Surgery #2

Morning distraction walk

Well, we made it to our scheduled surgery date without another trip to the ER. Definitely a good sign! This surgery is an outpatient surgery and his recovery time should be just a day or two. He gets to come home only a few hours after surgery!

His surgery was scheduled for 11:20, so the morning challenge was just keeping him happy without feeding him. The break in our usual routine helped to distract him, but he was getting a little more irritated with us as the morning went on. Honestly, he did so well. We were able to be with him all the way up to the point when the anesthesiologist put the mask on to put him to sleep. Ugh...that was a little bit difficult because the mask scared him a little. I know it isn't painful, but all of our anxiety is heightened already. It makes it harder to see him get so upset.

Nick and I spent the surgery time eating lunch in the cafeteria. The wait seemed to take forever. We were given a time frame for this type of surgery without any complications, and that number might as well have been chiseled in stone. Any longer and our imaginations were going to run wild. Of course, that's exactly what happened. We paced, we sat in silence, we argued a little, and then paced some more. We moved to different waiting rooms. I know I started down the "what if?" path a few times during our wait.

When we finally saw the surgeon, he said Owen did great and would heal just fine. He confirmed that the hole was pretty big, which oddly made us feel better as well. Since this surgery was an elective surgery, we definitely had doubts on whether we made the right choice. (And oh, God, what if there's nothing wrong at all and we exaggerated the whole thing!)

When we finally had clearance to go see him, he was not excited about being in recovery at all. We had to wait a while for the anesthesia to wear off, but we were able to feed him right away.

Hat buddies

We've been home a couple days and he's completely bounced back to his normal happy self. It was lovely to have gone through an "easy" surgery after the first one, but I'll be happy to go a little while without seeing any more doctors.

Since he's been home, we went on a fun hike and beach day with our friends Jes and Bob and their family. It was a beautiful day!

The lineup on the uphill climb

Beach time!

The water is cold!

Best. Day. Ever.

Owen: Nine Months

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Official stats: 20 lbs., 15 oz. (somewhere in the 75th percentile)

29.75" tall (somewhere in the 98th percentile)

Head still HUGE (47 cm) (somewhere in the 95th percentile)

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We spent the weekend at a small festival called the Solano Stroll. It's a street festival that highlights area restaurants, music and arts. We used to live in the neighborhood so I love going back to see what's new on that street. It also brings out the best in Bezerk-eley. My favorite? The mirror-ball rainbow man in 90-degree heat. This guy earned his tips.

Owen says, "Is this guy for real?"

New hat!

We're still doing well as we get closer to surgery #2. I'm really anxious for the surgery to be over, but I really don't want to go back to the hospital. Nick and I both agree that it's the right move, but it doesn't stop us from questioning the decision constantly. We're watching Owen extra closely to make sure he doesn't get too upset, and we're trying to keep him from too much tummy time. Who knows what can help or hurt him? We're just hoping to do whatever we can to avoid another incarcerated hernia. One more week...

Labor Day Weekend

It's a 3-day weekend and we're going to make the most of it. No crying! Only fun!

I've always wanted to go to the Berkeley Botanical Gardens and somehow we just haven't ever made it happen. It was a beautiful day and it just felt like a good day to go see some plants. And trees. Why not?

Without knowing quite what to expect, we originally brought the stroller. After discovering that the gardens were a little more exciting when we had more freedom to hike around, we ditched the stroller and decided to go with the Bjorn. He still loves being carried with me. We'd hop down steps, touch different plants and leaves and flowers--so much to see! He absolutely LOVED it. On paper, you wouldn't think that a botanical garden would be very exciting for a 9-month-old, but we had a blast. Nick could hop down steps ahead of us, and we could hop down steps to catch up. Owen would squeal with laughter, and it echoed through the Berkeley hills.

The next day, we decided to check out the Oakland Zoo. I absolutely adore the zoo. I've been looking forward to a zoo trip with Owen since the day I found out I was pregnant. This time, we took the stroller and headed out into the madness of Labor Day weekend zoo trip.

I suspect the reason I wasn't a fan of the zoo on Labor Day weekend was the same reason Owen thought it was the best weekend ever to be at the zoo. So many kids! It was a zoo within the zoo. Who cares about the amazing animals? The kids were far more entertaining. So, despite my efforts to point out the awesome giraffe or beautiful elephant, Owen wanted to check out the girl with the pink polka dot dress. Much to his delight, the little girls found him equally irresistible. "Look at the baby. He's so cuuuute!"

Watching all the kids

Photo bomber blocking the smiley croc.

Petting the goats!

This one is more Owen-sized.

Giraffes!

Mama's favorite: the elephants.