Going Tubin'

It's amazing how different the second kid is from the first, considering they came from the same genetic material. For example, Ethan - in his first 5 years - never had an ear infection. Kinley, however, has had 5 in the past 6 months! So after seeing our ENT, we decided that it would be best to have her get tubes.

For the uninitiated, the tubes are little plastic spool-like tubes that are stuck in the eardrum to help clear out fluid and prevent buildup. It's an oversimplification, but you get the idea. The procedure is an outpatient surgery and fairly routine. That was comforting for us, but any trip to the hospital (especially using anesthesia), makes the parents nervous.

But little Kin wasn't nervous at all on the big day. We had to cut her off of food and drink the night before and she was remarkably happy given that she was probably starving when we got there. We were starving too, because we didn't have breakfast - we didn't want to tease Kin with food in the car when we couldn't give her any. Thankfully, Grandma met us at the hospital with Chick-fil-a for breakfast which we kept tucked away until Kinley was with the doctor. Phew!

The staff at the hospital was incredible with Kinley. They have her a little sheet of stickers to play with and she was having a blast up until they swept her away!

Kinley with her stickers before the surgery

Just a short time later, the doctor came and got us, saying that the procedure went well and there was actually fluid already back in her ear, so it was good that we had the tubes in. When we went back to recovers, Kinley was playing with one of the nurses and was thrilled to see us. She hardly knew anything was done.

Really, it was a really short procedure - we had to be at the hospital at 7am and we were home by 10am. And after a little play time with Mom and Dad at home, she was back to normal!

Kinley "recovering" at home

We're hoping that the tubes will help with her sleep better, as she hasn't really been sleeping through the night with any consistency. Other parents say it happens, but we're still waiting!