Questions About Tonsillectomy in Toddler

My cousin's 3 yo just had his out and he cried because he wanted to go to preschool the next day:). Kids are amazingly resilient. Best of luck.

My son's tonsils swelled up till they were almost touching.
They were becoming an obstruction.
He had constant circles under his eyes from all the snoring and he had trouble eating and swallowing anything.
So right after his 4th birthday we had his tonsils and adenoids out.
He was too groggy after surgery to want a toy - he just wanted me to hold him.
Plus I didn't want anything that would bring hospital germs home on it.
We kept up with his pain medication (that was important - never let it wear all the way off before the next dose) and he slept WONDERFULLY the first night.
We were so use to him snoring up a storm that I couldn't sleep - I felt had to keep feeling his chest to make sure he was breathing fine - he was!
Within a few days it was a challenge to keep him from jumping around.
He felt so much better but you have to give things time to heal up well.
He did fine on a liquid diet for a few days.
Cold liquids were best and gently sucking on Popsicle s was great.
Jello was good too.
Within a few days he could eat soft boiled eggs.

I'd like to address your pre-op appointment, mom. Tell the doctor that you want the IV to go into her hand/arm (whichever they do) AFTER she is asleep. There is no reason in the entire world that they have to put that IV in her while she is still awake. They will most likely give her versaid (giggle juice is the popular name) to drink, wait a little bit for it to take affect, and then they will take her from you and have her breathe something to make her fall asleep. This sleep isn't enough for her to have the surgery, but it's enough for her to not know they are giving her the IV.

I worked that out with one of my son's surgeries when he was younger, and the doctor was fine with this. But the anesthesiologist walked in and told us that she wanted to go ahead and put in the IV. I asked why. She said she was busy. Well, TOO BAD. My son comes first. I told her NO. She was really surprised. I guess a parent hasn't said no to her before. I told her that the doctor promised me that he would be asleep for the IV and I was holding all of them to it. She knew I wasn't going to allow it and left the room. My son would have been a wreck going into the operating room. There's no excuse for it.

So you work this out with your doctor. You have every right. And make them stick to the plan.

Don't sleep with your child. Put a monitor in there so you can hear her when she stirs. If you sleep with her, you won't be able to get out of her bed for a long time - she'll hold you to it. And keep to her pain meds schedule. Set the alarm so that you remember. Keeping a steady amount of meds in her bloodstream will keep her from falling off the pain cliff. Being late with her medicine is just really awful for her because it takes at least 20 minutes for the meds to kick in.

I recommend putting her on the couch during the day with educational TV like Barney, and when she drops off to sleep, let her rest. DO keep having her sip liquids - it will help her throat. Popsicles are terrific. If she refuses, tell her the TV goes off if she doesn't drink. (I had to do that with my 2 year old in the hospital when he wanted to pull out his IV and didn't want the popsicle. You're not being mean. You're won't be able to reason with your toddler and you need to get them to comply.)

We still have the stuffed lovey my mom gave my son. It's a snowman that when you push his middle, he says "It looks like snow!" and plays the tune "Let It Snow". He held onto it a lot because we gave it to him after he woke up in the hospital. I think that something soft that your daughter can hold is a lovely thing to do.

Good luck!
Dawn

Hi. My son had both his tonsils and adenoids removed one month after his third birthday. I was SO nervous but he did well. He had them removed on a Tuesday and by Thursday, he was playing outside with his cousins. I didn't think he would eat the first day but he had dinner. His favorite food is battered fish and he ate that and a banana. I don't remember what I feed him during the next few days but I do remember no chips or crackers. I think he finally ate goldfish like four days later. He ate A LOT of popsicles! I bought jello and pudding but he didn't like either!

In regards to pain...yes, very painful. He didn't want to drink afterwards but fluids are very important! He was prescribed codeine for the pain but we only gave him Tylenol for the first two days because we found out, unfortunately after his first dose, that codeine burns!! It is very painful to the throat area. So if she is really hurting and doesn't mind the stinging, then do the codeine. But Tylenol worked well enough for my son.

I do recommend staying in your daughter's room. The pain seemed to be worse overnight, I guess becuse of the lack of fluids. My son woke up crying a lot during the first week. I had a cup of water next to his bed to help him hydrate through the night.

And, yes, a gift for post-op was very helpful. My son had been wanting Rocky from Thomas the Train for a while so I got him that. He held on to it and slept with it when he got home.

Good luck and hope all goes well!!

get popcicles, jello, applesause, puddings things that are easy to eat. when my daughter got her adenectomy i got her the pediasure drinks so she was getting something good in her besides the snack foods.

sleep wise how did your child sleep with the adenectomy. i kept her with me for the first night. after that she was in her room. i kept her pain meds up the first 24 hours then i asked her if she was hurting enough to have the pain meds.

Foods: anything & everything soft! My son pretty much lived on applesauce, ice cream, & popsicles.

Pain: we were partners 24/7 for the 1st couple of days. I never, ever allowed the pain meds to wean off. All house rules were thrown out....& he was given free rein for a while. & he was silent for almost 2 weeks!

