They can't say their K's very well, and slobber a lot. but they're OK. They were tender for a few days, but can already see the extra space in their mouths (they have expanders) and one of Hector's teeth that we thought might have to be "fetched" surgically is coming down by itself. so all good so far...

glad the tubes are working

yea, use wax in their ears if they go swimming, you can buy it in the drug store. You are on the road to recovery.

I had tubes, so did my two younger siblings. We had fluid build up (or something like that) and only the youngest suffered infections, but at the time doctors thought it was a carry over from croup.
It all came to a head when I started school. I could read properly because we were taught to read very early in life. But I couldnt' make the phonic sounds properly. And then a woman came to the door of our house with my brother because he'd been sitting in the road with a dog he found and didn't hear her horn behind him. Kids cover up hearing loss very very well.
I'm glad you've taken this situation seriously so early aimeec. Personally I believe it will help . I had to start at basic speech when I was seven. Today if I'm tired or intoxicated I make the "v" and "f" sounds for "th". and when saying the alphabet I am inclined not to sound "H" as "A-che" but as "Ha-che". Oh and I was taught to sing becuase it apparently makes you say the phonic sounds correctly. Go figure?
My parents were warned that we would eventually have hearing loss around forty to fifty years of age again. So far they have been right on the ball. I'm losing my hearing very rapidly. (or ignoring people more LOL )
But interestingly enough, you know that mosquito sound that no one over the age of 25 is supposed to be able to hear? Comes in loud and strong for me and I'm nearly 40.
anyway good luck with your child amiee. From personal experience I think you're doing the right thing.

Thanks a lot. His audio test before the tubes was horrible - definite hearing loss from the fluid. And he just had his 1 yr well baby appointment, and he's behind on speech development. He began saying "dadadada" to anything a few months ago, and occasional "babababa" and rarely "mamama". But he doesn't associate mama with me or dada with dad, even though we've been saying mama and dada (and pointing to the appropriate one) several times every day for months. He doesn't respond to his name most of the time, so I'm not even sure when he does respond if its because he heard his name or something else got his attention. We have another audio test in a month to see if his hearing is normal (should be) and his pediatrician said if he's not catching up by his 15 month well baby, we'll be referred to a speech therapist. At least he's young and can easily recover.
He's a smart boy - we can tell he 'connects' the dots on things, stacks blocks on window sills, put lids on and off pots and knows where things are kept. He's done a few things that I have made me go 'Wow! He knows that!' I just hope the speech thing comes along.
He was born prematurely, but healthy, so my husband and I haven't measured him by the normal standards - we figure he's a month or two behind since he was born early.
My brother had real bad speech problems, and I know that a lot of my siblings got ear tubes. I wonder if thats why he had speech problems? I never thought about it that way.

I had ear tubes and chronic ear infections as a kid through around age 13. Had the tubes taken out around then and haven't had any infections in 8 or 9 years. The best thing was to get the drops in, and then sleep on the infected ear with a heating pad between my head and the pillow. Worked wonders for me. I was still able to do swim team and all that, just had to have ear plugs in while i was swimming. They make all kinds from wax balls, to special custom fitted ones that I think were made out of molded latex or some such.
Good luck though!

I realize that most people have one pediatrician for their child, but sometimes a second opinion is a good idea, if you're uncertain about what you're being advised to do. The first doctor my son had (in 1987) had him on strong antibiotics for months (seems like 2-3 months, a LONG time) and then said he had to have tubes put in his ears. I had been uneasy for a while, and then changed doctors when she said that. The second doctor (who I kept from then on) said that not only did my sone NOT have an ear infection, but she didn't think he had ever had ear infections.
This all started when he started shaking his head from side to side while repeating "no no", after being told no, or that something was a "no no". She insisted the head shaking was ear-related.
I should have listened to my gut feeling all along.....

Thanks for the advice. We have one 'core' pediatrician, but when she's not available we see others in the office, and all agreed he had ear infections. And of course there was the ENT who agreed to ear tubes, and the audiologist who confirmed he had fluid build up and lose of hearing.

Little one has been happy and healthy since the tubes. A couple very minor colds. Longest stretch we've gone in a while without him being sick. And he's much happier, and finally gaining more weight (he's between 5 and 10 percent for his age). Not that all of it is related... I'm just happy he's doing great.

I think, like Ritalin, etc., tubes in ears are used WAY too often, but it seems like it was the right thing for your little one for sure! Glad he's so much better!