And Then There Were Tubes...

Well, we finally gave in...Colton's last or should I say Colton's NEVER ENDING ear infection(s) finally pushed us to the edge and we jumped off - - right into the office of an ENT (Ear Nose & Throat) doctor.

And I'm so glad we took the leap.

Since Thanksgiving we have had doctor's visit after doctor's visit dealing with and trying to combat ear infections and the nasty cold symptoms that come with them.

And, if I had to take a non-doctor's educated guess, we've been dealing with the SAME recurrent ear infection(s) since that time and NO ANTIBIOTIC ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH has been bully enough to knock it out.

Now, let me just say that we are no stranger to ear infections. My oldest got them and in fact, what child in daycare doesn't get one (or more)?

BUT...

Just get out your wet noodles and slap me silly...eight ear infections in less than 5 months?!

That ain't normal my friends!!!

And I must add that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our pediatrician, but somehow this time around with baby #2, I just did not feel comfortable with the conservative, "It happens all the time in children under age 2 and as he gets older and builds up more immunity these ear infections should no longer be a problem. Let's try a different antibiotic this time."

Ah, no.

How many more antibiotics were we gonna try? We did Amoxicillin, we did Suprax, we did Septra, we did _______________________ (fill in the blank).

Seriously, fill it in, I am sure we tried that too...lol!

So, after convincing my hubby that we really needed to get another opinion - - as in..."Michael, we need to get our baby to an ear, nose and throat guy A-SAP!" - - there we were in our local ENT's office about 2 weeks ago.

Guess what?

It did not take long (about a milli-second really) to determine that Colton was INDEED a prime candidate for ear tubes...just like Mommy thought :-)

And yes, yes, yes, I know that ear tubes are not always the answer, but seriously folks, we had to give this babe some relief.

Hopefully, the tubes will do the trick, but just like most things, I guess only time will tell.

Anyway, we left the ENT's office with a surgery date of April 8 (which was 3 weeks from the date of our initial visit) along with a proviso that if it looked like Colton would not be able to hold out that long, I could call and see if the surgery nurse could slip us in earlier.

We did Colton's surgery yesterday, March 25th, so you can figure out what wound up happening (wink).

And the day went like this...

Mommy and Colton Heading into the Surgery Center at

O'dark Thirty in the Morning!

Yep, we're both still sleepy...can't you tell?!

Fox News Must've Been Showing Something Really Captivating on the Waiting Area Television

Talk About Mirror Image?!

Nurse Mattie Checking Vitals and Colton Helping Her Out

(see him holding onto the stethoscope?! LOL!)

It's Official...He's a Patient

Colton Investigating His New Jammie Accessory

Vitals, check. I.D. Bracelet, check. Pacifier, check.

So What's Next?

You Gotta' Sweet Smile Nurse Lady, but Let Me Double Check

Your Badge Before You Take Me Away To Some Cold Surgery Room

Sure Recovery Nurse Dude, You're Smiling...

After All, It Wasn't Your Ears They Fiddled With!

Need to tell you all...Brandon (the recovery nurse dude) told Michael and I that he had never seen a baby as young as Colton come out of anesthesia without crying or screaming or flailing. He said that Colton did not shed a tear or make a sound...just woke up with a little grin and grabbed his finger. [Insert Here - proud parents and a heart melt too!]

Safely Back in the Arms of Mommy!

After 10 Hours With No Food - - This Bottle Tastes GREAT!

Let's Go Home...I'm Done With All This Surgery Stuff!

After A Few Hours Nap, Food, a Diaper and Clothing Change...

Look Who's Feeling So Much Better!

So my blogger friends, there you have it. Never would I have thought that the word "tubes" would hold so much significance for me and for my son...for two TOTALLY different reasons of course (LOL!)

Baby Stats - 9 Months

Pictures Taken At Doctor's Office

Colton's 9-Month Well Baby Check-Up
(03/08/2011)

Age: 9 months and 10 days old (on date of blog entry)

Weight: 22 lbs. 14 oz. (75th - 90th percentile)

Length: 29 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 46cm {18 inches} (50th - 75th percentile)

Diaper: Size 4 –Pampers brand - Cruisers

Clothing: Wearing sizes 9-months and 12-months depending on the brand/type of outfit

Formula: Similac Isomil Soy (powder)

Amount: He's taking 8 oz. bottles and gets anywhere from a total of 24 to 28 ounces of formula per day. We are still using Dr. Brown's bottles w/size 2 nipples

Solid Food: He is eating Second Foods (#2). He takes approx. 8 to 12 ounces of solid baby food per day. Each container is 3.5 to 4 ounces.

