Here's a "then and now" picture -- she looks so little and sad in the first one!
So, we woke up bright and early and headed back to the hospital. This time because she was a little older, she wasn't first in line for surgery. That meant longer to distract her from the fact that she couldn't have her beloved "ous and mik" (Cheerios and milk) for breakfast. But, she did great and even made some new friends!
She wasn't too thrilled about the ankle bracelet......until the nurse gave her a purple butterfly sticker
Finally it was our turn. We had been prepping Olivia for weeks that the nurse was going to take her back. Given her extreme attachment to mommy, we both knew that the prep would likely be for not and had mentally prepared ourselves for some major tears. But, to our extreme delight, the sweet nurse and anesthesiologist saw how attached Olivia was and anticipated the freakout that would ensue. So, they snuck me into the surgery room and let me hold her while they put her out. (This was a pretty traumatizing experience for me - one minute it took 3 of us to hold her down and put the little mask over her face, the next minute she went completely limp and her little eyes rolled back in her head. I definitely cried a little!). But, I was glad that I could be there for her.
And then we waited. The doctors assured us they would get us in less than 30 minutes. And, just like last time, they made good on that promise. 24 minutes after she went back, they brought us to the recovery room. The surgery went well and the doctor said there was a lot of fluid in both ears and her adenoids were very large, so it was a really good thing we did the procedure again.
Like last time, we hated seeing her look like this. She was O-U-T and slept much longer than last time.
After about 15 minutes she woke up completely groggy and confused. She was crying and calling for "daddy." Matt picked her up and she immediately snuggled up to him and went back to sleep for another 10 minutes.
When she finally woke up again, she was pretty miserable. I think the anesthesia must have made her itchy because she kept scratching at her face and crying. As soon as she woke up, I tried to give her some water. She closed her eyes, drank for a few minutes and then opened her eyes and asked for a chocolate chip. (Side note: She actually had an ear infection at this point and had been on medication for the past week. To get her to take the medicine, I always bribe her with a chocolate chip. So I guess she had them on the brain!). Anyways, the nurse was shocked by the request and said they were fresh out of chocolate chips. But she did have a purple popsicle which Olivia begrudgingly ate. She was fussy and crying most of the time. After she drank enough, they finally let us go home. She slept most of the way home and then for a few hours in her crib. She woke up hungry and not feeling well.
Some pizza cheered her up a little, but she was much more miserable and grouchy for the rest of the day than she was last time.
We laid pretty low the rest of the day....watched lots of Sesame Street and played on the iPad
By 6:00 she was a pumpkin so we gave her a quick dinner and put her to bed early. Matt and I ended the stressful day with our new favorite summer drink -- margaritas!
The next morning however, she woke up happy and back to her usual self. I knew she was feeling better when she insisted on picking our her own outfit (purple dress and "fip fops") and wouldn't leave the house without her necklace, purse, baby, and sunglasses. She's not high maintenance. Nope. Not at all. And, if she is, she certainty doesn't get it from her mother. ;)
Hopefully this will be our last experience with ear tubes and sweet Olivia will have some relief in those cute little ears of hers!
Hopefully this will be our last experience with ear tubes and sweet Olivia will have some relief in those cute little ears of hers!
She is perfect !!!
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