{two and a half years} Over these past three months it feels like all of the sudden Fitz is a little boy! He is just at the BEST age. I could do without the full-blown tantrums and the throwing of things when he’s mad, but gosh, he really is such a fun little dude.
Using the potty is still going really well. There are a few accidents still, but he’s still really little (2 is young to be potty trained!) and mostly he knows exactly when he needs to go and will make it to the bathroom. Fitz prefers the tiny potty because he can use it completely on his own. Because of floor space and cleaning (the little potty doesn’t flush!) I prefer he uses the big potty, but here we are. The little potty seat insert doesn’t really work as well for him (he has different parts than the girls that can create a lot more spray, if you will!) so it hasn’t been as easy to just take the little potty away. I am hoping by summer! Fingers crossed.
The two biggest things that have probably happened with Fitz in the past few months is that (1) he hasn’t been sick since December (which feels amazing after having him be sick for 4 months straight at the end of last year) and (2) he got ear tubes! Honestly, I’m not sure how it’s possible that we avoided getting sick (we were all healthy!) all of January, February and even into March.
I might have mentioned that Fitz qualified himself for ear tubes with his double ear infection (from the flu) in December. In order to get them, we had to have a referral from his pediatrician to the ENT. Due to Aaron’s persistence and willingness to call the hospital scheduling line (and wait on hold) we were able to get him into the initial visit with the ENT within a week of getting the referral. Then again, Aaron called ahead to Seattle Children’s Hospital and was able to get Fitz an appointment for surgery within about 6 weeks. We didn’t know what to expect with the timing of the surgery, but with nursing and staff shortages at the hospital and back-up from the pandemic, I trying to be optimistic but wasn’t holding my breath. Plus, even pre-pandemic, pediatric ENTs had months-long waiting lists for ear tube placements. One of our friends waited over a year for her son to get tubes!
The process for his procedure was pretty easy and straightforward. He had to have a COVID and RSV test on Saturday for his Monday morning surgery. We were told to check in at 7:50 am at the hospital, and had to wake him at 5 am to administer a few ounces of fluids and Advil (as advised by his care team). Aaron and I were both able to go with him to his procedure (thank you to our sweet neighbors for walking the girls to the bus stop that morning!) and he did so well. We didn’t have to wait too long and, other than not liking the medical mask that gave him the initial dose of anesthesia, he did awesome! Aaron and I said a tearful good-bye once Fitz was asleep (watching him go under meds was actually really hard) and then we were escorted to the post-op room where we met his nurse. She was so lovely and caring, and I can’t believe how quickly the procedure was done. Like 10 minutes! And we were able to chat with the surgeon before and after surgery which was great. Fitz took a little bit to wake up and was a little grumpy. He cuddled with Aaron for quite a while. But once he woke up and saw that we had Goldfish crackers, he devoured them. Like fistfuls of crackers into his mouth!
We took him home, expecting him to be super sleepy and nap (which is what the nurses had told us), but he was pretty cheery and I just hung out with him and we watched a movie. Then he was back into his normal routine, napping in the afternoon, dinner, and bedtime. Though he didn’t have much of an appetite for the next like day or so. That’s sort of his thing though, if he’s not feeling well or even just off a bit, the first thing you notice is that he loses his appetite. His recovery went really well with just a few hours of fever two days post-op which was normal and expected. We had to give him ear drops twice per day for a few days afterwards and while he tolerated it, both Aaron and I are glad that’s over! (Like wrestling an alligator!) And now he’s fully recovered and we are just really hoping that the ear tubes will help with any future ear infections (by either preventing them or making them easier to treat)!
Fitz is an absolute wiz on his scooter. He’s been riding since the summer, but is as good as any 3 or 4 year old. He has so much control and no fear at all, which is a slightly scary combination, to be honest. But it’s so fun to see him zooming around on his scooter with the girls. He is tall enough for his balance bike but since he doesn’t know how to ride it yet, it doesn’t go as fast as his scooter, so he doesn’t choose it very often. This spring we’ll be getting his balance bike out a lot to give him some practice because I feel like once he gets the hang of coasting, he is going to love it so much! And then maybe we could introduce a pedal bike by the end of the summer (we still have the tiny 12” bike from Daphne). It might be too soon to introduce a bike, but if he’s anything like Daphne, he’ll be riding a pedal bike by Christmas!
Fitz is SO chatty these days. And says the sweetest and funniest stuff. He may be throwing epic tantrums when he doesn’t want to do something (or is prevented from doing something he wants to do) but he almost makes up for it by saying the most adorable things! I haven’t been able to keep up with all of the great things he’s said recently, but here is a smattering.
Things Fitz Says:
Aaron: “Are you a turkey?” Fitz: “No, mine Fitz!”
Looks into the toilet after sitting on the potty: “Mama, I did a great job!”
“I’m going to have coffee in two years.”
If he wants something you are holding, he’ll put out his hand and say “May I?”
He sees a truck drive down the street in front of the house: “What is that Mama?” Me: “A big truck.” Fitz: “Oh. Hi big truck!”
Fitz is friendly and greets everyone and everything with a “hello” or “good-bye,” including things like bubbles in the sink from hand washing (“bye-bye, see you next time!”) and any car, truck, or dog he sees.
{weight} 32 pounds
{height} 36 inches
{hair} brown, but reddish in the light
{teeth} 12 teeth and 8 molars
{eyes} dark grey-green with light brown around his pupils (hazel)
{clothes} 2T, 2-3, even some 3-4
And here are Eloise and Daphne’s updates.
Happy Two-and-a-Half Years, Fitz!
M