Sleeping Habits: He’s been sleeping through the night with an occasional wake up for a bit of bottle, but not very often. He is usually down for the night between 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. He gets anywhere from 10 to 12 hours at a stretch at night. He still takes an early morning nap (lasts anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour), a much longer afternoon nap (2 ½ to 3 hours), an early evening cat nap (about 30 minutes), and then he goes to bed for the night. And yes, he’s still a tummy sleeper although sometimes he sleeps on his side (a position he “rolls” into, not one mommy puts him in).

What He's Doing/How He’s Progressing: He is still totally full of personality! He is always smiling and blabbing away. Right now his favorite chant is, "BA-BA-BA-BA-BA!" He laughs a whole lot too! He also has the absolute cutest little giggle. Very rarely (and I really mean that) does he ever cry. He rolls over from back to front and front to back. He sits unassisted and likes to sway back and forth while doing so especially if you hum a tune to him. He is trying to crawl. Right now he sort of scoots backwards and will even do a full 360 degree circle scooting around on his chest and forearms. He definitely has the arm and chest placement right, he just hasn’t figured out how to coordinate that with being up on his knees too. I predict that he’ll be doing a full blown crawl within the next few weeks for sure though. He is totally adept at picking things up with both hands and passing items back and forth between the two. If I had to guess, he’s definitely going to be a righty, but who knows? My oldest son is a lefty so I guess only time will tell. His favorite “toys” are two of mommy’s rubber kitchen scraper/spatulas (go figure?!!!) He moves his one hand in a “bye-bye” motion, but he doesn’t realize that’s what he’s doing…LOL! He likes for us (especially his big brother) to play peek-a-boo with him. It makes him giggle every single time. He enjoys books being read to him. He loves to see himself in a mirror...almost as much as he L-O-V-E-S to see his big brother. Whenever R.J. walks into the room, it's like Colton's world becomes complete. He responds to R.J. as only a little brother can - - with total admiration, love, and awe. It's precious to witness. He only gives Mommy kisses by opening up his mouth and planting it on my face…slobber and all. He still loves bath time and has enjoyed being in the big tub (see this post for more about that). His hair has really filled in and he even has curls in the back by his neck. He has a total of seven teeth…4 on top (that he cut all at one time…ugh!) and 3 on the bottom. He has tried (and likes) cheerios and Gerber Strawberry Apple Fruit Puffs. It’s really cute to see him pick them up with his finger and thumb and put them in his mouth. He gets giddy with excitement every time you put him in his jumper that hangs from a door jam. He likes to “jump” so much that even when he’s not in it, he will do the jumping motion while you are holding him up with his feet on the ground. He has had no problem adjusting to daycare and loves his teachers. Some mornings he is so engrossed with watching the children and teachers around him that he doesn’t even notice when I leave. Oh, and he STILL loves his pacifier!!

Vaccines He’s Received To Date: Hepatitis B, DTaP (Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis), Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae Type b), IPV (Polio), Prevnar/PCV 13 (Pneumococcal Conjugate), RotaTeq (Rotavirus), and Flu

If you want to read about, contrast/compare Colton's 6 month stats, click here.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub...Bub-In-A-Tub

Okay, so after buckets of water splashage going EVERYWHERE and my little man trying to bite the ceramic sink edge, I finally broke down and moved Colton from the convenience of bathtime in the kitchen sink to the regular bath tub.

I wasn't too sure if he was going to be overwhelmed by the big space of the bath tub or if he was going to like the water flotation support he was going to be wearing, but he took to both things like a rock star.

Let me just add that my hubby thinks that the flotation support looks like his son is wearing a flower tu-tu and for that reason he was not too thrilled about it, but once he saw how much fun Colton was having in the tub he got over it.

By the way, the "thing" Colton is wearing is called the Papillion Baby Bath Ring. It was designed by a pediatrician in this butterfly shape (not a tu-tu...lol!) to help prevent the baby from tipping over and it totally works!







Oh, and one more thing...R.J. made me promise to tell my blogger friends that he will NOT be taking baths with his baby brother on a regular basis and that he only did it this ONE TIME because I made him.


Of course I did...I AM the mom after all...LOL!