emre's big day

emre was circumcised on saturday!  we're still pretty sure the process was mentally tougher on ben & i than on emre, but we're also really proud of our little guy for getting through it so well.

the day started early, we were at the hospital by 8am to get him checked in.

he decided it was too early to wake up

we were shown to our room which turned out to be on the maternity ward...!  it was a bit odd being back there, but certainly brought back some painful good memories.

memmmories... like the corner of my mind...

our doctor came in and put some numbing cream on emre.  then we waited for about 30 minutes for the cream to do its work before the nurse came to take him away.

blissfully unaware of what's about to happen

when the nurse finally came, she took emre from my arms and, before leaving the room, asked us for his last name again.  that would be when i really started to panic!  ben and i both replied 'BALKAYA,' and proceeded to follow her down the hall, into the elevator, and right up to the doors of the children's surgical unit, where we could go no further.  it was an emotional moment watching him go through those doors, to say the least.  

30 minutes later i was pacing the floor in front of the elevator when the doors opened, and there was his doctor, holding him in her arms.  she laughed when she saw me, and i of course cried!  thankfully everything went great and little e was sleeping peacefully in her arms.  she handed him to me and we headed back to the room. 

such a trooper

mommy & dede with emre, thrilled to have him back

we had to wait in the hospital for about two hours before they gave us some instructions on his care and released him.  we then headed home where we spent a relatively uneventful day watching him sleep (the meds they gave him made him drowsy), and then an exhausting evening trying to keep him happy when he started to experience a bit of pain/discomfort.  luckily, this morning he was back to his old self, seemingly over it.

ben's dad, being the proud grandpa he is, went out and bought emre the traditional outfit that boys wear here in turkey after their circumcision.  traditionally, circumcisions take place much later here (6-12 years of age), and are celebrated with a parade about town, with the boy riding in a car followed by family and friends.  

masallah!

no joke, this is what they wear.  unfortunately even the smallest size is way too big for emre, but his daddy didn't mind modeling on his behalf.

king ben

getting our thrills on a sunday morning

we're incredibly relieved to have this experience behind us... 

...but i think it's emre who is happiest of all.