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Parenting after 35
Tubes
We took Rachel to the ENT and she needs tubes. We are scheduled for surgery on 4/8. I knew it was coming when we went there and I know that it will be good for her to have them done. I just don't have to like it.
The pre-admissions lady called me today to ask a bunch of questions and she went over the day of. As soon as I hung up I started to cry. I know she will be fine... just the I don't want my baby to hurt, be scared, disoriented, hungry (lol really no bottle that morning should be interesting).
For those whose little ones have tubes, can you tell me about the after care stuff? How do you keep water out of their ears when you give them a bath, go swimming,(we are going to a lake this summer) etc. What happens if you do get water in their ears? The ENT recommended vaseline and cotton balls and ear plugs. Any recommendations?
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Re: Tubes
I work in the recovery room at a local childrens hospital. Few tips we tell our parents- you hospital may have different standards.
LO will prob be crying when you come back. The shorter the procedure-the quicker they wake up and the grumpier they are. The surgery is very basic and the only reason they receive anesthesia is to make sure they stay still. Some ENT will do it in the office for preschoolers awake without meds.
If your LO is acting crazy it is prob "emergence delerium" and will pass with time only ( they are really out of it!). It is pretty common in toddler age kids but very scary to see if you do not expect it. Most kids stop crying as soon as you pick them up and carry them away because they want to leave, so if they are crying and have had some type of pain meds I wouldn't stay there. We get out kids out in 15-30 min after the procedure so don't leave the waiting room after speaking to the doctor.
If your LO has a favorite blanket, bottle or animal bring it, and PLEASE if LO uses a pacifier send it with your LO for the nurse to use. As soon as the babies start to wake up usually we can stick the pacifier in their mouth and they will go back to sleep- then we call parents back so they see their parents as soon as they wake up. If they sleep even 15 min after the surgery to wear off anesthesia - they are much happier. It is scary sending your baby to "strangers" to be cared for. My son had surgery at 18 months, I had every person who would be in the room hand picked by me, including the recovery room nurse. I sent him off with the team and still cried like a baby.
Afterwads we say "no contaminated water in their ears" this means during bath if LO doesn't put head under in bath water and you rinse hair with water from faucet no plugs are needed. Plugs are needed only for lakes and ocean swimmimg or if diving in more than 3 feet of water. Swimming pools do not need ear plugs unless it is a home kiddie pool (then follow bath rules).
Kids usually have drainage from ears for a few days and our kids are sent home with ear drops. If you have any other questions you can PM me.
Thank you soooo much. This is incredibly helpful and better prepares me for what to expect. I'll let you know if I have any more questions.
We haven't had tubes in ears; but I know how you feel. When the pre-admissions lady called me for S's MRI last year, I was a nervous wreck and was sobbing by the middle of the phone call. Just remember they are experts and (unfortunately) probably do this all of the time. If it would make you feel better, call them back and talk to them. I spent 20 minutes just talking to the lady about their experience, what to expect before and after, asking questions and just getting a feel for her and the group. She was so good about taking the time to answer all of my questions and I felt so much better. They will do everything to make your LO feel better and will probably have lots of tricks to show you that day.
What time is the surgery? As to the bottle thing, we thought the same thing. I can't remember if we were able to give her a bit of water or not before hand. But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - she hardly noticed and was so distracted by having both parents at home (we both took the day off of work), the room and the toys. I think she forgot she was hungry. Good luck with everything - loads of T & P coming your way.
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Surgery is at 11:30. No formula or food after 5:30am ( I won't be waking her for a bottle) and only clear liquids until 9:30. I'm hoping she'll take some pedialyte or some water. We'll see...
Hum - I think that was about how Sofia's surgery was or hers was at 10:00. She was 8 months old at the time, so it has been awhile. If we stick with your timefame, we ended up feeding her at 5:00 a.m. so she wouldn't wake up starving. One thing we did try was the Pedialyte - we tried it the weekend before to see if she would like it (of course, she didn't). Therefore we offered her water between the two deadlines. The time between 9:30 and 11:30 will go by faster than you realize, because some of that time is travel time and some is checking in. Sofia was preoccupied and didn't fuss too much.
cincygirl covered it all really. I've been through it 3 times with my kids (2x for DD and once for DS). Prepare for a LOT of crying, disorientation and just plain POed when you go back. Sometimes their ears can crackle a bit and it's just uncomfortable. Both of mine were always okay after a nap and pretty much back to their old selves same day to 24 hrs. The drops are a pain and you'll want to warm them in your pants pocket or, if you are like me and generate next to no body heat, your bra. Like she said, we didn't have to worry about water or ear plugs. The only danger is submersion in soapy water (soap breaks down the water molecules) but rinsing off shampoo and such is okay. Other danger was diving more than 3' under water or lakes or rivers. No problem here. So we've never had to worry about ear plugs. The tubes my kids have are TINY -- think the coating of a copper electrical wire strand tiny. Good news is that if there is an ear infection post tubes, you can get antibiotic drops and just put those straight onto the infection, which is awesome. She'll be fine. Just keep her calm and bring comforting items and things to entertain her. Most places have wagons so you can give her a wagon ride while waiting to go back.
ETA: I woke both of mine to feed them before the cut off. I think that helped with the wait but I also knew while mine would be a bit cranky about being awakened, they'd fall right back asleep, which they did.
DD -- 5YO
DS -- 3YO
No advice, but I had tubes when I was a baby and it really helped.
Good luck!
DD got ear tubes in early Feb. at 10 months old - she was VERY fussy when she came out of anesthesia, took a good 30 mins to calm down, but the rest of the day she was fine - maybe a little more tired. I was nursing at the time, so we got her out of bed and fed her about 10:30/11:00 the night before (no foods or liquids after midnight). She was fine that morning as soon as she got in the car she went back to sleep, they got her into surgery right away when we got there - she was curious about where she was so she wasn't upset about being hungry.
We do cotton balls w/vaseline for bath time and they have a headband called aqua band for her to wear in the summer that wrap around her head (and use the ear plugs). Our ENT said it's not a problem if she gets water in her ears. We have plugs but the cotton balls are easier to use.
It's been great for DD - no more ear infections and if she gets one we can use ear drops instead She also gets over her runny nose and colds relaly quick.