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@lawbee's little girl just had this done. No advice from me, but best of luck- I know it is a routine, uncomplicated surgery!

L didn't have tubes put in, but he has had surgery (at 10 months) and was put under for it. He went under like a champ and he came out of it like a champ as well. It's nerve wracking for sure! Try not to stress about it too badly, she is going to do great.

I actually think @lawbee11: 's little M went through this as well. She may have some tips if you wall her (or if she sees this).

No experience with a LO but my brother had tubes put in and everything was fine; and that was back in the 80's!!! So, I'm sure everything will be fine

@Bookish: Oh girl, been there. I'm sure you saw all my freakout posts M started daycare in February and by March she had constant runny nose/sneezing/coughing. She'd have a few days here and there of being healthy, but that's about it. She also had a persistent ear infection that would not go away and I, too, was tired of all the antibiotics (that didn't even work).

I was most worried about the anesthesia. Luckily they don't do general anesthesia with the little ones...just a mask that they place over their mouth and nose. No needles, no IVs, etc. The surgery took all of 5-10 minutes, and then we were back in recovery with her. She was fussy for most of the day, but she was back at daycare the following day. Her surgery was at 7:30 and we were home by 8:15.

A couple of weeks after the surgery she did have a good amount of drainage, but the ENT prescribed some ear drops and it cleared it up within a few days.

And guess what? We're currently at almost an entire month of no fever, no runny nose, no cough, no congestion. It is AMAZING! She went back to the ENT last week for her final follow-up. They re-screened her hearing and she's back in the above average hearing range (before the surgery she tested as having slight hearing loss from the fluid build up). I'm especially glad we went ahead with the surgery before it negatively impacted her speech development.

Wall me or text me anytime with questions/concerns. I texted with @mamamoose A LOT before the surgery because her LO had tubes at around the same age and I was freaking. It really helped to be able to vent or just ask questions.

@Bookish: I will also just throw out some encouragement. We had pretty continuous ear infections and one round that wouldn't clear up even with several rounds of antibiotics. I kind of wish out ped had recommended tubes because they're pretty delayed in language now and our ped said one of the reasons might be all the ear infections and that they just weren't hearing as much/as well during that period of time. Just thought I'd tell you that as some encouragement of something you'll hopefully avoid by this!

@Bookish: I had them as a child and it was no problem. I had them put in at 3 or 4 and never had another ear infection until I was 26!

More recently my niece had them put in at about 18 months. Like others have said it was a 15 minute procedure and she was 100% back to her normal self the next day. The best part of it was that after having it done there was a HUGE improvement in her hearing and speech almost right away, she was like a different kid

@lawbee11: I wish there was a laughing/crying emoticon.

My son had them put in February when he was around 17 months. He had 4 or 5 ear infections within in a year including one that required two rounds of antibiotics. Also, the infection cleared but he still had a lot of fluid. He had tubes put in and his adenoids taken out at the same time. The worst part was when he woke up from the anesthesia. But it's actually a very quick procedure. The doctor was back out to talk to us within 20 minutes of when they took him back to surgery. He's had no ear infections since then.

The pediatrician and ENT also noted how the fluid could affect his speech. Everything basically sounded as if it was muffled or underwater to him. After the tubes, he started repeating so many more words and he started speaking more.

I was the same way! But @lawbee11: already described it perfectly. They really are life changers, for you and your LO. The whole procedure takes 15 min.

G had his tubes put in when he was 14 months old. He had had 8 ear infections before that. Since then(he's now 26 months) he has had 2...but both times he was really sick(once with pneumonia) but the tubes did their job and drained all the nasty fluid that was behind his ears.

Surgery was super easy(I can say that now, I was 8 1/2 months pregnant and an emotional mess haha). It literally took 5 mins. The anesthesia is just a mask over their nose. I'm so glad we had the tubes put in.

