he won't answer anyone else but me. So, we're having to get on him for that too and tell him that it's not polite to not answer someone when they talk to him. I hate to force him, but it's true. It's not polite. After awhile he opens up and is like the same old Caleb, but it's a chore to get him to answer. I think a lot of it is because the weather is cold, we can't get him out to interact with anyone, and it's getting hard on him. The past few days, he and Grandpa have been going to playplace at McDonald's and he's really turned around after those few days. He's happier about getting out and being active, and that's a good thing. Now that we're having some "warmer" days, it's easier to get out now. I like the snow for sure, but after seeing the change in Caleb after his several hours at McDonalds, he needs to be active and for that, I'm looking forward to the warmer weather to get him out of the house.

If we can just get over this hump with his testing and his attitude, we're going to be ok. In the meantime, it's a stressful house no matter how you look at it. LOL

Caleb's Photo(s) of the Day:

Playing Ballet:

My Big Boy of Mine:

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Watching TV  before preschool

Caleb is literally a smart kid. There is no other way to say it.

The other night, it was my night to read to him. We take turns. Mon-Wed is my night to read. Thurs-Sat is Jordan's night to read. And Sunday, we share the night. Pretty nice set-up I think. It used to be every other night, but with Jordan having to stay late later in the summer into the fall, it just worked out better to do that since he was gone pretty much every Wednesday.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

So, his TX grandparents are getting him Dr. Seuss books from a bookclub. There is one book in particular that has raised the issue. Hop On Pop.

When I was in there either Monday or Tuesday, he had the book out. He really likes it. Anyway, I was reading a book and he was looking at the Hop on Pop book. Then all of a sudden, he just starts talking. He goes through the book really quickly, then stops and turns the page to the beginning.

The next thing I know, he's literally reading the book VERBATUM! I stopped reading, and just listened to him. He read the whole book except for like the last five pages. I was seriously in shock. Now, granted the book is pretty much like: Mouse on the House and House on the Mouse with pictures to show what is going on, but he literally read it.

After my time with Caleb was over, I was curious how often Jordan read the book to him as we just got it a few days before. I asked the question in such a way where he couldn't guess. He told me it was no more than twice. TWICE! Caleb really has a photographic memory OR he is just able to process things very quickly.

I was simply amazed. I was in shock. Funny thing is, he's actually done this before, but we just thought it was a fluke. I got a book from the pediatricians office (thy are HUGE on reading to your kids). The next morning, he brought the book into our room and I read the book to him quickly. It was only like 10 pages long. After i was done reading it just the one time, he started from the beginning and literally read it verbatum.

Does he actually know what the words mean? Probably not. Does he know what the words are? Probably not. I've been told what he's doing is picture reading, and that is excellent at this stage, and is a sign of intellegence.

I'm scared of it actually because he's just a smart kid in general anyway. He's always been fast at picking things up. In my heart of hearts I wonder if this is going to go against him because you know how kids are. They make fun of the smart kid and the smart kid really doesn't have any friends until like high school and I worry that might happen to him. He's a personable little guy and he talks to just about anyone and always has a smile on his face. I just hope that kind of works in his favor.

I'm also scared because I have no idea how to really nurture this other than just to keep what we are doing. He LOVES books. he LOVES to learn (except for his numbers - LOL), so we are definitely doing all that we can on that front.

I'm so proud of him, and love him so much. Even as I write this I have a smile on my face. He really is the love of my life - other than my husband of course. LOL.

So, any ideas on how to nurture this would be helpful - those who subscribe to this blog or lurk, I'd be interested in hearing what you have to offer.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Being read to and going night night.