Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Surgery Day!




On February 22nd Joshua had the tubes put in his ear. Our morning started off early since we had to be at the hospital at around 7:00 AM. I was very concerned that Joshua would be miserable in the time leading up to the procedure since would not be able to eat or drink anything past midnight. I woke Joshua up at 6:00 and changed him into his adorable SuperMan pajamas and brought him downstairs, my friend was coming with me since Chris needed to go to work that day. The first thing Joshua headed to was his high chair, he pulled a bib out of the pocket at the back of his high chair and tried putting it on. I quickly distracted him, put his coat on and rushed out the door. We were very careful not to mention and sort of food or drink in front of him so that we didn't remind him that he hadn't eaten. After we got to the hospital we waited around for about an hour until they called us in to get him changed in to his pink prison pajamas. The nurse gave him a huge syringe of tylenol and he got sleepy quite quickly. We went back to wait for them to call Joshua's name. My Dad arrived just when the called Joshua's name so they gave each other a quick hello and we went off to meet with the anaestheologist before heading into the Operation Room.


I was glad that I was able to stay with Joshua while they were putting him under, but it was probably one of the scariest moments of my parenting life. When we got into the OR I sat Joshua in my lap with his arms around my back while the anaestheologist inserted the IV in his hand. He cried the worst cry that I have ever heard come out of his little body, and the doctor warned me that he would scream for about 10 seconds and then he would just stop, and that is exactly what he did, with a horrible coughing sound in between. The nurse had warned me how he would go limp but I was still not prepared to see my little boy in that state. They whipped him out of my arms and on to the operating table and the doctor walked me out of the room.

I met up with my Dad, Wendy and my friend and we went and had a quick bite to eat before heading back to the waiting room where we waited for them to call my name. Once the announcement was made that he was in the recovery room and went back to see him. I walked into the recovery room and there he was sitting on the nurses lap looking quite content while another nurse checked his vitals. I picked him up gave him a hug and we sat for a while and cuddled, that was probably the best part of the day since I don't usually get many cuddles in anymore. The nurse offered him a glass of juice which he very happily guzzled back and politely asked for more.

We were able to take him home about an hour after he woke up and as soon as we got home he had a three hour nap, and as you can tell by the pictures below, he was back this normal self.


A huge thank you to my wonderful friend Megan, who came along with me to help keep me sane, not only is she a wonderful friend, but she will soon be a mommy to beautiful set of twins!








Saturday, October 18, 2008

Wa Wow

Joshua love our cat Waldo, especially lately! When ever he sees Waldo he smiles the biggest smiles and chases after him screaming, then when he catches him he pulls him onto to the floor and gives him a giant hug. The poor cat quickly get up and runs away, but he is very good with Josh, he has never scratched or hissed at him, he just takes whats comig and takes off at his first opportunity. This morning as Chris and I were relaxing with a cup of tea, Josh chased the cat down the stairs, opened up the cat door and shouted "Wa Wow, Wa Wow?" So cute! This is the first name he has used to identify something, and no suprise to us, it's the cat!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Big Changes

In the middle of September Chris took the plunge and changed careers. Previously he was a Senior Financial Analyst at a local financial institution and now he is a first year Apprentice Electrician, definitely not a small change. He has gone from a desk job to a one where he spends a lot of time outdoors (or in buildings without windows). I am so proud of him for taking this big step, he considered it for a long time before it became a reality and in the end decided that this was something that he wanted to do. Things have been very different for the last few weeks as we are all adjusting to new schedules, but I look forward to what the future holds and I am so proud of Chris!

The time has almost come!

After Joshua's last ear infection we went back into to see the specialist (on September 22) and she suggested that we make the decision to insert tubes into his ears. She felt it was necessary considering he was having trouble so early on in the cold season. His surgery is set for October 22. We went yesterday to see his regular doctor, where they did a pre-op physical and they said he is very healthy (although there is still some fluid in his ears). He was so well behaved at the appointment yesterday, I was beaming with pride! The doctor assured me he would be just fine with the surgery, to which I responded "I know, I am just looking forward to him feeling better!" He gave me a slightly puzzled look and carried on, apparently as I mum I should be in full on panic mode. I feel so comfortable with the specialist that is performing the procedure that I am not really worried. Although just in case, on the day of I do have a friend coming with me for support since Chris has to be at work! My plan is to get Joshua some super cute Superman pajamas (complete with removable cape) that he can wear to and from the hospital.

This morning Joshua woke up with a runny nose, that combined with his waking up in the night crying for the past two nights has me on high alert that another ear infection is looming (these are the early signs that he usually experiences just before the onset of another ear infection). I am keeping my fingers crossed that he stays healthy, but a trip back to our family physician may be in our near future.

Monday, October 6, 2008

New Shoes

Joshua has outgrown yet another pair of shoes, these are the shoes that his Grandma and Nana bought for him when he started walking, and they have been well loved. The hardest part about shoe shopping is the lack of specialty children's shoe stores. This time we went back to Geox since I know that they have a decent selection of good quality kids shoes, where we bought his first pair of shoes. We ended up with a pair of Geox Creepers, and Joshua is running around like crazy, so I assume that he likes them. We opted for velcro this time since he lacks the patience required to sit still for the time that is required to tie his shoes, his preference is to slip on his rubber boots!