We woke up bright and early Friday the 1st for Enzo’s tube surgery. We had to be at the hospital by 6:30 for his 7:30 appointment, so we basically woke him up with just enough time to change his diaper, bundle him up, and head out the door. He was so out of it, he didn’t fuss much and we even got some silly smiles as we headed out since he knew something was different, but not exactly what. It was my hope that he just wouldn’t realize he was hungry since he wasn’t allowed drink or food until after surgery was over.
Pretty much as soon as we got there we were headed back to a waiting room with a bunch of toys and then Josh and I were asked a bunch of questions and had to fill out more paperwork while the little man played. We had several nurses come and go and met briefly with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. Enzo was a little cautious with so many people coming and going, but was briefly walked away with one of the nurses to go get a sticker. It was also around this time that we learned we would not be allowed back when Enzo was put under. It’s a small same-day off surgery office, so we’d be nearby and Enzo wasn’t exhibiting signs of separation anxiety, so we nodded and accepted it. So, we waved bye-bye to him and a nurse took him back with his nuk and his lovie and we waited…
For about 15 minutes. It felt like we were barely getting comfortable before we were called back and the surgeon was telling us it went perfectly fine. Enzo had some gunky fluid behind both ears, so we definitely made a good call. It was about another 5 minutes before we were called back to actually get our wee man who was now awake. I think my heart sped up when I heard him as we went walking back. I knew that yell, and when we got in the room the nurse was having a hard time holding onto him and just said how strong he was. Our boy was NOT happy and was arching his back and thrashing and crying and inconsolable. For about 15 minutes Josh and I passed him back and forth trying not to drop him and calm him down. Several nurses tried to help – one was just freaked out because apparently she’s never seen a toddler react quite so strongly. Slowly he’d have longer spells of calm before thrashing again, until finally he exhausted himself and just lay quietly on Josh’s shoulder.
We hung out for a little longer and then were given the okay to go home. Not surprisingly the little guy was tuckered and extra snuggly for the rest of the day, but by the time dinner rolled around he was a new man. He was happy and playing and laughing and it was wonderful. The weekend was great too. His mood was amazing and even his tantrums were fewer and less intense than usual. Granted, he’s not a fan of the antibiotic ear drops, but not much we can do about that. He also had an unusual case of separation anxiety when I dropped him off at day care Monday morning. I’m hopeful he’s going to start sleeping better and just feeling better overall, though. Especially once we can get him used to daylight savings. I never used to hate daylight savings until we had a child.