Ear Infections

Parents of preemies and term babies alike worry about this one. I don't know if ear infections are statistically higher in preemies than in term babies; our ENT assured us that they are not. However, my older daughter, who was born at 41 weeks, did not get her first ear infection until she was four years old, and Buzzy had four of them by the time she was a year old. They were not spread out over the course of time either. They occurred almost back to back. We would be pronounced clear of infection, and barely two weeks later, another one was in the works. This meant three different types of antibiotics. Eventually, it also meant tubes to drain the persistent fluid buildup.

The fluid in her ears was not only prone to infection, but it also caused her to fail a hearing test. We had been referred for this test by the developmental specialist who comes to our house once a month to check on Buzzy's progress. Her language was delayed, so we needed to rule out any problems with her ears. The specialist also noted that Buzzy's delay in walking could also be related to fluid in her ears. We made an appointment with the ENT and set a date for the surgery.

The procedure is simple enough, but there is quite a bit of anxiety that feeds into it, which is not helped by the fact that a parent is asked not to give the child anything to eat or drink before the surgery. We had been given one of the first time slots of the day, but we still found ourselves waiting with a hungry baby far past our scheduled time. With each minute we waited, our anxiety grew.

Finally, someone arrived to take Buzzy back for surgery. Amazingly, she did not cry when she was handed off to a total stranger. Somehow we did not fall apart either. We barely had time to. Fifteen minutes later, we were called back to the recovery area and allowed to give Buzzy the bottle we had brought with us. Then, after receiving our post-op instructions, we loaded up into the car and went home. We have not had a single ear infection since.

I am not sure if Buzzy's developmental delays were related to her prematurity, the fluid in her ears, or both, but since the tubes were placed, she has blossomed. She now runs just about everywhere she goes, and her speech is becoming more recognizable each day. The other day, she sat down, and as she did, she said, "Sit down." It just seemed to come out of her as if she's always known how to form the words and simultaneously perform the action. She continues to surprise us like that.