After the surgery ... waking up the recovery room.
Waiting very patiently like a big boy!
Cuddling with Daddy - those drugs were strong!
Getting ID'ed and banded - everything he had on screamed that he was allergic to penicillin.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Finally...Jack's Ear Surgery
Jack went to see the ENT surgeon on Wednesday, who took one look at his ears and agreed that he needed tubes, and immediately. They scheduled him into surgery for the following morning (today, Thursday, 4/29.) We all got up super early, and after not being allowed any food or drink after midnight, Jack was in a surprisingly good mood. We got to Framingham Union Hospital at about 6:30am, and were registered and admitted. From there they took us back to the OR Prep area, where we met with the Anaesthesiologist and Jack got dressed in his spiffy gown. They also gave him a "mild sedative" (baby Valium) which came with pretty hilarious results:
About a half hour after they administered that, they came to whisk him away to the OR. Justin and I had just enough time to scarf down a bagel and some coffee before Dr. Kenealy came out to tell us that it was done, and he did fine! What a relief. He said that both ears had fluid: his right ear had green / yellow goopy fluid, while his left ear had loose bubbly fluid, but both had bacteria (the sign of the next infection, for sure.) The tubes were inserted without incident and other than a little bloody drainage, he looks totally fine!
After meeting with the doctor, they took us back to the recovery room where Jack was waking up. He came out of the anaesthesia fine - in fact, he inhaled the 4 oz of water that they let him have and was whimpering for more. We stayed there about 45 minutes and then we bundled him up and home we went!
Overall, it was a very easy procedure. I think it will help him a lot. We have prescription ear drops for him, as well as special earplugs for bath time. I put him down in his crib at 10:30am and it's now 1pm and he's still snoozing away, so he is definitely recovering well, even if he is a little groggy. Our man is a trooper - and was the highlight of the day for all of the nurses who were fighting to cuddle with him!
I will keep everyone updated, but we are lucky that all went so well. :)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Our Day at the Zoo
For Jack's 9-month birthday, we decided to take a family trip to the Southwick Zoo. It's a smaller local zoo about 25 minutes from our house. We had never been but it was going to be a beautiful day outside, and we knew Jack would love it!
He spent most of the day being a little scared / a little curious / a little hesitant. However, he was a trooper and we had fun! (Although I think he had the most fun eating the fried green beans and ice cream at lunchtime, but oh well.) We saw lions and tigers, gorillas and macaws, rhinos and porcupines.
Mommy feeding a deer!
Daddy feeding a deer!
The three of us in the deer park. Look at all the ones in the background!
Smiling about the gorillas. He thought they were funny looking.
Mommy trying to attract my attention away from the gorillas for a photo op. It didn't work!
Amazed by the giraffes! So tall!
Checking out the crazy monkeys - and their baby monkey!
Dad showing me the macaws. I loved the birds! (As usual)
Dad took Jack to feed the deers firsthand. Mom was videoing, but she had to be quiet and sneak around the trees to get a shot. Jack was mesmerized!
Hope you enjoyed our day at the zoo. We certainly did! The best part was that Jack was WORN OUT by the time we headed home, and had a great night's sleep. :)
He spent most of the day being a little scared / a little curious / a little hesitant. However, he was a trooper and we had fun! (Although I think he had the most fun eating the fried green beans and ice cream at lunchtime, but oh well.) We saw lions and tigers, gorillas and macaws, rhinos and porcupines.
The coolest thing about the zoo was that they had a huge gated deer park, where you could buy corn and walk around and feed the (very friendly) deer. Here are a few pictures from our great day!
Mommy feeding a deer!
Daddy feeding a deer!
The three of us in the deer park. Look at all the ones in the background!
Smiling about the gorillas. He thought they were funny looking.
Mommy trying to attract my attention away from the gorillas for a photo op. It didn't work!
Amazed by the giraffes! So tall!
Checking out the crazy monkeys - and their baby monkey!
