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.

Raising the bars

After discovering Abigail attempting to stand up in her crib, we lowered her mattress the other day. I'm sure it won't be long before she does pull herself to standing, so to ensure she doesn't fall out of her bed when she does, we thought it was a good idea to lower her mattress.

Abigail continues to crawl all over the place. Although she's only been crawling for about a week, she already seems like a pro. Of course with the crawling comes getting into things she shouldn't. So far her favorite things are to head for the outlets and the tv. She's learning the word "NO" very quickly. She's been pulling herself up to her knees on many things but hasn't figured out how to get to her feet. I'm sure it won't be long before she's cruising around the coffee table and the living room furniture.

Austin was back to himself Thursday evening after his surgery. As I suspected, the large bandages over his ears came off that evening. He's done really well with keeping band aids over his ear since the large bandages came off. Hopefully we'll be able to wash his hair after he sees Dr. R on Wednesday for his post-op appointment. He desperately needs a hair cut too. Had I known they were going to take a piece of skin from behind his ear, I would have had his hair cut before the procedure.

Here are some pictures of Austin's first bug catch.

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.