Surgery day

The boys have been so so sick, their pediatrician is suggesting that we pull them out of day care.  I'm almost to that point of agreeing with her.  I have decided that we would visit the ENT and the allergist first before I made any decisions.  The ENT said that each boy had tubes out.  Thing 1 actually has a tube out and the hole isn't closing in his ear.  At first glance he thinks that Thing 2 has both tubes out.  He also suggests that they have their adenoids taken out.  I was skeptical about it since I really didn't see a difference in The Girlchick when they took hers out.  

We set the surgery date, and they immediately are fighting off the yucks.  For two weeks they have had low grade fevers, ear infections and TONS of snot, congestion and horrible coughs that sound like the beginnings of croup.  I am stressed out that they are going to be able to even have surgery since they are sick and running fevers and their coughs are so bad.  The pediatrician puts them on more antibiotics, but it just isn't getting rid of the fevers.  It is helping the ear infections, they look better, still have fluid, but not as red and puss filled.  But it isn't doing anything for the cough and congestion and the fevers.  

We took them to see the pediatrician the day before the surgery and she said that even though they sound pretty bad she thinks that they still should be able to have the surgery.  She said that Thing 2 had the beginnings of bronchitis and his lungs sounded a bit rough.  Thing 1's lungs were clear even though he sounded horrible.  She ended up switching both of their antibiotics to something a bit stronger, hoping it would hold them off and get them through the surgery so that we can finally get them on the mend.  She keeps telling me that the majority have a vast improvement from taking out the adenoids.  I'm still skeptical.  

We get to surgery day and they had a fever before they went to bed last night.  But we still get up at the crack of dawn to take them down to the medical center to Texas Children's hospital.  They take their history and vitals and everyone tells me that it will be up to the anesthesiologist to make the call on if they can have the surgery.  We finally see his nurse practitioner and then him.  He said that Thing 1 actually sounds worse than Thing 2 (the day before it was the opposite), and he said that he thinks that they are ok, but we might have to do a little extra work to help them with their breathing.  

It turns out that Thing 2 did pretty well during the actual surgery, but he required oxygen afterwards since his O2 sats kept dropping.  He had a bit of a hard time waking up as well.  He was mad and the only thing that would calm him down was taking sips of apple juice, but the moment you took it away he started screaming again.  Plus he wouldn't open his eyes, but he sure would thrash around a lot.  He didn't want the O2 mask on, so they would let me hold the tube in front of his face, then that would make him mad too.  You would think with all the screaming his sats would be just fine, but no.  Nathan was with me for the first few minutes, then Thing 1 came out of surgery and he had to go take care of him.  

Thing 1 was really really mad - I could hear him screaming across the recovery room over all the other kids screaming.  The  surgeon came over to talk to me and told me that they both had enlarged adenoids and they needed to come out.  He said that the hole was still open in Thing 1's ear and he was able to use the same hole with a new tube.  He had a LOT of puss in his ears and nose.  Which for some reason I thought was weird.  It wasn't coming out of his ears or his nose so where was it?  I'm just glad he got it out.  He also had some issues and needed a breathing treatment during the procedure to help him breathe.  They were a little concerned that he was going to have similar issues that Thing 2 was having with coming out of the anesthesia and having issues with his O2 sats.  But he perked right up and had no problems.  My concern was that the breathing treatment was going to wear off and he was going to start having issues.  But he was just fine, except he was pissed.  He was ok at first, but as he started to wake up more, the more pissed and mean he became.  I told myself if he ever starts to drink that he was going to be a mean drunk!  Once we got home he would not leave his brother alone.  He would hit him and just bug the crap out of him.  He would even hit us and refuse to say sorry.  You would tell him to say sorry and he would just shout NO at you.  It is kind of funny now, but after having a stressful long day it wasn't so funny.  

Poor Thing 2 just wanted to be held and left alone, but Mr. Meany thought he was an easy target.  Thing 2 was just fussy and wanted to be loved on and snuggled.  About how you would think most kids would be.  Except for Mr. Meany pants.  

