Eli's Surgery

Well, its all done.

I think it was harder on me than Eli.

I had to call yesterday between 1:00pm-2:30pm to find out what time we had to be at the hospital. I had prayed earlier in the day that we would have an early appointment because I did not want to have to hold Eli off from eating all day! I picked up the phone at 1:02pm, and called to find out our surgery time. The lady on the other end of the line told me we had to be at the hospital for 6:20am. Guess God took my prayer request quite literal, however I wasn't complaining. A 6:20am check in time meant an 8:20am surgery time, and that meant we should be out before lunch time!

We woke up at 5:15, and woke Eli up at 5:50am. That gave us enough time to get him dressed and out the door. My mom came just before 6am, and off we went. Too bad for her, but Judah was already awake and ready to go. He's been waking up earlier and earlier.

All week I wanted to tell Eli that we had a dr appointment, but I held off, and didnt tell him. I even considered telling him last night about his appointment but again decided not to.

This am when he woke up he was happy, and ready to go for the day! The whole drive to the hospital he wouldn't stop talking. He couldn't believe he was up and it was morning but the sun wasnt up yet!! We got to the hospital and checked in. We then went into the back to get changed into some nice p.js, weigh him, measure him, take some vitals, and get some nice little band aids with some numbing cream on his hands. He hated the bandaids on his hands the most and wanted them off, but at no point did he ever throw a fit or start crying about it.

Between the time that he was changed and prepped, and the actual surgery was about an hour or so, so we had time to hang out and wait. He did really good waiting. I made a last minute decision to throw the Ipad into the bag in case he wanted to play games. This was a good choice! It kept him busy and happy. And the times where he wasnt playing with it, we read books or watched barney on the tv there.

They called Eli's name and took us into the waiting room that you wait right before surgery. I remember this from the first time around.

He was 13 months old in those pictures when the tubes were put in!! Would you believe that table and rocking chair are still in that little room?

At this point I was feeling anxious, and nervous. We explained to Eli that mommy and daddy would be close by. The dr would come and get him soon, but only either mommy or daddy could take him in. He said he wanted both, and then decided daddy was the guy to do it. I was a tad relieved because I wasnt sure I could handle the upset of holding him down with the mask to his face. I also didnt want them to have to do a line in his hand. This was one of the things I was most anxious about.

Sitting in that waiting room was the moments I had been dreading all week, playing over in my head, thinking about the worst or best situations. Then the nurse came in and told them they were ready. Andy got suited up, held Eli's hand and off they went. I cried.

2 minutes later Andy came back in looking a little emotional, and that was that.

Eli didn't cry, or throw a tantrum, or get upset. He was a bit nervous Andy said, but he did great. I couldn't believe it.

We waited 45 minutes, and then heard screaming from a child down the hall. We thought it was Eli. Thats how he woke up the first time around, screaming his head off. Then our buzzer went for us to come in.

I almost ran in to find my baby, expecting to see him screaming and crying, and when I found his room he was calming sitting on the bed, covered up just hanging out. He was a bit out of it at first, and very quiet but he wasnt upset at all!

The nurse said when he woke up this was their conversation.
"Hi, Eli. How are you?"
"Good."
"Did your mommy or daddy bring you today?"
"Both"
"Both? Good!! Do you want to go find them?"
"Yah!"
And then they paged us. He had already had a popsicle and was having some apple juice!

We were gone before 10am. He was running through the halls on the way to the parking lot, and wanted us to hold his hand and do 1, 2, 3, jump with him.

After we went and grabbed some breakfast at McDonalds and he ran and played. No side affects or anything. You would never have known he had surgery this am.

If you had told me how well he was going to do, and that I was going to cry more than him I wouldn't have believed you!! Iam such a proud momma!! He was so brave!!

Before Surgery

 After Surgery having some apple juice

 This is him on the drive home, happy as could be!!

 Still waking up

Verdict is...

Last week was one that Ive been somewhat looking forward to and feeling anxious about for quite awhile.

On Wednesday, we headed off to the Stollery to see Dr.Eksteen, to find out weather or not Eli's tubes are still in his ears. Going into the appointment I was hoping and praying that Dr.Eksteen would be willing to look in Judah's ears, as well as consent to take him on as a patient, even though he's not accepting new patients.