Nighttime: I slept in the room next to him. I didn't want to miss him needing me. :)

Special Toy: we picked a new stuffed animal together, & then as a family....we "prepped" the bunny for surgery. Even cut a piece of plastic tubing for an IV! It's been 12 years, & that bunny is in my Keepsakes stash! Oh, & the hospital had a special handsewn bunny for him, too. :)

Good Bag: we had a goody bag for him. He had special things in it for the Day Before Surgery, for the Night Before, for the Morning Of, & for afterwards at home. He pulled from the bag for quite some time! New pjs, a couple of new movies, Hot Wheels, quiet activities, etc.

& other moms had warned me that Day #5 & #10 were the worst...& they were.

My 5 year old son had his out 2 weeks ago. My advice is to talk to your daughter about the surgery ahead of time. Tell her her throat may be sore, but that you will give her medicine and popsicles to help it feel better. (the popsicle part REALLY helps!) I feel like if the child's mind can kinda "prepare" for the surgery, it is less scary for them.

Make sure you stay on top of the pain medication schedule the first 3-5 days. Don't skip doses or they really start to hurt. Don't be afraid to use the narcotic that is prescribed if the pain is really bad. I gave the narcotic the 1x per day for the first 2 days when my son woke up as that's when he hurt the most. Then after that I just alternated the ibuprofen and tylenol every 3 hours. Yes, I did wake him at night to stay on top of the meds - it was a pain, but without it, I was afraid he would be in too much pain.

As for food - we did popsicles every couple of hours, sherbet, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, macaroni & cheese, lukewarm soup, smoothies, and cereal (cheerios).

By day 5 he was ready to try some more regular food. We started with some baked chicken cut up really small and green beans. He did fine.

I would definitely let her bring her favorite stuffed animal or blanket. It helps when they wake up. Don't be surprised if she is cranky and kinda mean when she wakes up. It's a normal reaction to the anesthesia, and their throat hurting. Try not to take it personally, although seeing them like that is so hard!

We just let our son pick out about 3 different types of popsicles and ice cream for his treat, then grandparents brought over a few new toys, coloring books, etc...

He's done great, and the sleep apnea and the difficulty swallowing has completely gone away.

Good luck and hugs!

My five year old just had his tonsils and adenoids out three weeks ago. Lots of Popsicles, end on day one he looked at me and said "I couldn't possibly eat ANOTHER Popsicle, can I have a biscuit?" Motrin & Tylenol alternate every four hours, he only needed it like this day one. Day two only needed something for the pain every 6 hours, and he didn't say he hurt I could just tell. Within a couple of days he was mostly back to normal. It took about a week for him to be 100%. She'll be fine, so will you! Good luck!

My oldest had hers out with her adenoids just before she turned 3. It was a rough recovery, but totally worth it. My daughter refused the pain medicine and it was a struggle to get her to take it. We ended up in the ER for fluids and pain medicine around day 7, and then she was completely fine after that.

One thing that she loved was her homemade ice pack that I made using a ziplock bag and frozen corn. It really helped to numb her throat.

I did a bunch of fun things for her: coloring books, stuffed animals, movies, stickers, a new water bottle, etc... They really helped distract her until she was feeling better.

My daughter had literally just turned 6 a week before she had her tonsils out in 2011. She had had strep throat basically her entire kindergarten year. She did great with the procedure; I sat down to read and wait and the doctor came in 5 minutes later to say it was done! She was a little tough with recovery, however. I will warn you that for some kids, the anesthesia makes them a little loopy as they come out of it. My daughter was very disoriented, upset, almost like she didn't know I was there at first. When she calmed down and it wore off she was in a decent amount of pain. She had a popsicle in recovery but we ended up having to stay overnight one night with her because she was having such a hard time with liquids and refusing to try more popsicles, so she had an IV overnight. She hated that IV!!! When we got home she laid low for about a week. During that time she drank whatever she wanted! I just wanted her hydrated. She ate soft foods (they will go over the list with you; it is pretty predictable) but mostly drank root beer and water. They said to avoid OJ because of the acid.

They told me it is a "roller coaster" recovery, and it really was. She'd seem fine one day, or one hour, then crash. This went on for about 8 days, then the second week, she was much improved, just tired and cranky, but more energetic and able to eat more. She lost a few pounds during the two week recovery but gained it all back and then some - she grew a ton after the surgery. It was funny!

The nights were a little stressful - we set our alarm the first few nights to give her pain meds and stay ahead of the pain. We just woke her up and did it. They prescribed that huge bottle of Tylenol with codeine but typical of my daughter, she hated it and refused it and stuck with general Tylenol instead (you can't give Motrin). Again, just go with what she will tolerate. Taking the edge off the pain is what's important. She brought her special Care Bear to the surgery and they let her take it in with her to the OR. When she stayed over, they swaddled the bear... she still talks about that to this day! Friends came over when we got home with gifts to keep her busy, we watched TV, you know the drill. Like an extended stomach bug with a hurting throat component!

It was the best thing we ever did - she has not had strep once since then, knock wood. Good luck to you and try to relax - I know it's so hard, but she will be okay. This is a very routine procedure for the doctors!!