Alright, alright!

So, we've been a little busy lately! And of course I can't remember everything that's happened since the last time I blogged. I guess I need to update more often!

Last Thursday Austin had surgery to have his third set of tubes placed in his ears. A few weeks back he had a hearing test done at his ENT. He had some mild hearing loss in his right ear and his ear drum was falling back into his ear. (Probably not the best way to describe it, but that's all I can come up with at the moment) His ENT wanted to place the tubes again so his ear drum could get some air behind it and to improve his hearing. Of course he did great and was back to bouncing on the bed by mid afternoon.

For the days he was at school during the month of April, he received all blue smiley faces! Blue smiley faces mean excellent behavior! Woo hooo! Way to go Austin!



So, what's new with Abigail? Where do I start with the little bossy bugger? She's now talking in full sentences and I can tell it won't be long before she talks all the time. She still loves shoes!



Abigail happens to be home today because of a possible ear infection. She's headed to the doctor later this morning to be looked at.

Now on to my third child, the dog! Lexi is growing at the speed of lightning. I just took her to the vet yesterday for her booster shots. She weighed in at 30.2 lbs. She officially weighs more than Abigail and has about 5 more pounds before she catches up to Austin!

We're getting ready for our big trip to Michigan before Michael leaves. I'm sure all the grandparents are just as excited as we are about seeing everyone.

It went great!

(A goofy picture from this morning)

Everything with Austin's surgery went great. The total procedure took about 20 minutes and he was back to normal after a couple hours. I can barely tell he had surgery this morning by the way he's been bouncing off the walls this evening. Michael said he was already talking the nurse's ear off on the way back from the operating room. Dr. R placed tubes in both ears and said Austin had a lot of fluid built up behind his left ear. There was some fluid behind the right, but not as much as the left. I wonder how long this set of tubes will last?

It's surgery day... again.

Austin and Daddy are already at the hospital for Austin's surgery. They should be placing tubes in both ears again. I'll let everyone know the outcome later. Say some prayers for my baby boy. I'm feeling a little guilty for not being there, but Michael has assured me that he can handle it.

Issues with ears

Austin had another episode with his ears this past week. My parents called us last Thursday and said Austin was complaining that his ear hurt. He was telling them that it really hurt and they were having a hard time understanding what he was trying to say. Michael rushed home from work and took him to the ER because we couldn't get him into his regular doctor or his ENT. They waited a couple hours and I joined them after work. When he finally saw the doctor, the doctor stated that his left ear was infected and it looked as if his ear drum was about to rupture. They gave us some antibiotics and sent us home. Austin came home, crashed because he was so exhausted and never complained about his ear hurting again.

Today, Michael took him to his ENT for his regular post-op appointment from his tube removal surgery in October. Dr. R decided that Austin should have tubes placed back in his ear(s). His surgery is going to be next Thursday. As of right now, the plan is to only place a tube in his left ear. Dr. R will determine if he is going to place a tube in the right ear on the day of the surgery. At this point I would like him to place tubes in both ears to save us the hassle of having to return in a month or two for the other ear. I get nervous when he goes under anesthesia and would like to avoid having him go under twice instead of only once.

Abigail also made a visit to the doctor on Monday because she had been tugging at her ears. After a lengthy wait, it was discovered that she did not have an ear infection, only wax that was causing her discomfort. I was instructed to put a couple drops of baby oil in her ears two or three times a week to loosen up the wax.

Hair

I am so excited!!!! Abigail's hair is long enough for me to put a bow in it! It has grown so much in the last month. I can't wait until she can wear piggy tails.


This is not the greatest picture of her hair because it's a little blurry, but look at that smile!

Austin's hair is in desperate need of a hair cut. We'll have to wait until his stitches dissolve and his incision heals. He went to Dr. R for his follow up appointment this afternoon. Both of his ears looked good. His right ear required a little dose of medication, but is healing well. He has to see Dr. R again in 6 weeks.

Austin's surgery

Before surgery

Austin's surgery to remove his tubes and reconstruct the hole left by the tubes went well this morning. He headed back to the operating room with the anesthesiologist this morning at 7:10 am and Dr. R came to talk to me at 8:10 am to let me know the procedure was over and things went well. Austin's anesthesiologist turned out to be the same doctor who did my epidural when I delivered Abigail.

Still sleepy from the anesthesia

Taking a cat nap

Austin was so brave today, I'm so proud of him. He didn't shed a tear when they took him back to the operating room or when he was brought back to me. He's been really sleepy from the anesthesia and has a little bit of an upset stomach. He's gotten sick a couple of times but is now eating some Cheerios. I'm hoping once he gets something solid in his stomach he might feel less nauseous.

Dressed and ready to go home

Still sleepy but he's got his Spiderman sticker on!



In the stroller and ready to head home

Details regarding the procedure:


Dr. R stated the left tube was no longer in place but was still in his ear. The tube was still in his ear because of some dry bloody discharge. He had to remove the right tube because it was still in place and attached. They used a piece of skin from behind his right ear to use in both ears to close the holes left by the tube. From the picture below you can see that he has a band aid over the skin graph and a big plastic bandage over his ears. Dr. R would like the bandages to stay in place until his follow up appointment, next Wednesday. It should be interesting to see how long they last. If the big bandages come off they instructed us to keep a band aid over the skin graph site.

Surgery Day

Austin has to report to the hospital at 6:45 this morning for his surgery. We've been told the procedure will only take 10-15 minutes and should expect to be at the hospital between 2-4 hours. I'm so glad his procedure is this morning. He can't have anything to eat or drink until he wakes up from anesthesia. He usually heads right for the refrigerator for a drink as soon as he wakes up. I'll let you know how he did when we get home.

Time to say good bye to the tubes

Austin visited his ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist) on Monday for a tube check. Dr. R has decided that his tubes may now be causing more of a problem than they are doing good. Austin is going to have surgery next Thursday (October 4th) so Dr. R can remove the tubes and repair the hole in each ear caused by the removal of the tube. He will be placed under general anesthesia for the 10-15 minute procedure and will get to go home afterwards. It should provide us with a low key day as he will be pretty sleepy after the procedure. What a great 25 months we've had with the tubes in his ears. Let's hope we don't have any further issues once the tubes have been removed.

Austin also has an appointment this Thursday to have his allergies/asthma re-evaluated. I'm not sure if they will be able to diagnose anything at his regular doctor, or if they will refer him to an allergist. He has never officially been diagnosed with asthma, but his doctor asked us how it was when he had his three year physical. I'm also hoping he has grown out of his milk allergy. He doesn't seem to be effected by milk products like he used to. I have a feeling that we may have a hard time getting him to drink milk or eat cheese if he isn't allergic anymore. He knows that he is not supposed to have these things and will tell you if he is offered either milk or cheese.

4 Months

Abigail is 4 months old today. When she went to the doctor yesterday and she weighed 13 pounds even. She's really grown taller, she's now 24 3/4 inches long. She once again got four immunizations which put her in a pretty crabby mood for the day. I ended up having to go get her from school because she wouldn't drink a bottle and kept crying. She just wanted her Mommy. I got there, she nursed like a champ and then we came home. She got the go ahead to start cereal so we're going to try that this week.

Austin also went to his ENT yesterday for his ear tube check up. His tubes are still in so Dr. R isn't going to do anything with them until Austin starts to have problems with them. He goes back in 3 months for his next tube check.