Upon walking in, we had been waiting for an hour already for our appointment. I was feeling extremely nervous and anxious, and Eli asked if Dr.Eksteen would look in Judah's ears first. This was perfect because it opened up the conversation about my concerns with Judah's ears. He did in fact look in his ears, and tell us that they look clear and he didnt have any concerns. He said he would be more than willing to take Judah on as his patient and he'd look in his ears when Eli comes in for check ups. This was joy to my ears, and something that I had been praying for since the ear infections started getting worse for little Judah.

After he looked in Judah's ears, it was Eli's turn. Eli did great. He sat on my lap and did not make a fuss about it. This is a far difference from the little boy we used to have to hold down to let any dr look in his ears. The verdict . . . on the right side the ear drum looks great, white and normal, however there is wax and some gunk blocking half of it and he couldn't see if the tube was in there or not. The left ear, the tube is still fully in!! Less than 1% will have this happen where the tubes dont come out!! Eli did great, I was so proud of him. He didnt put up a fight about it at all.

So, because the tubes are there still he needs surgery to get them out. The concerns with leaving them in for any longer is that once they do fall out, the ear drum will view the hole like a piercing and not close up. This leaves it open for bacteria and infection.

The surgery itself takes all of 10 minutes, and he will need to be put under. It was originally booked for April 5th however thats the date of the ladies retreat with the church and Andy would really like me to go. He said I was still going despite Eli getting surgery the day that Id leave, so I called and see if I could change the date. Low and behold, there was a cancellation for  . . . Friday. Not next friday, or 2 weeks from Friday like in 4 days Friday! March 8th. I suppose theres no sense in putting it off if they have an openning for him.

Im hoping more than anything we have a super early spot because he has to fast for 12 hours, and I dont want to have to confuse him by not allowing him to eat.

I remember when we had the surgery for the tubes to be put in. He was just over a year old, and it seemed easy then because he didnt understand and had no idea what was going on. Eli knows the hospital now, and asks alot of questions. When I carried him into the operating room I remember holding him tight while the anesthesiologist held the mask to his face and then he just went limp in my arms. One minute he was kicking and screaming and the next just limp. The nurse and doctor reassured me he was okay and walked me out. All I remember was crying and feeling like I was going to faint, and like I could barely breath.

When I found out he'd have to get the tubes out I decided I couldn't take him into the operating room, not after the first time doing it. But now as I think closer to Friday I just feel like, Im his mom and need to be there with him. To tell him it'll be okay and we'll be close by him.

In no way do I worry about the actual surgery or anything going wrong, its the moments leading up the it, and putting him under. Dr.Eksteen has told us that he wont be in any pain afterwards and wont even know what happened.

We dont plan on giving Eli any details about whats going on before the surgery. No point in making him anxious. He'll probably pick up on my anxiousness anyway.

So if on Friday you think of us, please say a little prayer.
 Thanks!!!

Finally, at 7 months old, Judah bear is cutting 2 teeth!! Both are coming in at the same time on the bottom!! He is drooling like crazy and is super miserable! I didnt notice them till Saturday but looking closely their there, and on their way up! Hopefully they continue in the upward direction!

Judah is also almost got the whole crawling thing down. He has been scooting backwards (army style!) for the longest time, but now he is getting the forward crawling dynamics down! And has no problem crawling and then sitting himself up! He is so much happier now, or at least seems content that he can move around a bit!!

This month things have really picked up with lia sophia. Im trying to work towards some incentives, and that means booking some shows. Im so excited about the opportunities its giving me, and Im not going to lie, its so nice having something else to think about and focus on other than being at home, and with my kids! Ive always been skeptical of direct sales stuff but I feel like this door opened for me at a perfect time and is so exciting!!

If by chance your interested in hosting a show, please let me know or ask any questions!! The hostess bonus's are awesome and include free jewelry!! Cant really go wrong in my opinion! When I did my party before I started or even considered selling LS (lia sophia) I was able to get close to $800 in free jewelry!! Such a great feeling!!