Look Ma no nasal retainer!

Here I go again with my backwards blog post catch up!  First off, Ethan got his nasal retainer removed.  Here he is enjoying his happy meal and able to itch and pick his nose freely.  And of course breathe through his nose!  He was sporting a snore that rocked the house every night.  Not sure how he got any sleep at all the past 10 weeks. 

 

 

The unintended side effect of removing the scar tissue from the inside of his nostril, which I was sort of prepared for but not really, is that his speech is very hypernasal now. Of course his palate is functioning (not-functioning) the same as before, his plugged up nose just masked it for awhile. Seems to be the way it goes with him...fix one thing which makes another thing worse. He is getting T-tubes (more permanent ear tubes) placed next week. His 4th surgery in 9 months. I was hoping it would be his last for awhile, but it looks like we will be going back for a palate revision in the spring. We see a dietitian next week as well. He has been hanging out at 27 pounds for almost a year. I am skeptical that he/she will provide any new or life-changing recommendations beyond what we are already doing, but trying to be "compliant" and attend all my scheduled appointments.  He is looking like such a big boy now.  Here he is doing his "chores" putting the silverware away. 

He is giving me his "REALLY mom???" look