Dad showing me the macaws. I loved the birds! (As usual)Dad took Jack to feed the deers firsthand. Mom was videoing, but she had to be quiet and sneak around the trees to get a shot. Jack was mesmerized!
Hope you enjoyed our day at the zoo. We certainly did! The best part was that Jack was WORN OUT by the time we headed home, and had a great night's sleep. :)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
What's Going On???
We were spoiled! Jack has been sleeping through the night very consistently for about a month now. He rarely if ever woke up between the hours of 7pm and 6am, and if he did, he would just roll around and put himself back to sleep.
For the past two nights, however, we have been experiencing a horrible repeat of the past where he is awake from 3am - 5am or so every night. He wakes up screaming, so we try to console him. That doesn't work, so we try a bottle. That doesn't work, so we try just letting him cry it out. That doesn't work, so we bring him into our bed to watch TV. That doesn't work, so we walk him around and cuddle and sing. That doesn't work, so we are ALL generally just miserable until he decides he's just too tired to move anymore and passes out in whatever position he's in. From there we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately for Mommy and Daddy, we have to get up at 6am to go to work. It's been a brutal few days - we were so accustomed to real sleep!
I did a bit of research because this was scaring me. At first I figured it was his ears bothering him - no big surprise if it was. Last night I tried tugging on his ears, which usually makes him scream and writhe in agony if his ears hurt. Nope, nothing. Dr. Spock says that babies sometimes have very disrupted sleep schedules when they are on the verge of a big milestone. (Here's two of my favorite Mommy-blogs talking about this very subject. http://www.mamapedia.com/article/walking-milestone-affecting-sleep and here http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2006/02/qa_what_are_sle.html)
My only guess is that he's about to start really standing, walking, or talking very soon. I hope so - it would be a nice reward for all of the misery he is putting us through!
Until then here are a few pictures to enjoy. He loves to chew on Daddy and me now. Any body part will do, but he loves my toes at bathtime and my chin and nose when we are cuddling. It's cute - but his little teeth are SHARP!
Enjoying the grocery store - our usual early weekend morning routine!
Last week he fell in the tub and busted the skin below his left eye. He had a huge bruise and a cut. Sigh. Life with a little baby boy. We are lucky no one called DFACS on us! :)
For the past two nights, however, we have been experiencing a horrible repeat of the past where he is awake from 3am - 5am or so every night. He wakes up screaming, so we try to console him. That doesn't work, so we try a bottle. That doesn't work, so we try just letting him cry it out. That doesn't work, so we bring him into our bed to watch TV. That doesn't work, so we walk him around and cuddle and sing. That doesn't work, so we are ALL generally just miserable until he decides he's just too tired to move anymore and passes out in whatever position he's in. From there we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately for Mommy and Daddy, we have to get up at 6am to go to work. It's been a brutal few days - we were so accustomed to real sleep!
I did a bit of research because this was scaring me. At first I figured it was his ears bothering him - no big surprise if it was. Last night I tried tugging on his ears, which usually makes him scream and writhe in agony if his ears hurt. Nope, nothing. Dr. Spock says that babies sometimes have very disrupted sleep schedules when they are on the verge of a big milestone. (Here's two of my favorite Mommy-blogs talking about this very subject. http://www.mamapedia.com/article/walking-milestone-affecting-sleep and here http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2006/02/qa_what_are_sle.html)
My only guess is that he's about to start really standing, walking, or talking very soon. I hope so - it would be a nice reward for all of the misery he is putting us through!
Until then here are a few pictures to enjoy. He loves to chew on Daddy and me now. Any body part will do, but he loves my toes at bathtime and my chin and nose when we are cuddling. It's cute - but his little teeth are SHARP!
Enjoying the grocery store - our usual early weekend morning routine!
Last week he fell in the tub and busted the skin below his left eye. He had a huge bruise and a cut. Sigh. Life with a little baby boy. We are lucky no one called DFACS on us! :)Friday, April 16, 2010
Jack's Ears, Part 2
Time for our next update!
