Danielle Behind the Wheel
1 day ago
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas
The stockings were hung by our new gas log with care...
John and Daddy examining the coloring book that Santa left.
John looking into the bathroom mirror on his own for the first time while standing on his new step stool from Mama and Daddy.
John stowing his new Christmas bus inside the Christmas step stool.
John and Daddy examining the coloring book that Santa left.
John looking into the bathroom mirror on his own for the first time while standing on his new step stool from Mama and Daddy.
John stowing his new Christmas bus inside the Christmas step stool.
Friday, December 21, 2007
John's Ear Surgery
This morning John had tubes implanted (for lack of a better word) in his eardrums. We were at the surgical center for about two hours, but the actual procedure was very quick.
He actually has me to thank for this problem. I had tubes in my ears twice when I was a kid (I was a bit older than John, actually) and we're told it's a hereditary thing.
We arrived and checked in, then sat in the waiting room for about 10 minutes, then they took us back to a pre-op area where we put John in his hospital gown and waited for about 30 minutes. One of the nurses rolled a television over and we watched a couple Curious George episodes. The anesthesiologist came and spoke with us briefly, several nurses stopped by, and Dr. Hellstrom (John's ENT and the one who actually performed the procedure) talked with us, too.
Details of the procedure...
It's basically pretty simple. John had a build-up of fluid behind his eardrums that was causing him discomfort and some hearing trouble, so they needed to implant (that word sounds better) tubes in his eardrums. They put John to sleep with a gas mask (no needles used at all, thank
goodness!) and then made a small incision in each eardrum, drained the fluid, and put in a small tube that the eardrums heal around, holding it in place. You can see in the photo that the tubes are very small and are shaped sort of like an hour glass. These tubes will allow excess fluid to drain out preventing future ear infections and will help equalize the air pressure around his eardrums. The tubes in the photo are actually one of the two sets of tubes that I had in my ears when I was a kid. Yes, my parents kept them.
Finally Nurse Libby came and took John back to the OR and we waited in the "Family Conference Room." What seemed like 5 minutes later another nurse came and took us to the pediatric recovery room and a minute later they brought John in. He was groggy and very upset, but he did very well. The surger
y went very well and there were no complications. We held him for a while and then put him back in his pajamas and headed home. He slept most of the way home. Now he's on antibiotics and we have these drops that we have to drop into his ears every day. 
The hardest part of all this was not being able to give John anything to eat or drink this morning before the surgery. After we got home he started eating like a horse, is completely back to his energetic self (more so, actually), and seems to be gravitating toward toys that make noise!
He actually has me to thank for this problem. I had tubes in my ears twice when I was a kid (I was a bit older than John, actually) and we're told it's a hereditary thing.
We arrived and checked in, then sat in the waiting room for about 10 minutes, then they took us back to a pre-op area where we put John in his hospital gown and waited for about 30 minutes. One of the nurses rolled a television over and we watched a couple Curious George episodes. The anesthesiologist came and spoke with us briefly, several nurses stopped by, and Dr. Hellstrom (John's ENT and the one who actually performed the procedure) talked with us, too.Details of the procedure...
It's basically pretty simple. John had a build-up of fluid behind his eardrums that was causing him discomfort and some hearing trouble, so they needed to implant (that word sounds better) tubes in his eardrums. They put John to sleep with a gas mask (no needles used at all, thank
goodness!) and then made a small incision in each eardrum, drained the fluid, and put in a small tube that the eardrums heal around, holding it in place. You can see in the photo that the tubes are very small and are shaped sort of like an hour glass. These tubes will allow excess fluid to drain out preventing future ear infections and will help equalize the air pressure around his eardrums. The tubes in the photo are actually one of the two sets of tubes that I had in my ears when I was a kid. Yes, my parents kept them.Finally Nurse Libby came and took John back to the OR and we waited in the "Family Conference Room." What seemed like 5 minutes later another nurse came and took us to the pediatric recovery room and a minute later they brought John in. He was groggy and very upset, but he did very well. The surger
y went very well and there were no complications. We held him for a while and then put him back in his pajamas and headed home. He slept most of the way home. Now he's on antibiotics and we have these drops that we have to drop into his ears every day. 
