no more monkeys jumping in her head

early on when holly had an ear infection, she would never lets us know.  the only way we WOULD know is because she'd have a fever for 2 or 3 days and then i'd take her to the doctor and it'd be [usually a double ear infection].  even though i'd ask her if they hurt, she would never say they did.  at jeffers artman and mann - our pediatricians office in wake forest - holly has a favorite doctor.  he always says to her that he is going to look for monkeys in her ear, and then for the bananas in the other ear.   so by the 4th or 5th ear infection, i'd just ask holly (when she'd start the fever) if she had a monkey in her ear and if she said yes, then i would take her right on to the doctor.  if i asked her if they hurt, she would still say no.  the whole monkey/banana thing worked for her.  the doctor there (dr. libissio or something like that) is so great.  she just loves him.  first doctor she has EVER interacted with (that doesn't include screaming).



after MUCH consideration, holly got ear tubes on tuesday.  any time your child has surgery, it is stressful.  i think kendal's surgeries ruined my nerves for them.  on his last one (which was a long time ago and i was pregnant), i was so upset in the pre-op area that the nurse told me it would be best if i left [him with just his daddy].  so, nathaniel took holly on tuesday.  all by himself- she had to be there at 6am (i never understand why so early).  holly slept with me the night before and i was really ok when they left.  i cried for only a minute when they left but i got a grip on myself and i got in the shower and got ready to go.  i headed over to mom and dad's house (kendal spent the night there) and dad met me in the yard.  we drove over to the surgery center and i was there a little after 7. her surgery was scheduled for 7:30. i SAW THE DOCTOR arrive, so still, i don't understand why she had to get there so early.


anyway, nathaniel came out of pre-op at right at 7:30.  he said she climbed all over him the whole time and they also read the i-spy book.  the nurses gave her lots of stickers to the point that she'd find an empty spot on her shirt and seek out a nurse to give her another one.  she also got to play with her mask (the anesthesia is administered by mask only).  pre-op is aparently a fun place.  he said she did not notice she was hungry or thirsty, thankfully.









within 5 to 8 minutes of nathaniel being in the waiting room, dr.clarkson was out to tell us holly was fine.  we didn't even have to do ear drops.  thankfully (i guess), she was just finishing up 2 weeks worth (2 rounds of) antibiotics for an ear infection so her ears were clear.  hopefully that was her last one for a LONG time.

in about 15 minutes, they came from the recovery area for us to get her.  she was drowsy but quiet.  she was sucking HARD on her paci.  i knew there was a reason we'd been waiting to kick the habit.  this was it. 



within 10 minutes, head still bobbing, eyes still rolling, we loaded her in the car and were on the way home.  8 am sharp, we were driving on the beltline. about halfway home, she woke up better.  we started reading the i-spy book.  the nurse in recovery said that holly would probably want a nap when we got home.  kendal, after his surgeries, always slept.  so, i really expected that from holly.  she had other plans.  she was wide awake and WILD!  she would run into the walls, the couch - you name it - and LAUGH!  belly laugh, too.  it was hilarious.  no bruises. she enjoyed standing on her head.  we also cooked meatless meatballs and made homemade pimento cheese... she liked it too!  we had lots of gentle snacks ( i was afraid to give her anything too heavy). about 1pm, she crashed and slept until 5:30 when i woke her up.  at 8pm sharp, bedtime was welcomed.  the next day, it was daycare as usual and she hasn't missed a beat (or bite)!

if you ask her now if she has monkeys in her ears, she'll say "all gone" and puts her hands over her ears.  if you ask her, also, if he has any bananas in her ears, she says "noooo" in her most southern accent.  i guess that means her ears are all better, which is a relief to this mama who hates feeding her small little body all those antibiotics over, and over, and over, and over.