My 19 month old had tubes put in his ears & his adenoids removed 3 weeks ago, today. Surgery was on Thursday; it went pretty well and I was home with him for the entire weekend. He was fussy, and I took him in Monday, and it turns out, one of the tubes was clogged, causing pressure and pain for him. They cleared it up immediately at the dr.'s office and he hasn't had any more real problems at home since then, other than a somewhat decreased appetite, which I'm hoping is temporary.
Since the surgery, when I take him to daycare, it's like his 1st day away from me every single day. It's been very difficult and, with snow days, I've had a couple of extra days at home with him since the surgery. I found out today that his crying fits when I drop him off are lasting throughout the entire day. I thought that when I dropped him off, he stopped shortly after I left. The daycare director told me that he will stop periodically for a few minutes, and go into hysterics again; this lasts most of the day.
He had a follow up appointment with the ENT yesterday and they said the tubes look perfect so, I would assume this isn't the problem. They said they haven't heard of any behavior changes after toddlers have surgery so they had no advice to give. My pediatricians' nurse was just as helpful. I don't know how long I should expect this to last, I don't know if it is a problem with the daycare, or if I should take him to another ENT to make sure he isn't having any problems with his ears that wasn't caught at either of the other follow up appointments with the ENT. Does anyone have any advise, theories, or anything that might be able to help us?? I would appreciate any comments, especially if anyone has had any similar troubles. Thanks so much!
I can't believe I didn't think about the noise! thank you so much everyone for your answers! We're going to the pediatrician on Monday so I can talk to her a little more about it but, that makes perfect sense. They did tell me that it happens more when he wakes from a nap and, of course, when I drop him off in the mornings- all probably when it's most hectic there.
I'll talk more to the director & see if it's possible to work with him and maybe switch back & forth from a quiet room to the regular room. Thanks again everyone- all of your suggestions were extremely helpful & gave me something to think about! (now how to fix it...) :)
When my daughter had her tubes put in a 9 months, she also had something interesting happen. She was upset by ANY noises. We figured out that she really had not been able to hear very well for the first 9 months of her life and now it was strange to her to hear everything! Is it possible that the daycare sounds louder to him than it did before so it seems scarier somehow? Just a thought . . .
Good luck!
Hi A.. As someone who has worked in childcare for the last eight years, I feel confident the change in your son's behavior is due to a large change in routine. He went through a surgery - no matter how common, it's still surgery - and he had several days at home with mommy. It sounds like he's just a little bit vulnerable right now. If he was in some discomfort/pain because of the clogged tube and is now trying to reacclimate to his usual routine and environment, he may just be expressing anxiety. I think he will get back to normal once his routine returns to normal! Good luck!
My son was the same way for about 2 months or so. It was because he had back to back ear infections for so long that he actually could not hear anything. Even though he always had an antibiotic the fluid would never clear up. When the tubes were put in that fluid drained and he could hear. The slightest sound would scare him. He was hearing everything, it seemed like, for the first time. Our ENT told me to be patient and to try to keep things calm for him and to try to introduce things a little at a time. He probably cries all day at daycare because it is loud and hurts his ears. Maybe there is a quiet(er) room he could go into for a while then back to his room for a while and keep changing back and forth for a few days until he gets acclimated to the noise. He may not throw the fits when he is with you because you are mommy and he can run to you and feel safe. The fits are probably because he is scared and he needs you to be there so he knows it will be ok. I hope this helps!
I work at a daycare and have been there for 10 years. I would give him sometime it could take 1 day to 1 month. No one knows. Alot of children go through this, what I have done in the past is given the child a laminated picture of their parents. This seems to work alot, or maybe the daycare will let you take something "special" from home like a blanket, stuffed animal even mom or dads shirt works great. Hopefully this will help alittle. GOOD LUCK :>
My grandson who just turned one a couple of weeks ago had been showing signs of being deaf, we had his hearing checked and he didn't even respond to the bass drum being pounded on by his ear. The ORL (ENT) did surgery on him and found he had had several untreated ear infections and he had to spend extra time in the OR cleaning out debris. He put the tubes in and the poor baby could suddenly experience the world in a whole new way. He wakes up at every noise, you can start cheering him on when he is doing something awesome like pulling up and moving around and he gets very upset. We have had to remind everyone he is hearing all this for the first time, he is learning how to deal with the noise, his brain is rewiring itself to process all the information it is receiving, and he is tired and cranky a lot. He had the surgery in November and is just now getting to be what I would consider to be a normal baby. He still doesn't like loud noise but he is more relaxed about life in general.
I agree with Starr. I think it is the noise that might be scarring him. We notice that our son is loud and they have to be to be heard over the other kids.
My daughter had tubes put in her ears at 18 months, (she is now almost 4 years old) and did not experience any behavior problems after the surgery. Her tubes did get clogged with her first cold however, and the doctor gave us some drops to use whenever she caught future colds. Have you had time home with your child other than for the surgery? A weeks vacation perhaps? Did he have trouble readjusting to being left at daycare after having time home with you any other time? It sounds like he is having some separation anxiety with being left at daycare, and probably has nothing to do with the surgery itself. I worked in daycare for 9 years before I had my first child. Does the daycare have cameras where you can observe your son? As a parent, I would want to see for myself the way his crying fits are being handled. I know it's hard. My daughter never adjusted to daycare, and after trying to go back to work I gave up after 7 months and pulled her out. I've been home with her and now my second child ever since. If you are dealing with a decent daycare, your child's teacher and the director should take the time to sit down with you and work out a way to get your child back into the routine of things. It may take some extra attention, allowing a reward phone call from you in the middle of the day, or carrying around a security item in class for a while. Either way, they should be making some recommendations and working with you to try and sort out what the problem is. If not, I'd question what's going on there during the day. Good luck and I hope that helps. Hope your liitle guy is happy again soon.
S.
