The most awkward post a mom can write about her son...

Monday Jackson had his 4th surgery/procedure of his short life and hopefully his last for a VERY long time!

happy at 6 am

Jackson had his hypospadia repair and circumcision. So awkward to talk about or even tell people about or even go to the doctor for.  Every appointment, a penis is drawn on the paper on the exam tables.  So weird. Also, this is your little boy who you want the absolute best for, including a normal sex life when the time comes (don't want to think about it).

Hypospadia: is a male birth defect in which the opening of the tube that carries urine from the body (urethra) develops abnormally, usually on the underside of the penis. The opening can occur anywhere from just below the end of the penis to the scrotum.

First degree hypospadias are primarily a cosmetic defect and have little effect on function except for direction of the urinary stream (he would probably have to sit down to pee, which for a little boy might be a huge social problem). If uncorrected, a second or third degree hypospadias can make urination messy, necessitate that it be performed sitting, impair delivery of semen into the vagina (possibly creating problems with fertility), or interfere with erections. In developed countries, most hypospadias are surgically repaired in infancy. Surgical repair of first and second degree hypospadias is nearly always successful in one procedure, usually performed in the first year of life by a pediatric urologist or a plastic surgeon. Hypospadias are among the most common birth defects of the male genitalia, but widely varying incidences have been reported from different countries, from as low as 1 in 4000 to as high as 1 in 125 boys.

Thankfully Jackson's was 1st degree, meaning his "pee hole" was just below where it should be, meaning he had 2 "pee holes" and the pee was coming out of the first one, not the second that it should be. For the surgery, they snipped the connective tissue between the two and made a new urethra so the pee would go out the one it should and closed the first one.

Along with this surgery they did a circumcision.  The reason why they wait to do it until the hypospadias surgery is because they use the tissue on the underside of the foreskin to close the opening.  This is the best tissue to use because it is just like the tissue of the penis (obviously) so it will act and grow the same.

Thankfully everything went great and he did so well with the anesthesia and surgery.  Let me tell you, nothing warms your heart more than walking back, seeing your baby waking up and the nurse trying to comfort him, he sees you, reaches out for you, and holds tight to you as he cuddles in on your chest... love.

We had to learn how to change a diaper all over again.  He had to wear 2 diapers.  One to catch the poop, and the other the catheter drained into.  His boy parts were also covered with gauze and Tegaderm.  Not a big deal until the day after.

Dad was changing his diaper right before dinner. First, we notice the outside of his diaper had red all over it.  It looked like blood but from the inside you couldn't seen anything.  So he was peeing red tinted urine.  We figured it was normal but thought we would call the on-call doctor anyway.  As I was doing that, Jackson PULLS HIS CATHETER OUT! Kinda scary, considering there was a stitch holding it in and now he can pee all over his newly formed man parts.

The lady finally gets on the line and pages the doctor.  We decide we better go to the emergency room while we wait for the doctor to call back.  We were freaking out while Jackson seemed to be doing okay. The doctor finally called back and said to not go to the ER, they won't put it back in and it happens all the time.  Also, the red tinted urine is expected and not a big deal.  After talking with her and getting our questions answered we felt a little better.  She told us to go ahead and take off the dressing since it was completely covering up his boy parts so he could pee into his diaper normally.

NOT AS EASY AS WE THOUGHT

If you don't know what Tegaderm is, let me explain.  It is a waterproof dressing or bandage... very sticky.  And it is surrounding his peeper and on his scrotum. AND they are telling us to to take it off of him.  Worst night ever!  I sung to Jackson, played with him as much as I could while dad took it off. That sucked.  Then we FINALLY get it off and say, OH NO.  Yup, that's right.  Tegaderm ON his peeper, wrapped all the way around it with a tiny opening were the catheter went through.  We both looked at each other and were like, I'm NOT taking that off!  So we decided to leave it and have dinner and see how he did with it. He seemed fine and then he started to pee.  How could I tell? He was SCREAMING! Gasping for breath because it hurt so bad.  We decided we had to open it some how.

So the night that was AWFUL turned WORSE.

I had to hold Jackson down, one arm on his upper body, one arm on his legs, pushing as hard as I could so he wouldn't move and without looking.  Meanwhile, dad used scissors and tweezers to grab the extra Tegaderm on the end and try and cut an opening so the pee could get out.  We felt like the worst parents ever.  As soon as it was over, I picked him up and held him, with no regard if he peed on me or not.  I felt like a horrible mother.

Luckily, this worked and he hasn't really been in pain since and the Tegaderm has fallen off on its own.

What a little trooper.  I think he remembers, cause every time I change his diaper now he kicks his legs and pushes my hands away with his hands.... please forget soon little one!

Happy Easter!