Monday, December 20, 2010

Rain Rain go AWAY!

It 's been raining for DAYS here....days. I am lost. I have no idea what to do with 3 crazy boys and sickly baby. My house is wrucked. I had thoughts of fun activities with my men but we had 2 Doc appointments for Davy. So nope nothing Nada. I think Harper ate a whole pack of gum, dumped all of speeder's fish food in his bowl, which caused an Ollie drama queen meltdown. It was pretty sweet. I needed to leave this place fast, only to walk out into a monsoon. Rain...... stop, I don't like you anymore. You are messing with my Christmas break. How do you ladies in Seattle and Portland handle kids in the rain? What do you do? What would you do if your baby shouldn't be exposed to a ton of kids? Where do you go? I feel soggy all the way up to my brains. Soggy brains...maybe that's my problem.
Well on a better note. We FINALLY got Davy into an ENT. This has taking me months. Months of insurance mumbo jumbo(that can be it's own post.) We are scheduled to put tubesy in her ears on the 27Th. The DOC said It's pretty mild. The do put her under but it's a pretty quick procedure, so no worrying here. I am just excited for A Davy with no ear pain. I hope this will make her a happier little bird. We shall see. Anyone have tubesy? How are they? Are they worth it? I have been told that most cleftys get tubesy. So I have been expecting this.

30 comments:

EJ said...

Tubes were a good thing for my son! Hope they help Davy and YOU to have an easier run of things. Will pray the rain goes away. I know that miserable feeling!!!

Taryn said...

We live in Seattle, and yes, the rain is a complete drag. We just bought one of those exercise trampolines for our kids to burn some energy on, and it works pretty well. They will also be receiving a slide from Santa that they can play around with during our long, rainy winters. The rain really forces a mom to get creative, doesn't it?

Also, one of our children had tubes put in her ears, and they helped keep her ears clear from infection. I had some trepidation about getting them, but I think they were worth it. Now that her tubes are out, I kind of wish she still had them because she's had a few really bad ear infections (near rupture of the eardrum with one of them) that the tubes could have helped us avoid. Good luck to you and especially your little angel!

Kristi said...

My Son had to get tubes at 10 months. I was so worried because I had heard good stories and bad stories about them. Our experience has been wonderful. Completely relieved his ear infections. Hope the rain lets up for you and Davy does well with the tubes!

Caitlin said...

Tubes= WORTH IT! WORTH IT! WORTH IT! Best thing we did for Della. She was 6 months old when we did it and up until then she was perma-sick with cough, congestion, fussiness. Ab IV was started but they didn't end up using it. They put her under using gas and she woke up way faster than general anesthesia. Dr. C told us that the tubes would last around a year to 18 months but both of Della's are still in place 3.5 years later and one of Archer's has also lasted that long. Della is still sickly from Oct-March EVERY year (part of some mystery gen. synd.?) but I think it would be way worse if we didn't have the tubes.

It rains here in Houston a lot too (50 inches a year) and they actually make malls with playgrounds in them. Genius. We also go to McDonalds play places. A lot. Do you know anyone that has a covered patio where the boys can run around and not get wet? I can't think of anything in OC that you could go that isn't germ infested. Good luck with that. BTW- I am loving Davy girl's shirt. So cute.

Mrs. K said...

Tubes are wonderful. Our daughter was a bit older (two) when we did ours. No more infections, plus it opened up her vocabulary by another 50 words or so. (Seriously, it started the moment she woke up from the surgery.) We think the poor thing just couldn't hear well prior to them.

Hope you get some relief from the rain!

Georgia said...

Can you take a field trip with the kids to the garage???? Maybe set up a small tent....or get some really big refridgerator boxes? Have a "picnic" in the garage....set out blankets, etc? The rain is really, really tough when you have little one's who get cabin fever!

Amanda Joy Petersen said...

Tubes are the best! Asher had 6 or 7 ear infections in less than a year, so when he was almost two, they took his adenoids out and put tubes in his ears. Because he was always sick, he didn't eat very well. After his surgery he gained three pounds in a month an a half, and finally made it on the charts. Now that he is three, I know at some point he will have to have his tonsils out, but we know what to ask and what to watch for.

