eleanor's tonsil surgery

monday eleanor had her tonsils out, her adenoids out and tubes put in her ears

her tonsils have been really big for a long time

and they often take out the adenoids at the same time

the tubes she got because she's had so many ear infections 

and burst ear drums that are almost never accompanied by fevers so we can't detect them

here's what her tonsils looked like

 michael took monday off and took eleanor to her surgery while i stayed home with our other kids

 he took some pictures and kept me up to speed the whole time

 

poor girl did great but came home so swollen

 her eyes could hardly open

 michael took the big 3 kids to the water park to use some passes noah and hazel earned at school

that were about to expire so i could focus on eleanor and she could rest

she thought she wanted to eat but didn't end up doing much of that
instead she slept a lot (first at the counter and then in my bed)

 while i tried to keep this cheeky monkey quiet

 by the next day she was doing well enough to play off and on 

 she and olive took turns pushing henry around in the stroller

 they all loved it

i tried to push the popsicles and other treats that count as fluid 

because she wasn't wanting to drink much and getting enough fluid is the most important for recovery

 i realized it helped if everyone was eating or drinking whatever it was

so everyone got a popcicle if she wanted one

and everyone got jello if she wanted it

the other kids did not mind one bit

 when she was feeling better she would ask me to take her picture

which is normal 

 she and the other girls helped me make cookies for olive's birthday

 having the other kids home has made it a lot harder for her to nap and rest

so i held her for 2 or 3 hours so she would stay napping one afternoon

it was great other than needing to use the restroom

 she has been sleeping in our bed a lot

and it has been terrible for us but helps her relax and helps us stay on top of her medication

 yesterday she insisted on wearing her birthday dress and crown 

and since she's recovering from surgery she can do and have whatever she wants

 the recovery is not easy

she HATES her medicine

but needs it

she gets really grouchy and cries a lot every time she has to have another dose

but once she finally stops, she usually feels a lot better

i really hope we can get through the next week or so without any trouble

and this will soon be a distant memory

i hate to see her in pain and i don't think she really understands what she's feeling

we are really glad she got her tonsils out and tubes put it

i think it will save us trouble down the road and she'll be able to sleep better

the biggest shock is how different her voice sounds since surgery

it is much higher and a little big shrill

which makes sense since she's probably sounded like she needs to clear her throat constantly

for a long time and had a deeper voice because of it

she's very cute either way