Grandma Jean and I loaded up the car and headed to Kansas City last week. Trenton had an appointment at the treatment center at Children's Mercy to discuss his circumcision. We started the appointment getting weighed and measured. He was laughing so loud at the bald nurse who took his blood pressure. I was thinking that this appointment wouldn't be bad after all. One of the nurses informed me right away that it might be difficult to find a vein in Trenton's chunky arms! Sure enough, when the nurses came in to draw blood they couldn't find anything. I had planned on staying in the room with him. I think I'm a pretty tough gal and I thought Trenton might be more calm if I was there. The nurses informed me that they would have to stick him in his head! I think I almost passed out at the thought. I grabbed Grandma Jean and we headed to the hall. They had to put a rubber band around his head to make the vein pop up. . . and then we heard the screaming. I felt like they were in the room with Trenton forever, but I know it was less than 15 minutes. For the first 5 minutes I was tough and strong, but then I couldn't take it any more and had to walk down a different hallway. Trenton has a good set of lungs, so I had to walk very far to not be able to hear him. After it was over Trenton ate and went to sleep. I was thinking if I can't handle them drawing blood, could I handle surgery? We talked to the doctor for a long time about the pros and cons. Here is the list I came up with. The cons: 1. It is a cosmetic procedure. There is no real medical benefit in having it done. 2. The day of surgery will be the day from hell! Trenton can't eat until after the surgery. So, my 20 lb. child who likes to eat all the time will go 6-12 hours with only some watered down juice. 3. Read the part again about getting blood drawn! The pros: 1. It's only going to happen once. 2. He will look like all of his friends. My 8 year old cousin has already been asking questions to his grandfather. A kid at school asked him in the bathroom why he "looked different".
After much discussion with my husband, we have decided to have him circumcised. I know some people will not agree with our decision, but there are many people who do. We have to do what we think will be best for our son. I'll keep you updated on the process!
