A sleepy drunk

Andrew is now the proud owner of ear tubes.

We went in this morning at 8 am. Jeff worked Sunday so he could come with us. My parents made sure to come into town to watch the 2 little ones so we could both be there. I worked hard to make Andrew informed about what was going to happen without freaking him out.

We arrived and immediately had to wait. Andrew played his handheld UNO game and then we played Go Fish (He won). They brought us back and Andrew stripped down and put on a super soft fleecy hospital gown (um, excuse me, preggers would like those too, ya know?) and then covered him with a warmed blanket. Nurses and doctors came in to talk to us, get our autographs, and take Andrew's vitals. Andrew handled all this BEAUTIFULLY. This is my child who fears new experiences...I was so proud of how he handled himself. We overheard the people one curtain over get offered a popsicle. The nurse gave Andrew some "silly syrup"...mild form of a Valium-like substance. Before it started to take effect, the anesthesiologist came in to see if we had any questions. Andrew said he had a question, but he didn't want to ask it. The doctor was so friendly and nice, and explained that he had a 5 year old daughter and he really really wanted to hear Andrew's question. Finally..."Can I have a popsicle when I'm done?"

Then Jeff and I tried to laugh quietly so as not to wake the next curtain over as we watched Andrew descend into drunkenness. Oh. My. God. So funny. It was like a little window into Andrew's college days. He will be a sleepy drunk, I think...like his mother. We were worried he was going to fall out of his chair, so Jeff picked him up and tried to settle him on his lap. Andrew was mumbling incoherently, asking silly questions ("What is the door for?"), and examining his hand in front of his face as if it was a cool new gadget. He asked the nurses if they were twins and swore that there were two mommies sitting next to him. Seriously funny stuff. He was so out of it, that when they wheeled him away to surgery he didn't even care. Which is the point.

The doctor came and talked to us when it was done. She was surprised how much fluid was trapped in his ears and is pretty sure he will notice a difference in his hearing. I asked if he would stop making his sister scream once he can hear the total decibels. She said no (bummer). When he woke up, Jeff and I got to go back and sit with him. He cried pitifully as blood ran out of his ears (just a teeny bit). Jeff cuddled him and we tried to comfort him...this is a normal side effect to coming out of the anesthesia. He continued to cry that his ears hurt and that he wanted to go home. Then a nurse asked if he would like a drink or a popsicle. Andrew perked up, sat up, stopped crying, and said yes. He ate his green popsicle on Daddy's lap. Then we moved to a place where he could watch tv. He asked for another popsicle...red this time. By the time this one was finished, he was playing with his oxygen saturation finger thingy and talking about going out to breakfast. When he finished his 3rd popsicle (blue), they decided he was ready to go home. He was ready to sit and watch tv and eat popsicles all day.

We walked him out to the car and promised him a computer game for being so brave. He WAS brave...I am so proud of my little boy. We also told him we'd take him out for whatever food he wanted (no food or drink since last night...that's hard for a little guy). I told him that for one day only, he could have as much juice as he wanted. We buckled him into the car and Andrew said, "That was fun!"

I think he must have still been a little drunk. My happy little drunk. ;)