At The Hospital

Yesterday morning...very early in the morning...I wheeled this little guy and a sleepy big brother into the main entrance of the hospital. Gabe was getting tubes in both of his ears in an effort to reduce the number of ear infections he keeps getting in his right ear.

Since he wasn't allowed anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before (and those of you with little ones know just how cranky a hungry or thirsty child can be early in the morning), I opted to bring in the once-banished pacifier in an effort to keep him quiet.

I'm glad to say it worked. I'm also glad to say he forgot all about the pacifier after the procedure!

My little trooper was in and out in no time at all. He did a great job, the doctors and nurses were fabulous, and the whole experience went surprisingly smoothly. We had all the grandparents in the hospital room, along with big brother Zeke and myself. Hubby was at work and couldn't make it, but he did call to check in on the lil' fella later on in the day.

Once back in the room, I handed Gabe his sippy cup of milk, and it was gone in all of about 2 minutes, followed by a meltdown, followed by the nurse hurriedly bringing in some apple juice for the pint-sized patient. He still wouldn't crack a smile, at least not until after getting something to eat.

After a trip to McDonald's for a late breakfast, Gabe was back to his old self, if still a little tipsy from the anesthesia. It was funny to watch him try and walk around, much like watching a happy drunk stumble over his own feet, get up, laugh, and do it again.

Anyway, all's well now. We're on drops for a couple of days, and then a follow up with the ENT doctor in a few weeks. Gabe's back in daycare today and is back to his old sassy self. I was pretty nervous about putting such a little guy under general anesthesia, but like I said, it was over so fast that we didn't really have time to dwell on it. At least it's done and over with, and hopefully we can look forward to an ear infection-free holiday season.

Thanks to everyone who was in attendance on the day and to all the support and thoughtful comments from friends and family. :)