can you hear me now?

declan had a successful little surgery last week thursday. he had tubes put in his ears. we had an appointment with an ENT specialist last wed to discuss his ear problems (he has had 6 ear infections in past 6 months) and he advised us to do the surgery asap. it would drain the built-up fluid inside his ears, he would hear much better, begin to speak much more, prevent future ear infections and also that it was a very minor outpatient procedure.

we arrived at 6:45am and while i filled out necessary forms, declan did what he does best, cruised around the lobby, making sure to touch every single chair. and i wonder why he picks up so many colds???

cruising around the lobby

he loves his lambie

waiting to be called back to our room

around 7:30 we were taken back to our room, met with the kind nurses, our ENT and anesthesiologist. we weren't nervous b/c it is such a common procedure and they assured us he would be back out with us in 15 minutes.

the nice nurse took him back for the surgery at 7:45 and brought him back to us at 8, i had barely finished a cup of coffee! he was a little groggy and whiny for the next 10 minutes as the anesthesia wore off, but soon he was smiling at the nurses and pointing at the lights.

this is one of the first smiles, recovering after surgery

i stayed home with him all day and he seemed totally back to his usual self within a few short hours. i also definitely noticed that he could hear the phone ringing which he must not have heard before the surgery due to all the thick fluid that had built up in his ears. poor little guy. we are hopeful that this alleviated some pain/pressure in his ears and most importantly that the ear infections will be a thing of the past!

i'm so excited for him to hear his world better and be able to know what we are saying to him. he should be able to pick up more words now. currently he's saying: mama, dada, ball, bath, bus, mmmmmm (means he's hungry), and night night.


he seemed to be feeling better by lunchtime and had his appetite back!