An operation

Went to see the ENT consultant yesterday. He was an hour late. Our appointment was 9 am. There was no apology from him, his poor nurse got that job in the corridor.I didn't hugely enjoy entertaining a boisterous toddler for over an hour in a waiting room with 2 toys and a toilet I could barely get the buggy and my  pregnant belly in. Hey ho- I digress and it is very rare in all my recent experience of hospitals.

The Dr said the noise when Tiddler breathes is not predominantly caused by the Laryngomalacia, but her Adenoids. Who knew?? Of all the GPs and Paediatricians that have examined her, no-one has ever suggested that. He said she has to have both her Tonsils and Adenoids out. Eeek. And because she is so light, this can not be done at my local hospital but must be done at a Children's hospital. Double eek. I am having a baby in July. How do we do that then?? I am just going to cross that bridge when we come to it.

In the meantime, we have drops to try in case an operation can be avoided. He also wanted to wait a while to see if she gains more weight. Tiddler has never been great at weight gain, its not a Tiddler Speciality. I have no idea whether this is down to her breathing problem, neither does anyone else. I found being told to wait frustrating as she is not even 8 kg and so there is no way she will be the 14/ 15 kg he said she must be in a few weeks! Even if I stuffed her full of northern pies. So all a bit frustrating but obviously if an operation can be avoided then I am all for it.

Ear Nose and Throat

Tiddler has an ENT appointment tomorrow- FINALLY! She has Laryngomalacia which basically sounds worse than it is and means a “floppy larynx” . Her breathing is very noisy, especially when relaxed and asleep. She has a “stridor”  sometimes when breathing and sometimes a "tracheal tug". If we go to a GP who hasn’t read her notes they tend to do a double take as it’s a classic sign of respiratory distress, although not with Tiddler, its normal.

True, it means she has to work harder to breathe but we were told early on it was not dangerous. That said, we think it has had an impact on her weight gain as it takes a lot more effort for her to breathe and feed. She still doesn’t seem to breathe through her nose ever… I don’t know whether that will be mentioned tomorrow but it has had an impact on her feeding.

Our GP said she should probably have her tonsils out but I do not believe this will happen as she hasn’t had tonsillitis enough times. Only perhaps if somebody finally decides her weight gain is insufficient. Who knows.

Whatever they do or say tomorrow I hope they don't shove a camera down her nose/ throat again as she is a lot older now and much more aware. As I often seem to say, fingers crossed.