11 Months & Ear Tubes

11 Months today! I can't believe our little baby is almost one. It feels like the NICU was so long ago and yet his first year has flown by like no other. When you celebrate 11 months by getting tubes and 4 teeth, this is as good as it gets.

Everything went fine this morning as we expected it would. The no eating or drinking before surgery had me more nervous than anything. We tried to keep him calm and snuggly in our bed until it was time to leave. We stayed out of the kitchen and avoided his normal routine of eating breakfast in his high chair. It wasn't intentional, but it worked. We had to leave at 6:45am, so we didn't have to entertain him for long. We took turns getting ready so someone held him at all times.

We had to be there at 7:15am. I know these things take longer than expected, but everyone just kept saying how fast it would go. I underestimated all the pre-op and waiting time. For some reason, I thought they would spare babies the prolonged wait. Not so much.

He did great the entire time though. He was content to play on the bed or be held by one of us. We also listened to the Mickey Mouse Hot Dog song on repeat for quite a while. 

Is this not the cutest little hospital gown you've ever seen?

I thought he was going to put himself to sleep after he had the liquid meds that the nurse said would either make him sleepy or hyper. It was hard to tell how it affected him b/c every time he was about to fall asleep he started jumping around to keep himself awake.

The nurses all loved him, especially the ladies that brought him back after surgery. They said he was the sweetest and was so good for them.

Darrin fed him as soon as they brought him back to us. He had a bottle and a cereal bar.

I think he was still a little groggy, but he never whimpered or cried at all. Before long, he was back to himself and ready to go. The only time he cried all morning was when I put him in his car seat to go home.

The doctor said that he didn't have infection, but he had a thick fluid on both ears. He said that he should start to hear better immediately. 

I'm so glad that is behind us. I can't wait to see how he acts and feels in the days to come. About a hundred people have told me how much better their child felt and what a difference it made. He's a really good baby, but my gut tells me that he hasn't felt great in the last couple months. It feels so good as a parent to know that we probably did a really good thing for him today.