The hardest part of all this was not being able to give John anything to eat or drink this morning before the surgery. After we got home he started eating like a horse, is completely back to his energetic self (more so, actually), and seems to be gravitating toward toys that make noise!
Ear update
We're back from surgery. It was very quick. Everything went well, and John is happy he is finally able to eat again.
I'll try to get the pics and a more thorough description of events later today.
I'll try to get the pics and a more thorough description of events later today.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
We love Christmas Songs!
We have been singing lots of Christmas songs in the car, usually at the "More, please" request of John, and Tony and I have been running out of material.
I googled and found this site which has a lot of extra verses for old favorites!
C'mon, everyone join in!
Testing
Evidently John is passing through the stage in which he systematically tests our limits on various topics!
It was grinding teeth yesterday, today it was gagging himself on his own hand. How does he come up with this stuff??!
Also, he and I had a standoff on the stairs this morning over whether or not he was going to say "Please" when he asked me to pick him up. He finally did, but it took about 3 minutes. Now I'm realizing the other side of the dog food standoff from my own childhood... Sorry Mom and Dad, I get it now.
It was grinding teeth yesterday, today it was gagging himself on his own hand. How does he come up with this stuff??!
Also, he and I had a standoff on the stairs this morning over whether or not he was going to say "Please" when he asked me to pick him up. He finally did, but it took about 3 minutes. Now I'm realizing the other side of the dog food standoff from my own childhood... Sorry Mom and Dad, I get it now.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Always something new...
The song
(sung to the tune of "Oh, Susanna")
Oh, John Michael, don't you grind your teeth,
Cuz it really bugs your momma, your dada, and your Keats.
So this evening, John started gritting his teeth. While awake. Often. And that is the sound that I CANNOT stand hearing. So I have ear plugs in and Tony is staying with John. We hope the teeth-grinding doesn't have anything to do with his fever and irritability...
(sung to the tune of "Oh, Susanna")
Oh, John Michael, don't you grind your teeth,
Cuz it really bugs your momma, your dada, and your Keats.
So this evening, John started gritting his teeth. While awake. Often. And that is the sound that I CANNOT stand hearing. So I have ear plugs in and Tony is staying with John. We hope the teeth-grinding doesn't have anything to do with his fever and irritability...
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Medicus
We had John's appointment with the new ENT this morning: Dr. Hellstrom at Medicus. He was super-nice, as was everyone in the office. John is scheduled for tubes at their surgical center in Anderson on Friday, December 21st. We have a "pre-op" appointment the Tuesday before, when they will tell us the exact time for surgery, pre- and post-op instructions, etc.
They will only be installing tubes, no adenoidectomy or nasal lavage. Light general anesthesia, and John will be cleared by Malpass (cardiologist), when he gets back to his office Monday.
Dr. Hellstrom is left-handed and he was in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago last weekend (where we are going tomorrow!). Two interesting coincidences, which always make me feel better for some reason.
He also said John was fine to fly.
So everything is going smoothly so far, and I feel 10,000 times better about this doctor and practice!
Yea!
They will only be installing tubes, no adenoidectomy or nasal lavage. Light general anesthesia, and John will be cleared by Malpass (cardiologist), when he gets back to his office Monday.
Dr. Hellstrom is left-handed and he was in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago last weekend (where we are going tomorrow!). Two interesting coincidences, which always make me feel better for some reason.
He also said John was fine to fly.
So everything is going smoothly so far, and I feel 10,000 times better about this doctor and practice!
Yea!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Our friend James
Here is a picture of John and our neighbor friend James at the botanical garden on Sunday.
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