This morning I took Jack for a hearing test at the audiologist’s. The bad news is that he failed both ears. Not that this was any huge surprise, as they did verify that he still has lots of fluid behind both eardrums so to him, most likely, it sounds like he’s always underwater. Which is sad! The good news is that it will most likely be fully corrected with his surgery. They did test his eardrum response to sounds and said that was fine, so he should be perfect once he gets his tubes.
In the meantime, we have to speak clearly and loudly to him, looking directly at him, so that he can read our lips as we talk. This is to ensure that he doesn’t lose any language development by not hearing. They also said NO BABY TALK! Use full words and clear sentences. So that’s where we are at currently. He has his next appointment with the surgeon on April 28, and we will schedule the actual surgery from there. Everyone pray for our little guy – he will be fine but he sure is going through a lot! I blame his Daddy’s genes J Cause we all know I was, and am, perfect in every way (HA HA HA.)
This morning I took Jack for a hearing test at the audiologist’s. The bad news is that he failed both ears. Not that this was any huge surprise, as they did verify that he still has lots of fluid behind both eardrums so to him, most likely, it sounds like he’s always underwater. Which is sad! The good news is that it will most likely be fully corrected with his surgery. They did test his eardrum response to sounds and said that was fine, so he should be perfect once he gets his tubes.
In the meantime, we have to speak clearly and loudly to him, looking directly at him, so that he can read our lips as we talk. This is to ensure that he doesn’t lose any language development by not hearing. They also said NO BABY TALK! Use full words and clear sentences. So that’s where we are at currently. He has his next appointment with the surgeon on April 28, and we will schedule the actual surgery from there. Everyone pray for our little guy – he will be fine but he sure is going through a lot! I blame his Daddy’s genes J Cause we all know I was, and am, perfect in every way (HA HA HA.)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Poor Jack
The quick update:
He saw an ear, nose, and throat specialist on Tuesday, who definitely recommended tubes. He still has fluid in his inner ear - even though he has been on his current round of antibiotics for the full 10 days - and they aren't draining at all. (He also has a horrible earwax problem, but that's another story!) Anyway, this particular doctor wouldn't do the surgery on someone so young, so we are headed to a guy who specializes in pediatric ENT disorders on April 28. From there we will schedule the surgery.
Justin took him to see the Allergist today, and he goes for a full spectrum hearing test on Friday morning. I will write more about those when I get the details. Our poor little guy! Hopefully this will help him. These ear infections are killing us!
He saw an ear, nose, and throat specialist on Tuesday, who definitely recommended tubes. He still has fluid in his inner ear - even though he has been on his current round of antibiotics for the full 10 days - and they aren't draining at all. (He also has a horrible earwax problem, but that's another story!) Anyway, this particular doctor wouldn't do the surgery on someone so young, so we are headed to a guy who specializes in pediatric ENT disorders on April 28. From there we will schedule the surgery.
Justin took him to see the Allergist today, and he goes for a full spectrum hearing test on Friday morning. I will write more about those when I get the details. Our poor little guy! Hopefully this will help him. These ear infections are killing us!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Swings and Talking A LOT!
Daddy put a swing up for me in the backyard, and I love it! I also love Daddy. In fact so much so that I say his name every chance I get. Look at me talking! I will be making full words before you know it :)
Love, Jack
Monday, April 5, 2010
Easter Weekend
We had a great time visiting with Aunt Courtney, Aunt Cara, and Grandma Annette this past Easter weekend! There are plenty of great pictures, but we had the most fun dying eggs. Jack was heavily involved in the process from start to finish (as you can see!) and we enjoyed the beautiful day outside. The best part was that at least half of the eggs survived Godzilla Jack and made it to the fridge colored and whole :)
We are thankful for the wonderful weather, for the great time with our Aunts and Grandma, and a relaxing weekend together! We are all looking forward to many more nice weekends spent outside.
We are thankful for the wonderful weather, for the great time with our Aunts and Grandma, and a relaxing weekend together! We are all looking forward to many more nice weekends spent outside.
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