Le Circ

Before we could leave the hospital today, there was one more little procedure -- the circumcision. (Coop, if you read this in the future, the word "little" was not intended as an insult.) We had wanted to watch the procedure, but Dr. Sharp encouraged us not to. I think Kelli and I both relented only to make Dr. Sharp feel better; we both still wish we had stayed. Either way, we did see Cooper before the slice and dice. He was on a warmer, but strapped down into a contraption called the... Wait for it... Circumstraint.

The Circumstraint (actually, Olympic Circumstraint) is basically a giant plastic cutlery tray, except instead of indentions shaped like spoons, it features an indention shaped like a baby. There are slits where the wrists and ankles lie for strapping the baby down. I suggested that the NICU could really cut down on square footage by using the circumstraints to stack the babies in pull-out drawers. They could probably stack them six or eight high. The nurse didn't care for it, but I know somewhere in Tokyo, this idea is getting serious consideration.

Typically, the babies get really upset during the strapping down process or because they are restrained. Not our little somnambulist. They also cry when they receive their shot of anesthetic, during the placement of the "bell" (as I understand it, this is like the bowl in a bowl haircut) and during the circumcision itself. Cooper cried when they put alcohol on the site. That was it. They permanently unsheathed his manhood and he only got upset about the cooling sensation. This is what Rambo must have been like as a baby.

We had to wait for his bleeding to stop before we could leave. When we got the green light, we intended to videotape Savannah's reaction upon seeing her brother for the first time in a week. The nurse seemed bothered by the fact that I would be videotaping rather than running ahead to get the car. Kelli won that stare-down. Not to be selfish, but we figured preserving that moment was far more valuable than the additional 60 seconds the nurse would have to wait with Kelli at the front door.

I don't think Savvi could believe what was happening at first, but she was very happy. I then had to run off and bring the car around, so I don't know what happened on their way out, which should please Nurse Ratchet. Savannah said the most precious thing on our way home, but I can't remember it because I'm exhausted. Maybe later. 'Night all.