James’ first surgery

And hopefully his last.  After three months of having a sick baby, we finally scheduled his surgery to get tubes in his ears.  James has not been himself as he has been fighting these ear infections.  We’ve spent much of our time in jammies watching more TV than any kid should watch, taking more Motrin and Tylenol than any kid should take, and giving lots of hugs and kisses that every sick child deserves.

One day last week when James would not stop crying, we hopped in the car and went to a local toy store.  Big mistake.  I wanted to buy him the whole store out of guilt.  I compromised with my wallet, and bought him an overpriced toy half-off on the internet.  James loves to push things.  His play lawn mower, walkers, shopping carts, even our chairs (scratching) across the kitchen floor.  From the moment, we walked into this store, he grabbed a child sized shopping cart and would not let it go until we left (in tears).  So, this is what I call his “tube present.”  And also the first toy he's ever had that doesn’t shout “I’M A BOY!”  But he picked it out, and I would have bought him anything that day.  He pushed it around at first refusing to feel better.

He pushed it around, trying not to give into that smile.

Then he finally gave in and let this “tube present” bring some happiness before we got those ears fixed.

As we counted down the days to his appointment and exhausted all distractions, we were ready to get it over with this morning.  On an empty stomach (no food before anesthesia), our big boy did great.

Our appointment was in the same hospital where James was born and scheduled for the same time as my c-section.  It was a weirdly familiar feeling.

The procedure was over in 20 minutes.  They made a tiny incision in each ear drum, drained all the fluid that was causing the infections, and inserted the tubes.  They also did a nasal endoscopy to make sure it was not a sinus problem.  James didn’t like or understand all the preparatory poking and prodding,  but he remained “tough” and tried to focus on Mickey Mouse on the TV.

The hardest part was handing my baby over to the nurse.  And the 20 minute wait felt like two hours.  He was very confused and upset coming off the anesthesia, but he started to get better when got in the car and even managed to mumble “ca”.  We gave him some milk, played the Avett Brothers (his favorite CD), and talked about all the familiar things we would do all day (go home, see Lynyrd, Daddy will be home too, Nanny and GG might come over – that got his attention, watch Yo Gabba Gabba, and Elmo, and eat some crackers.)

As soon as we got home, James was back to his normal self.  He was quite weeble wobbly, but I actually think he liked that.  He fell out of his chair a few times, and said “weeeeeee” each time.  People keep telling me, “Guess that’s the Kahle in him.”  Ha ha.

Baby James, Mommy and Daddy are so very proud of you.  This was a routine surgery, but was not routine for us.  You were such a big boy today, and I cannot wait to see how much better you feel!  We love you!