This little person is my everything. She is the reason I became who I am. She is my mothering-inspiration. My first baby. You know her as Squirrel Monkey. She's amazing. But for some reason, God decided to give this little person a BIG personality... and some gigantic tonsils.
Ever since she was a newborn she has had trouble breathing because of her tonsils and adenoids. Part of the reason why I started sleeping with her (co-sleeping) was because I was so afraid she'd stop breathing sometime when I wasn't there to touch her, rouse her, and start her back up again. No one knew how bad it was until they saw firsthand and then they were freaked out by this tiny body snoring so loudly. She rivaled Hammy, our bulldog! So we've been talking for at least a year with her doctor about getting them removed and finally we found an ENT who was in our network who does T & A's (Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy) on 3 year olds! Whew! He was still 3.5 hours drive away from us, but we knew it would be worth the drive.
On Tuesday we drove to Helena after Gorillaman got off work. The girls were pretty good for the drive. Squirrel Monkey was really excited to stay in the hotel, and since we had been preparing her for this for about a month (telling her what to expect, what she would feel like after, how the surgery would help her, etc.) she was excited to get her tonsils out. Every now and then she would tell me, "I want my snorin' gone!"
The next morning we got up early. Squirrel Monkey wanted to eat but she wasn't allowed to so we distracted her. We got checked in at the hospital at 7:30 but then had to wait (more distracting... read iPhone games, Dora, and glove balloons!) until 9:30. I was under the impression that I would be allowed to go with her to get the gas so that I would be there as she fell asleep. At the last minute the nurse said, "Oh, they didn't tell you that you couldn't come back here?" Um. no. They didn't. I bit back my tears and told my brave little girl that the nurse would take care of her and I would see her in no time. She hugged me and got wheeled off in a too-big bed, without even looking back - her next adventure. I cried.
Gorillaman, with Owl Monkey in the Mei Tai (Happy
International Babywearing Week! Men wearing their babies... so sexy! Anyway...) and I went back to the waiting room. Then I decided I couldn't sit still, so we walked down to the cafeteria and got a drink and came back up to wait again. 20 minutes later we got a phone call from the doctor. She was done! The surgery took 15 minutes. Amazing.
He said we would probably get to see her in 30-45 minutes! What?! I wanted to hold my baby! I went to the nurse, apologized for being so aggravating (she said I wasn't, but what worried mom isn't a little frustrating to a busy nurse, right?), and told her, knowing my child, that she would be better off if I could be there as soon as possible. She said she'd tell the recovery nurses to come get me as soon as they could. Back to waiting.
Finally a nurse came to get me and we went up to the 4th floor to where Squirrel Monkey was coming out of anesthesia. On the way up the nurse said she did well and that she hadn't heard her cry yet, but when I walked into the room she was thrashing around on the bed a bit and starting to cry. I picked her up and held her close and she pointed into her mouth a few times. I just said, "I know, your throat hurts doesn't it? I know, mommy's here." The nurse was great. She got her some pain medicine and put it in her IV and within moments she was calming down and settling in to snuggle. She helped me untangle from all the cords, IV and blankets, got me a chair, and helped me settle in with Squirrel Monkey. Then she talked with me about how great it is that I stay home with my kids. She shared with me that she only worked part time when her kids were little so that she could be home with them as much as possible. She was really impressed with Squirrel Monkey. :) Proud mama moment #1.
In a little while we had to go to Squirrel Monkey's recovery room in pediatrics. I carried her. Once we were settled in on the bed I started feeling better. She snoozed on me for about an hour, complying when I asked her if she could take a drink of water. Nodding when I said, "Are you doing ok?" When she finally woke all the way up she ate some jell-o, then some pudding, drank some apple juice, then she ate her obligatory ice cream! Chocolate of course. A few hours later, when it was time to leave, she was wheeled out of the hospital in a very special wagon. She said she felt like a princess. The peds nurse was super. She was so sweet and comforting. She told us a number of times how great Squirrel Monkey was doing. We heard horror stories along the way from both this nurse and the woman at the front desk at our hotel how their kids had cried and screamed for hours after their tonsillectomies and how they couldn't be calmed down. Squirrel Monkey didn't cry or even complain after the anesthesia wore off. She's such a trooper.
Even the anesthesiologist came in a coupe of times to check on her and told us how great she was. Apparently he was having her "start up" the gas machine and he told her, "Wow, you're doing great! Did you practice this before?" And he told us she said, "Yeah." Lol! Proud mama moment #2. :)
All the while, little sister, Owl Monkey (see why I call her that?) was waiting so patiently. She wanted to play with Sissy so badly, but Gorillaman did an amazing job of keeping her happy throughout the whole thing. Thank goodness for a helpful and understanding partner!
We're so glad it's behind us! My advice would be:
- Prepare your kid ahead of time. Talk in positive and kid-friendly, but matter-of-fact terms. They understand so much more than we give them credit for.
- Bring along whatever comforter items the child uses. We decided not to bring Squirrel Monkey's paci (we were hopeful that this would be the impetus to give it up, actually). That turned out to be a bad choice since she wanted it afterward and was a little upset that it was back at the hotel. Ellie, her soft elephant did come in handy both before and after.
- Hold your baby! Human touch is awesome. Do whatever you have to do to get tummy-to-tummy immediately. I think this is especially comforting and healing when the child is used to this sort of care from infancy.
- Have a supportive partner/family member nearby, but aware that the mother needs to be the primary comfort-giver as much as the child needs her comfort. I needed to hold Squirrel Monkey
more than as much as she needed me to. I also made sure to give her special time with Daddy too.
- Hear her. When Squirrel Monkey was trying to tell me her throat hurt, she was confused, under anesthesia, had numbing stuff in her throat so she couldn't talk, and was in pain. She was telling me by sign (pointing) all of that. I let her know that I could understand and that it was ok by not only my words but my tone. That is important. It calmed her.
- Don't worry! :) Yeah right...