Here is the post of his surgery if you want.
http://www.joyinthejumble.com/2009/09/all-better_11.html

I hope the rain ends for you soon and that you have a very merry Christmas!

BensonFam said...

I had several siblings get tubes as children - the procedure is short and sweet and they solved the ear infection problem. Good luck!

Marianne said...

None of my 5 kids ever needed tubes but I, as an adult may have to have them! If she feels like I have the do it! It's misery...and you'll be happier too!

I am an Arizona girl transplanted to 7 inches of Utah snow today, been here ten years. In between AZ and UT we lived nine years in a suburb of Seattle. Talk about depressing! It was beautiful though, and you adapt. We had an indoor trampoline too! We made tents under the tables and learned awesome new hiding places for indoor hide and seek games. If the rain lightened even a bit we just dressed for it and went out. Kids can ride bikes in raiin gear and grown-ups can go for a run. You have to or you never see the out of doors! But you live in sunny CA! It will pass!

whitneyingram said...

I got tubes when I was 5. And all I remember was I got to miss kindergarten and eat a lot of popsicles.

Angie said...

Ear tubes are magic and make all the difference for my little one and the surgery is really no biggie- my little one was up and about only a few hours later.

Lindsay said...

I'm actually an adult that has to get tubes (for eustation tube dysfunction) and they are THE BEST. I don't get put under, but it's super fast (getting both usually takes 5 minutes max) and only really aches for about an hour.

Natalie said...

I live in Seattle with two kiddos- one being a very active boy who hates staying at home. When I'm not in the mood to head to all the obvious kid spots I've taken "field trips" to the local hardware store. My son loves to play with all the tubes and bolts and switches. Pretends to be a robot. Plus we aren't surrounded by a ton of other kids so not as much of a germ fest. We've also been known to put on some rain gear and head outside to go puddle jumping. Good luck!

Melinda said...

Ugh. I live in Seattle with four kids. It really sucks some days and I have to say I haven't been very creative with it. Some days my son is so pent up with energy we all go crazy! I would be scared to have an exercise tramp with him, he would seriously hurt himself (or the other kids) with it! :) Any relatives without sick kids you can go have a play date with? Turn on some music and start dancing, we do that quite a bit! Good luck, and I'm hoping the rain stops for both of us! :)

Janae said...

They did tubes at my clefty girl's first surgery when she was 2 1/2 months and at 6 yrs old, she has hardly had any ear infections. So, they must work! It only takes about 15 min. Good Luck!

Brie said...

After 18 months of CONSTANT double ear infections and way too many courses of antibiotics we FINALLY just called the ENT ourselves(and got a new pediatrician). One year ago my older son had his tubes put in. It took 15 minutes, 30 minutes total away from mommy. And we have gone a whole year with nothing more than a cold!!! We just had our one year check up with our awesome ENT and he took the tubes out(since they had worked their way mostly out anyway). We may have to have one more placed in one stubborn ear and we might have to go for the adenoid removal at the same time but I would do the tube surgery every year if I had to.
The recovery is nothing. Compared to what you have already gone through with Davey, it wont even register on your radar.

Gardner Family said...

Lots of blankets, sheets, pillows, chairs and a table. Hooray for forts!!!

And Legos!

Good luck.

Kelly said...

My daughter had her tube surgery in the fall of 2008 when she was 16 mos. We had to be there early 7 am I think for a surgery at 8 so not bad. I couldn't believe how fast the procedure was! She did wake up screaming and crying and could not be consoled whatsoever! We tried to give her some pain medicine but she just choked on it because she was crying so hard. So if Davy wakes up in a fit just sit with her and try to hold her comfortably until it passes. It seems like forever but it was probably just 10 or 15 minutes later when she started to calm down and then we got her dressed and were being discharged. She was waving and smiling to all the nurses and was perfectly fine all day. You would have never known she had the surgery! Her tubes stayed in a year and she has not had an ear infection since. Hope all goes well and Merry Christmas!

