I, honestly, wasn't nervous about this day. I had several people ask me how I was doing or feeling, but the reality was that I wasn't feeling much else than relief. Sophia has been averaging an ear infection every 3-4 weeks. I think every time she's seen my mom she's been sick, in some capacity. She's a great sleeper, so that is never an indication, but she hasn't been her happy self in quite some time. As soon as she seemed to get over one illness the next set in. It was exhausting. In six weeks of school I had already missed three days of work. And although work cannot be the only reason to make this decision, it certainly played a part, even if only because she's been THAT sick. When I finally asked the pediatrician for a recommendation for an ENT, I put it off for a few weeks; she had turned one and it's not uncommon for things to make a turn. But three weeks later, like clock work, she came down with croup. And a mild ear infection. So we trekked to the ENT and 6 days later we had tubes. And I am not looking back.
Immediately following waking up from her morning nap, 2 hours after the surgery, Jason and I put her in the car to go to the mall, and she talked the entire way there! Talked! Not just a few babbling words, this girl was TALKING! I looked at Jason and said, "She has not stopped talking since she woke up!" Now, this may have had something to do with the fact that Bella wasn't in the car, but maybe not.
She's eaten more for each meal than she has in weeks. In fact, she had a major melt down this evening, before dinner, simply because she was STARVING! I don't know if this is common, but it seems like all of a sudden she has her appetite back.
Tonight she said "yellow". And the words "baby" and "Daddy" are very obviously more clearly pronounced.
A teacher at school today said she was completely different; "very vocal".
Another one said she was so happy all day long.
She took a two hour nap today at school (this is VERY uncommon there).
She walked up to me and just wrapped her arms around my legs. (Was she saying "thank you"?)
She was laughing tonight while she was playing with Bella. Not just playing near each other, but with each other.
She burped, and it must have sounded differently (or louder) and it scared her to tears!
She says "cheers" when we're eating. This started a few days before the tubes, but it's so clear, now.
She turned to look for the kids coming out of the house across the street, in the dark...she heard them.
But most importantly, she just seems happy. And content. And "normal". I know it might sound kind of strange, but it was like a switch was flipped. The doctor said that she had another ear infection when he went in to insert the tubes. This was the last piece of information that solidified knowing that we made the right decision. He drained the infection and inserted the tube. We had no idea. No fever. We've just grown accustomed to her behaviors. Doctors have told us, seemingly from birth, that she had fluid in her ears. I often heard "no infection, but there's fluid". And now I'm wondering how that's impacted her quality of life up to this point. But she woke up from that first nap a different baby. I'm not sure where you draw the line between coincidence and clear effects. But I'm starting to draw my own conclusions. Who knows what this cold and flu season will bring, but I'm feeling better about it and less paranoid.
In classic Danielle fashion, I took pictures of everything. This girl just makes me smile. Especially when she gets that devious look...wonder where she got that one from?!
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| Yes, she was this happy at 6:30 in the morning... |
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| Killing time in the waiting room...lol...she's a riot! |
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| She's just recently grasped how to use crayons effectively. We were just getting settled in when they called us back! |
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wiggly and blurry
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One of the most amazing things about yesterday was simply being able to spend time with Sophia, just Mommy, Daddy, and Sophia. Don't get me wrong, I missed having Bella with us, but it was so wonderful to just stare at Sophia doing simple things, like watching the water fountains in the mall or eating lunch. When I started to feel guilty I reminded myself that Bella had 20 months of us all to herself. Sophia will never know that kind of undivided attention. Making the time to spend individual time with each of our girls must be a priority. They are siblings, but they are also individuals. I want to make sure that each of them always knows how special and unique they are. Yesterday was a great reminder of why this is so important.
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