Answer: What is... are you kidding?
Did you know that roughly 10-25% of children are born with an umbilical hernia? What is an umbilical hernia, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Especially since I know way more about them than any person other than a doctor probably needs to.
Basically, an umbilical hernia occurs when there is a weak spot in the belly that never closed after birth and intestines, fluid, or fat pushes through it. Usually, when a baby is born, the umbilical cord is cut and the hole through which everything flowed into the baby via the umbilical cord while they were in utero closes up. Then you get those cute little belly buttons that most babies have. Sometimes though, that doesn't happen and the hole remains allowing whatever is inside to push through. In most children that isn't really a big deal. Actually, in most children umbilical hernias repair themselves by the time the child is about a year old. Those that do not typically repair themselves by the time the child is around 5. If the child makes it to that point and it isn't fixed, surgery might be considered. Then sometimes... you get a baby like Kenzie.
Anyone that has known us for more than about 2 years is likely aware of Kenzie's hernia. It wasn't fun. If I remember correctly it was slightly evident that it existed at about a month and the pediatrician said to just keep an eye on it. No big deal. Then at her 2 month appointment, it looked like this. The pediatrician took one look at it and immediately referred us to a pediatric surgeon. Kenzie's was the largest she had ever seen in her years practicing.... and she isn't super young.
We went to the surgeon just after Kenzie turned 2 months old. His assessment of it told us that the hole through which her intenstines were being pushed was fairly small, especially compared to how much was being pushed through. Based on this, rather than waiting for it to close on its own, he thought the best course of action was to surgically repair it. The reason that we chose to repair it was because Kenzie's risk of the intestines strangulating was fairly high. We learned that anesthesia affects a person the same way after 3 months of age as it likely will their entire life. No one in either of our families has a history of difficulty going under anesthesia so at just over 4 months we sat in a hospital waiting room while our baby girl went under the knife to have her hernia repaired.
Let me make this point. The surgery is very basic. Very simple. Very quick. What isn't so basic is being a parent signing paperwork that tells you all the bad things that can happen when you put a child under anesthesia. That isn't simple. You can imagine what the form must say. I blocked a lot of that out... but I think I might have even made Steven sign it because I was upset. Kenzie came through her surgery with flying colors. Watching her come out of anesthesia was heartbreaking. She had no idea where she was. They wouldn't let her go until she had nursed. Trying to keep her calm (and me calm) while getting her to eat was not fun.
I will never forget what it felt like sitting there in recovery. Waiting. Having my baby girl in a hospital gown that has no excuse for existing in that small of a size, hooked up to monitors and IVs just hoping she would eat so we could leave that dreadful place.
In the long run, she did phenomenal. Babies heal so quickly. She was off all her pain meds before the week was up and she had not complications related to the surgery.
Fast forward to 2 years later. Will is now 6 weeks old and about a week and a half ago we noticed this...
Now, you may think this is nothing. Yes, It looks minimal. Maybe you don't even see anything wrong. We do though. It is heartbreaking because at his 1 month appointment the pediatrician (who still remembers Kenzie's hernia and mentions it all the time) said everything looked good. "Normal" was the word she used. Less than a week later though... it became apparent that Will also has an umbilical hernia. Granted, his is much smaller. Both kiddos are actually the same age in the above pictures so you can easily see the difference.
Now, we wait. And hope. And pray. Kenzie was truly a one in a million (my numbers there aren't scientific... I don't actually know how often they get to her size, but I do know it is extremely rare) and we hope that Will will be more typical. Hopefully his doesn't continue to grow and it closes on its own. It isn't fun though to realize that both of your children have to deal with this though. I know so many people with children and only a handful have had this issue. Yet... both of our do. We will continue to watch it and monitor the situation though.
Oh! And you may be asking... how it Kenzie's belly button now? Adorable as anything.
On the plus side... if she ever asks for a belly button ring we have plans to tell her she can't have one because of the surgery. The pediatrician has even offered to write a doctor's note stating the same. =)
Did you know that roughly 10-25% of children are born with an umbilical hernia? What is an umbilical hernia, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Especially since I know way more about them than any person other than a doctor probably needs to.
Basically, an umbilical hernia occurs when there is a weak spot in the belly that never closed after birth and intestines, fluid, or fat pushes through it. Usually, when a baby is born, the umbilical cord is cut and the hole through which everything flowed into the baby via the umbilical cord while they were in utero closes up. Then you get those cute little belly buttons that most babies have. Sometimes though, that doesn't happen and the hole remains allowing whatever is inside to push through. In most children that isn't really a big deal. Actually, in most children umbilical hernias repair themselves by the time the child is about a year old. Those that do not typically repair themselves by the time the child is around 5. If the child makes it to that point and it isn't fixed, surgery might be considered. Then sometimes... you get a baby like Kenzie.
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| Kenzie at 6 weeks old |
We went to the surgeon just after Kenzie turned 2 months old. His assessment of it told us that the hole through which her intenstines were being pushed was fairly small, especially compared to how much was being pushed through. Based on this, rather than waiting for it to close on its own, he thought the best course of action was to surgically repair it. The reason that we chose to repair it was because Kenzie's risk of the intestines strangulating was fairly high. We learned that anesthesia affects a person the same way after 3 months of age as it likely will their entire life. No one in either of our families has a history of difficulty going under anesthesia so at just over 4 months we sat in a hospital waiting room while our baby girl went under the knife to have her hernia repaired.
Let me make this point. The surgery is very basic. Very simple. Very quick. What isn't so basic is being a parent signing paperwork that tells you all the bad things that can happen when you put a child under anesthesia. That isn't simple. You can imagine what the form must say. I blocked a lot of that out... but I think I might have even made Steven sign it because I was upset. Kenzie came through her surgery with flying colors. Watching her come out of anesthesia was heartbreaking. She had no idea where she was. They wouldn't let her go until she had nursed. Trying to keep her calm (and me calm) while getting her to eat was not fun.
I will never forget what it felt like sitting there in recovery. Waiting. Having my baby girl in a hospital gown that has no excuse for existing in that small of a size, hooked up to monitors and IVs just hoping she would eat so we could leave that dreadful place.
In the long run, she did phenomenal. Babies heal so quickly. She was off all her pain meds before the week was up and she had not complications related to the surgery.
Fast forward to 2 years later. Will is now 6 weeks old and about a week and a half ago we noticed this...
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| Will at 6 weeks old |
Now, we wait. And hope. And pray. Kenzie was truly a one in a million (my numbers there aren't scientific... I don't actually know how often they get to her size, but I do know it is extremely rare) and we hope that Will will be more typical. Hopefully his doesn't continue to grow and it closes on its own. It isn't fun though to realize that both of your children have to deal with this though. I know so many people with children and only a handful have had this issue. Yet... both of our do. We will continue to watch it and monitor the situation though.
Oh! And you may be asking... how it Kenzie's belly button now? Adorable as anything.
On the plus side... if she ever asks for a belly button ring we have plans to tell her she can't have one because of the surgery. The pediatrician has even offered to write a doctor's note stating the same. =)
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