I was worried about having to be there so early.  What in the world were we going to do to keep them busy and semi happy.  But luckily Children's hospital is pretty prepared for all of that.  They have a ton of stuff to keep them busy.  I had a bag packed full of special tricks to help keep them busy and didn't need to even pull out the big guns!  I was very impressed with the staff and the hospital.  We had never been there.  For The Girlchick's tonsils and tubes - we went to two different surgery centers and it was hard to keep her happy and busy waiting for surgery, plus her being hungry and thirsty on top of it.  I think from now on we will be going to Texas Children's for any other procedures we may have to have.  

Now we wait and see what kind of impact taking their adenoids out is going to have.  I have high hopes, but I just have to wait and see.

Thing 1 (aka Mr. Meany pants) the day after surgery, they give the kids these really cute doctor PJ's that look like scrubs, but are soft  material, and the boys loved them and wanted to wear them the next day over their own PJ's.

They all love pink

All the kids got "cars" for Christmas.  The boys got matching ones, and The Girlchick got a pink one.  For some reason they all end up fighting over the pink one.  I thought I was doing good getting the boys both the same ones.  Usually they won't fight over it if they can both have a toy that is exactly the same.  I didn't think about everyone wanting the one that is different.  

Thing 2 started off just wanting to ride on the back with big sister, then she made a crucial mistake one day.  She let him drive and she rode.  Then he out smarted her, he would get in front of her like he was going to give her a ride and he was going to drive, but what he started to do was get on in front and then push her off the back and he would have the car all to his little self.  Thing 1 hasn't figured out that approach yet.  He still goes for a ride with big sister and is happy about it.  One day she decided she wasn't going to give up to Thing 2's antic's to push her off and stood her ground.  Thing 1 was just happy to ride and this was the end result.

Three kids on the car

More tubes

When we were at the doctor's office the last time (More Sickies), she suggested that I go back to the ENT to have the boys tubes put back in.  We made the appointment and the ENT informed us that Thing 2 did not have just one tube out, but both tubes out!  Great! Thing 1 only had one tube out, but the one that was out - there was still a hole in the drum which is a little unusual.  Hopefully it isn't a sign that he is going to be part of the 5% of kids whose holes don't close on their own from ear tubes.  He also told us that this time he wants to remove their adenoids.  They were too young last time.  He also informed us that Thing 2 had an active ear infection and gave us a prescription for antibiotics.  Great again - more antibiotics.  I thought it was bad for The Girlchick when she was younger, but these boys - they just can't ever get rid of the runny nose, cough and congestion.  I didn't start Thing 2 on the antibiotics since he said to wait to see if he started to run a fever, and at the time he wasn't.

Fast forward 4 days - a week before we are to have the tubes put back in Thing 2 has to come home from school with a fever, and a day later it is Thing 1.  We are back on antibiotics and hopefully it will help to get the tubes back in and the adenoids out.  I really have high hopes, but not high expectations if that makes sense?  I really really really just want to keep them off of all the medication.  I am so torn about pulling them out of daycare.  I think they really enjoy it and I like the socialization that they get.  Plus the school really helped me out a lot when Grandma had to leave and go to California to take care of great grandma when she had to have her hip replacement redone.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them when she had to suddenly leave within 4 days.  But at the same time something there - either just the yucks that make them sick all the time, or they are allergic to something at the school - is something that keeps making them sick.  So what to do?  What are the other options?  Leave the school that I really love and has gone out of the way to help me twice now with the boys?  Or find in home care, where they will not get the same learning, socialization and play time.  What to do, what to do?  Does someone have a magic wand they can lend me?

Untwin Day 2

Before all of the chaos of getting back to work started, we got to take The Girlchick out for an afternoon of undivided Mom and Dad time.  She got to pick what ever we did.  We ended up going to a movie then out to dinner.

While we were waiting for the movie to start she wanted to play one of the old school dance dance videos.  She was so cute trying.