Will is getting tubes on Monday

We tried and tried to get over this winter cold and flu season. Will is on his 7th double ear infection (in his life --that's last winter and this winter). We went to the ENT for an appointment three weeks ago for an evaluation. The doc gave me a choice on trying one last low dose antibiotic for one month (1 tsp/2x per day) because we are SO CLOSE to Spring when all the viruses go away. We will recheck one month later.

Let me give you a little background on Will and taking medicine. He is the WORST at taking medicine. I usually have to disguise it with food, if I can even get it that far. If he sees me coming at him with a spoon of "something", he shakes his head and says, "No!" He will not open his lips. I had gotten to the point of forcing him down and shoving it in the back of his throat. He's gotten so good, that he knows how to block the medicine with his tongue from going down his throat and then he sprays it all over me, all over everywhere. Basically, on the last medicine, I gave up after 1 1/2 weeks and I was supposed to give it to him for a month. I just can't do it anymore. He's had medicine all of December, all of February and a little bit of March. I'M OVER MEDICINE and so is he. I ask all my other friend mothers how they get their kids to take medicine. EVERYBODY says, "Oh. My child takes medicine so great. Just sucks it down and loves it." Well, not so much for my son. There is only one medicine that he will take and likes.. it's grape flavored tylenol.

So we went in for our follow up appointment a week ahead of schedule because I was leary on whether he had another infection. After we got back from Michigan, a head cold flared up again and the snot just doesn't stop. All of the kids at school (daycare) are snotty too. I know that's where he gets it. Will is constantly carrying fluid on his ears, which means they aren't well. The doctor described it to me as he hears us like he's under water. That's so sad to me! We have to nip it now because if he has fluid like that for too long, it could affect his speach and/or hearing.

Based on that, Will is slated for tubes on early Monday morning, March 21st. We are the first appointment and have to be there at 6am. The procedure is 5 minutes. We will be driving home within an hour. He will take a long nap that day and then wake up like nothing ever happened. That's how they explained it to me. The tubes will last anywhere from 6 months to a year and will fall out on their own. Hopefully he can keep them in a year and we can cover next winter too! As Will grows, he should grow out of ear infections. Right now, the tube is horizontal and that's where the fluid sits and then bacteria grows. As he grows taller, the tube will become more vertical which will then drain properly on its own.