Unfortunately my very first real post doesn’t get to be very happy. Today Orin had ear tubes placed in his ears for recurring ear infections. Korey had the same procedure as a baby and apparently it does run in families. I’d hoped that we would be able to avoid this – Izzy had never had an ear infection as a baby – but ever since his very first one as six months old the possibility has nagged at me.

We held out a long time too! He would go two or three months without one and then it would crop up again. Orin was considered only borderline eligible for the procedure until he got THE infection of his poor little life at the beginning of August when we were in Pennsylvania. We ended up having to go to the ER even – another first he graced me with. 😉 But that infection never seemed to go away no matter how we treated it – every two weeks we were back at the pediatrician for more medication. Finally they referred us to a pediatric ENT.

The practice I selected is associated with Children’s where Zelda had her heart surgery so I was familiar and comfortable with them. And while I do try to limit medical intervention and no one likes to see their children have any surgical procedure, I definitely felt relived when the doctor said he was eligible and a good candidate for tubes. It was a no brainer for me. Orin has been a miserable little man for the past three months – it was time to fix this once and for all.

We had to go in super early this morning for the procedure and while initially Orin wasn’t too impressed, he perked up enough to play for a bit. I always feel like they’re going to start getting suspicious any time I only take one of them somewhere – ha! He misses his sisters greatly when they’re not around – even though they’re usually taking his toys away from him. 😉

The worst part of the experience for me was reliving Zelda’s heart surgery. Every building in the Children’s network here in Atlanta seems to be branded the same way so the pre-op room looked distinctly like the one Zelda was in where I had to leave her over night so many times by herself. And the hallways were just the same as the ones I had to roll her down to meet with the anesthesiologist before surgery. But thankfully this procedure was so minor and the anesthesia so minimal I wasn’t really scared or nervous for him. I just think the experience of your newborn going into major surgery at a month old and five pounds is one that will never leave you.

And thankfully he did great! He didn’t cry much coming out of anesthesia and he immediately gobbled down a bag of goldfish. 😉 The doctor said his case was textbook and that everything looked fine. Most miraculously, except for some obvious moments of discomfort and pain, he seems like he actually feels better than he has in months! I was a little nervous he’d be groggy and upset the rest of the day, but he was back to playing and laughing and chasing his sisters as soon as we got home. 😀

I am really thankful for the great doctors and the great care we continually receive at Children’s and I am optimistic that this will make a big difference in the quality of Orin’s life. =)