Unknown said...

Tubes were a godsend. My twins first got them at 9 months of age and did great. Life-changing!!! My son never needed them again after they fell out. However my daughter was more sickly with asthma and many infections. She got a second set of tubes at age 2 1/2 along with removal of her tonsils and adenoids. Again the best thing we ever did. She started eating better and gained a much needed 3 pounds during the next year. My advice would be to be aggressive with the antibiotic ear drops the doc will give you both post op and when you think Davy might be starting with something (ie: runny nose or congestion.) Good luck and thinking about you. (p.s. I have no good advice for staying inside, I had 4 pound twins and could not bring myself to stay in--we always ended up walking around the mall almost daily--just to get out)

Tony and Whitney said...

We did tubes. It was very quick. My little man had a really rough time coming out of the anesthisa, but it's been fabulous since then!

Ora said...

I hate the cabin fever my kids get during this kind of weather! Your fish food incident sounds SO familiar! We have resorted to taking drives to see christmas lights around dusk right before bed - but that doesn't help for ALL day!

We just got tubes put in my son in sept. It was super quick (less than 30 min from the time they wheeled him back until they came and got me for wakeup). He was having ear infections every month. Since the tubes the infections are less frequent (only 1 in 3 months) the best part... His speech has improved 100 fold! He talked very slurred - almost like he was deaf. Now I wish I could keep him quiet! He isn't as aggitated all the time either and has a big boost of energy because he isn't sick all the time.

Good luck surviving this weather.. we are camping out at grandmas half the time because they seem to do better with the "change of scenery"

Nancie said...

We live were we do not see a lot of rain but we see or feel extreme sub zero cold very often (and I have a new born). We like to go play at the gym at the church. Do you know anyone with a key to the building? you can shoot hoops, run wild, play line tag on the basketball court lines, soccer,or dodge ball.

Brynn said...

Dallin had tubes. They were miraculous! The procedure seriously took like 4 minutes. It was great. And he hasn't had any ear infections since. It was really gross at first though because you could see the fluid draining from his ears. Good luck! I'm sure everything will work wonderfully!!!!

Howard 6 said...

My daughter had tubes put in her ears almost 2 years ago. They prepped her for surgery, I went in the waiting room and tried to busy myself with activities, so as not to be worried. We'll just say, surgery was over in the blink of an eye and my girl was home and playing withim hours! She's never had an ear infection again. I'm definitely glad I had it done. Only yucky part, they won't let you in until your child has woken up. And usually your kid is freaked out from waking up from being put under and not knowing all these crazy people and tubes around them. Did NOT like walking in the room to hear my baby girl screaming. But it only lasted a few minutes and she was ok. I hope everything goes well - I'm sure it will. I hope the rain dries up and you guys have the Merriest of Christmases =)

danielle @ take heart said...

brody has them and it was HUGE help. he had ruptured ear drums twice in his first 7 months of life so he had them put in at 10months old, the procedure was so fast and recovery was easy. he has only had one ear infection since (he's 2.5 now) and it had none of the massive amounts of discharge he had as a baby. praying for your davy girl.

ileana said...

she is the cutest little bird ever!!! love that picture. and yes, tubes will help ;)

Allison said...

Ruthie- This is allison (cp's client at Lux) As a little person I had tubes all of my childhood years. They do wonders. Happy Holidays!

desert dispatches said...

I live in Anchorage, where for a few months it is too cold to take the kids out (even 2 year olds don't like 1 degree weather) We draw a lot, play with a lot of stickers, we have a tent and lots of plastic balls in it, we run around the house a lot...I have 3 2 and under, so I have no idea what to do with your older boys...let us all know what you come up with!

Kylie said...

I had tubes in my ears when I was little and they helped tremendously! Hope all goes well and that the rain clears up! Merry Christmas!

Michelle said...

We had a great tubes experience! They really changed my son's world. Sleeping will do that. Best of luck!