@Bookish: I also wanted to add that before they took her back for surgery they gave M a little bit of "sleepy juice" to help her relax and so that she wouldn't try to rip the mask off of her face and it was hilarious. She was feelin' good! I so badly wanted to take a video, but there were nurses all around so I figured that wouldn't look too good

@Bookish: my cousins' two LOs had tubes put in and everything was great! She will be a-ok! Hopefully the tubes will make her feel much, much better.

@lawbee11: I have to agree. For me personally I think the risk/benefit analysis far and away favors surgery over any alternative method for treating chronic ear infections.

I work at a large children's hospital where this is our most common procedure. My own LO hasn't had it done, but I see happy babies and toddlers leaving after having it done every day They act like nothing ever happened!

We were exactly like you! I posted soooo many skeptical posts about tubes back in the days. For half a year, LO didn't stop having ear infections. The ear infection came back every time we finished the antibiotics. I was more open to having tubes done, but husband really didn't want to have tubes because we were as scared as you are on any possible negative / side effects to LO's ears / hearing. We were desperately waiting for him to "outgrow" it but he never did.

When he was 17 months, we know we couldn't wait any longer because we were afraid his ear infections was impacting his hearing ability and speech development. After it was done, it was day and night difference!! LO no longer got sick every other week if not every week. Even if he did, we no longer had to run to the doctors anymore, because he wouldn't have a fever (no ear infections) and the virus passed within days. Since there were no fever, there were no missed school days, which brought my sanity back as I no longer had to somehow juggle in this unpredictability of when I need to get off work and how am I going to get my work done when LO was always sick at home.

I can not praise enough about how it improves on the quality of life. Before tubes, I always have to worry when do I take time off to take him to the doctor, and I dreaded to hear the phrase "ear infection again" coming out from the doctor's mouth. If your LO gets ear infection after the tubes are done, you will see discharge coming out from her ears. If that happens, you will give her prescription ear drops (they already prefill it for you as a precaution). So no more antibiotics, which is a big deal! For us, we never had ear infections again since the tubes. It was especially calming when you do have to travel with LO, because you know exactly how to deal with it if she does have an ear infection while on the trip.

I guess the catch is, you should find a really good doctor that you trust. We are lucky that our doctor is awesome.

At 2.5 years old, LO's tubes has almost fallen off (one side is out for sure last time we checked with ENT) and so far we haven't had any ear infections... knock on wood! I hope we finally outgrew it.

Just to prepare you on the day of the procedure: The procedure was super fast (my husband left to get coffee after they took LO, and we were told it was done before he came back!), but the stress comes AFTER they bring back LO. Apparently babies/toddlers have a hard time when the anesthetic wears off. My LO cried like a zombie baby! It was the worst and it lasted for almost an hour. We could bearly hold him down and it was heart breaking.

But we lived happily ever after afterwards. LOL

Best of luck and wishes! Your LO will do great and so will you! Say bye bye to ear infections!!

@Bookish: I have seen babies and children get all types of anesthetics for years and I have never once see anyone have a reaction to anesthesia. And even then, she'll be under really light sedation. The procedure is soooo quick!

And in reference to @irene: mentioning that some babies wake up gnarly. Most of the time that happens if they've gotten the versed (the happy juice @lawbee11: talked about) because emergence from anesthesia can be more rocky (meaning more disoriented, dizzy, not feeling quite "right"). The good thing about versed is that it is an amnesiac...they won't remember the mask or really any part of the day. But some anesthesiologists argue that the potential for extreme fussiness after the procedure isn't worth it. Others offer it as a matter of course.

Either way, it will be totally fine and I know they'll take good care of you and LO!

@Espion: @Bookish: We had 3 or 4 different nurses warn us about how cranky LO would be once the anesthetic wore off. They said to be prepared for her to be screaming for a long time. I guess we got lucky because when we went back to recovery she was definitely fussy, but mostly just whining (and I think it's because she was hungry from not eating since midnight). I fed her and she whined on the way home, but once we got home we put her down for a nap and she was pretty happy when she woke up 2 hours later!