ENT

One of the many things on our check list of 'things to do the first year' with Ruby is visit the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. While we've not noticed any issues, it did take Ruby three tries to pass her hearing test at birth and the pediatrician has commented how small her ear canals are. We weren't quite sure what to expect going in, but we were hoping for good 'answers'. (Lehr was able to sneak away from work to accompany me to this appointment.)

When the ENT tried to look into Ruby's ears, she wasn't able to see the ear drum because of how small her ear canals are. If that process didn't upset Ruby enough, going down the hall to the 'microscope room' was traumatic, at best. I got the lovely job of holding her arms by her side while an assistant held her head and the ENT used the regular cone-shaped tool to look into her ears with a more magnified viewer. She then used a small 'poker' to gently move a few flecks of wax out of the way. Holy Moly. My girl who rarely fusses gave us a performance. She cried the saddest cry I've ever heard from her and was absolutely terrified. One side down and I could barely walk around the table to subject her to the exam for the other ear.

Upon viewing her ears, the ENT thought they looked fine, but had a tech of sorts perform one more 'test' on Ruby to verify that her ear drums were in good working order and free of fluid. This test allowed me to hold Ruby in my lap while she inserted small ear buds (like the kind you'd use for an iPod) into her ears, one at a time, to check for movement in the ear drum. Both ears checked out great. Ruby started to cry for this test, but ended up passing out from pure exhaustion instead.

She slept almost the entire rest of the day.