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Thursday, July 05, 2007

Ear Tubes

Today the boys and I went over to a friend's house for a playdate. OS and Jake play together really well. Usually they play a game where OS and Jake yell out "Ready, set, go!" and then they do a loop through my friend's first floor. I'm not sure what exactly the point of this game is other than just having fun, but they love it. YS also loves it. He crawls behind them as fast as his little legs can move. They usually have completed two rounds of this before he makes it to the appointed finish line which is typically a chair. I like it because it tires both of the boys out so that they have a good "quiet time" in the afternoon. Plus I can talk to my friend since the kids are all occupied.

OS was particularly excited because tomorrow morning he gets to go over to Jake's house since YS is having ear tubes put in. I would be lying if I didn't say I was nervous. He's my baby after all! I do worry about the anesthesia. OS had a whole bunch of difficulties and some speech and gross motor delays which were later attributed to the fact that he had a lot of fluid in his ears. He tested as deaf during his audiology test.

When we first were referred to the ENT, I was adamant that OS not get ear tubes. I didn't really understand them. I was picturing them to be some big contraption that everyone could see and that would prevent him from swimming. As a former competitive swimmer, it was unthinkable to me that OS wouldn't be able to swim. I also was convinced that we would have numerous problems with them. The ENT said he could do a course of super-antibiotics instead of tubes and then see what happened.

The antibiotic worked, but left OS with diarrhea and a diaper rash that bled. The ENT then explained to me the full scoop about ear tubes and cleared up my misconceptions. OK really I called my dad (who's a doctor) and was completely hysterical until he talked to a couple of his friends who were ENTs and got their recommendations and explanations. The ENT also said that OS's Eustachian tubes were abnormally shaped and that ear infections were basically unavoidable. I have to admit that it had crossed my mind (actually more likely hit me like a semi-truck on multiple occasions multiple times a day) that OS might be sitting in the ENT's office because I formula fed. The ENT said that wasn't the case at all. Truth be told, as I've said before, I was exclusively breastfed and I lost 10% of my hearing from ear infections. It was definitely genetics at play here.

Genetics remain in play for YS. Except this time was different. When YS had his first ear infection I was already on his pediatrician's case about being closely monitored. After two more I was quite clear that I didn't want the same problems that we had with OS. I definitely was neurotic, but hey you're your child's best advocate. Tomorrow at the crack of dawn, we will be driving over to the ENT for our 12 month old to get ear tubes. His pediatrician recommended them and the ENT thought it was a good idea.

I know people have had problems with ear tubes. It definitely is not a decision to make lightly. I also know that at least when OS got his tubes the latest research said that they didn't decrease the amount of ear infections in children. I'm honestly not sure what the current research has said. I do know this though: for OS they seemed to perform miracles. He has had them for 2 years (yes, they've never fallen out) and he has had only one ear infection which was within a month of first getting them. I knew because the fluid dripped right out of his ear like I was told it would. With a couple weeks of the surgery, he started speaking in simple sentences. Obviously each child is different and each parent needs to make their own decision based on their own child. As Jodifur says "Parent the child you have."

Hopefully the ear tubes will work as well for YS as they have for OS. As for Jake's mom, well her family normally doesn't get up until much later in the morning and we'll be dropping off OS at 6:15 am. She has reassured me many times that it's OK. We're surprising her with a gift certificate to a restaurant she really likes so she can get take-out for dinner tomorrow night. As for me? Of course you know I'm still not going to sleep well tonight. YS is blissfully unaware and right now asleep (sans mashed potatoes in his hair since the Big Giraffe gave him a bath immediately after dinner.)

A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: With any medical procedure, it's best to get the most current information and not rely on information from when you were in 2nd grade.

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posted by Alex Elliot @ 8:11 PM   3 comments
3 Comments:

  • At 7/06/2007 6:29 AM, Blogger super des said…

    Both my brother and my sister had ear tubes (but not me!) and they turned out fine.

     

  • At 7/06/2007 2:58 PM, Blogger Suzanne said…

    I especially like your lesson learned on this. And it's nice that YS gets to benefit from your previous experience. There is a lot to be gained from not being first-born!

     

  • At 7/09/2007 11:48 AM, Blogger Laura said…

    I should have had tubes as a kid. Wish I didn't have all these earaches as an adult.

    I have lots of friends with tubed kids and they talk a about how their kids turn into new people after the procedure.

     
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Name:Alex Elliot
Home:MA, United States
About Me:Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 5 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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For those of us who didn't get an instruction manual with our babies and for whom parenting hasn't always gone as planned. On a more serious note this blog is about supporting a woman's ability to make her own choices about parenting including the choice, for whatever reason, to bottle feed her babies formula.

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