Do Your Ears Hang Low?

Everett loves the song "Do your ears hang low?" I have a feeling we will be singing that song for the next week or two as he recovers from having his tonsils and adenoids out and ear tubes put in.

Everything went smoothly this morning. The only hiccup was when Everett blew a fuse over having to put the hospital gown on. The nurse pointed out that most kids throw a tantrum over this because it is the last possible thing they have to control. I couldn't agree more. It probably would have helped if I had explained ahead of time that he would wear it.

As it was, Everett was mad for quite a while until we made the deal with him that he could put his clothes back on if he agreed to take them off again when we asked (this way we could give him a two-minute warning and he would know exactly what to expect). He did just fine after that, especially when I told him we could put his shirt on the teddy bear he brought with him.

I tried to prepare him these past few days for the procedure and the fact that we would be separated, and he did great. No fussing, the nurse said.

Everett was still pretty much asleep when they brought him back to us on a little rollaway bed. As soon as he heard our voices, he perked up, then looked at his left hand which had been wrapped in tape to keep an IV in. Everett's eyes widened and his face crumpled into a look of horror, shock, and disgust (it was a surprise for him because the surgical center waits for the kids to be sedated before putting an IV in). It was pretty funny. After about two hours of sleeping on my lap, he finally drank his 10 ounces of required fluids, and we were discharged.

It was quick and uncomplicated and we are glad to be back home. Everett is nestled on the couch with a new movie (Despicable Me) and has a kitchen full of soft snacks to eat. He can't have anything he has to chew for a few days, and only soft foods after that for another week or so. I imagine it will get old pretty fast, but today he is excited that I will indulge him with smoothies, chocolate milk, jello, mashed potatoes, and ice cream.

I don't anticipate a tough recovery--Everett has a pretty high pain tolerance and doesn't normally get grumpy when he is sick. I am glad to be able to take care of him.