Benny Boy's Ear Trouble

Poor Ben-O has had a rough time in the ear department. Since he was about 9 months old, it seems his nose has never stopped running. He had many ear infections during his first year, but he got a whopper of an infection in September and it wouldn't ever clear up. So, in December, he had tubes put in.

Here's the cute little guy pre-operation.
Waiting with Daddy

Well, we had hoped that tubes would put an end to our woes, but no such luck. His nose continued to run like crazy and at every follow-up appointment his tubes were plugged up. No bueno. At three different appointments, I had to hold him down as they used a little hook and vacuum to clear out each the plug and mucus. He would scream and scream while I tried not to cry. Absolutely horrible.

We are going to the doctor every 3 weeks now in hopes of avoiding that traumatic experience. We do a saline spray twice a day and occasional drops to help keep his ears clear. For a while I was convinced that he has allergies (my other two kids do), but his doctor is not convinced. The boy never goes longer than a few days without a runny nose and then it comes back and he's leaking like a faucet again. Needless to say, I no longer judge the parents of snotty-nosed children. I used to think, "Could you get the child a Kleenex already? Is it really that hard to wipe your kid's nose?" Now I understand how hard it is to keep up with a nose that never stops. I don't usually even notice it anymore.

Luckily, this kid is so darn adorable. The snot just adds to his charm!

Here he is, rockin' the ear band that keeps his ears dry. It doesn't get much cuter than that!

Here's another one of his cheesy grins. I love my little man!