Upcoming Adenotonsillectomy for My 3 Year Old

How about some green smoothies? Those are the best way to pack in nutrition while making it seem like they are having a "treat". I have some great recipes on my blog: http://www.whatahealthyfamilyeats.com

Someone recommended not going the healthy route because you should pack in calories...well you can pack in calories by adding flax oil and avocado to the smoothies. That would be much healthier than ice cream or milk shakes which contribute to mucus and are the reason kids get ear infections. Dairy is also low in nutrients and high in animal fat. You can easily use almond milk or oat milk from the health food store and that would be a much better choice.

Both my youngest children had this done @ 4 years old & they were eating soft food for 2 days & then regular food after that. You may not need to worry about making toooo many smoothies. Kids heal fast & adjust faster than we do. Good luck. A helpfull hint that the doctors forget to tell you. If one night typically 5 - 7 days after - they hemorrage and begin bleeding - it can typically be stopped with ice cold water - unless there is a real problem - I mean call the doctor anyway - but it is amazing how ice cold water makes the bleeding stop. One of mine did this & it stopped fast - I still took him in the next day - but it really works!!!

Hi K.,
My daughter had the same surgery 3 years ago and the most important thing you have to do is to make sure your son eats...
I don't want to scare you, but this a surgery that involves sedation, and it's going to be pretty rough for him after the surgery as it will be for you when coming back home. We had an amazing team of doctors and they prepared us very well before she had surgery and one of the things that they told us was to ask her to make a list about what type of foods she liked the best and have them ready for her after the surgery. "Buy her whatever she wants.... No matter if it's Junk food..." the doctors said. The pain your son will experience when swallowing after surgery, is not going to make him feel like eating and it's very, very important that he eats, the sooner he starts eating the sooner he will recover. So, like me in the past, I know you want to give him the best nutritious foods, specially after coming out from surgery, but keep in mind that what you want him to do is to start eating as soon as possible, even though if it's uncomfortable for him, and this is not the time to be picky and to be thinking about processed sugary drinks or junk foods.... The most important thing here is for him to eat....
Take him to the grocery store and ask him what would he like to eat after coming home from the hospital, let him decide.... Chances are that he will not end up eating much of what he'll pick, trust me, because as I said before... It's not going to be easy for him to eat right away at the beginning. One thing that my daughter ate was shredded ice with flavors, ice pop and ice cream. That felt always good and kept her eating...
One thing I bought was straws, they will be very helpful for your son when drinking.
You'll see him bouncing up and down in no time...... Good Luck!
Jessica

Hi, I don't have any recipe ideas for you but some other advice to assist you with the surgery. First, I'm not sure what hospital you will be at, but check to see if they have a Child Life Dept. They are specialists trained to explain/alleviate fears children may have of the unknown from surgeries. Your son is old enough to have questions that they can answer for you according to the developmental level he is ready for. They use a form of play to do this. They are also a good resource once in the hospital and can even come by to visit. They do not perform any type of medical procedure and are considered a safe person.
Also, as a former Child Life Specialist, I worked with many families of small children who had the same surgery your son will. There was one thing that helped the families to shorten their hospital stay - AS SOON AS YOU ARE TOLD IT IS OK, GIVE YOUR SON ALL THE FLUIDS YOU CAN, EVEN IF HE IS STILL SLEEPY. When he is still groggy from the anesthesia, his throat won't be quite as sore yet. Pump in the fluids to get him swallowing before the rest of the anesthesia wears off. As with most sore throats, when we swallow it tends to feel a little better but is hard to get past that initial pain. This is very true for little ones. If you wait until all the anesthesia is worn off, chances are his throat will be so sore he won't want ANYTHING. This can lead to possible dehydration so the hospital will leave the IV in and that means you will have to stay longer. I know it sounds strange and as a parent we don't want to wake our children when they are sleeping peacefully, especially after a surgery - but I promise you it works. The parents who did this were able to leave the hospital sooner and the children recovered a whole lot faster.
Also, children are pretty resilient to things. Sometimes easy distraction can take their mind off of things. They tend to want to try to play even when not feeling good. I would suggest listening to your drs. orders for when you do go home, but if your son has no restrictions in activity, try to let him play like he normally would. Sometimes focusing too much on the pain only makes them afraid to do anything. I saw many children, sick from chemotherapy, wanting to come out of their rooms to play instead of laying in bed - as most of us adults would :>)
Best of Luck to you!

Hi, my son had this surgery when he was 5 and his adenoids had completely blocked his nose. He did not want anything for the first few days except ice chips and he would lick jello cups-he was sooo afraid to swallow. I did not push him but tried to make him take drinks every hour when he was awake. When I tried to push it at first he just got upset and started crying which the surgeon said was not good for the healing process. I just watched to make sure he was urinating so he did not get dehydrated-good luck and just love on him alot which I am sure you will-my 5 yr old would not let me out of his sight for a long time. If you are going by yourself to the surgery make sure to get something to eat and drink while he is in surgery or pack something because we were in the recovery room for 7 hours and they would not let me leave for even a drink. Thanks and let me know how it goes. S.

Hi..My kids have never been through this, but my husband did. His biggest complaintwas things lke pudding and yogurt stuck to the incisions and caused pain. I would stick to thiner liquids. The thicker it is, the more likely it is to stick and cause pain.

I hope your son has an easier time than I did. I had mine removed a few years ago and anything sweet tasted metallic. I lived off of stove top stuffing for about a month. :) (and they tell you you'll be eating ice cream....)

Maybe some whey protein would be good. (not soy)

Yikes- why are you having them out- have you tried elimating foods, building his immune system, seeing if there is something in your home to which he is allegic, this is the 1st of the bodies defences and now that will be gone- so now things can go into his lungs, etc
Not tooo late to check out other alternatives.
best of luck-k

Your son will be fine with your love and attention. Sugar inhibits healing and dairy promotes mucus. If you keep him away from both of them he will heal very well and quickly. If he wants ice cream (filled with sugar and dairy) you can instead make a smoothie with like someone mentioned a nut milk (check ingredient list for sugar, not sugars in the nutrition section sugar is also called cane juice fructose, high fructose corn syrup, etc) so nut milk, fresh fruit and a piece of frozen banana he'll love it. Or you can go to the store and get some rice dream which is ice cream make from rice milk and not sweetened with sugar. There is also a coconut milk ice cream now with no sugar. They are delicious.

Hi K.,

Sounds like you are on the right track. Home-made smoothies are easy. Here are two: almond milk (or rice milk), frozen banana, peanut butter. Make this really thin for him. It will fill and satiate him longer than other smoothies. Also contains proteins. Hopefully he is not allergic to nuts - though if just peanuts, use almond butter. Second one: water with a little ice, frozen blueberries (no berries with seeds during his recovery), frozen banana, and I like to add a fruit concentrate syrup (no added sugar). Greens+ Wild Berry Burst is the best source for alkaline super foods. Recommend you add a 1/2 tsp. to start with. Keep this in your daily diet and increase the amount with time. It blends in perfectly with the fruit - no after taste. Loaded with nutrients!!!!!!!!! For more about me, go to www.FamilyFoodExperts.com. Feel free to contact me with more guestions. By the way, your son will recover super fast - kids tend to do that! EllenB

Hi K.,
My cousin's kids had this surgery last year, and the one thing that the doc didn't tell her, but a friend did, and she found very helpful, was to keep ice packs on the outside of their throat pretty much all the time, as long as they could stand it. This helped keep the swelling down and kept them comfortable.

Also, she was advised, rather than going the "healhty" route, to go for high calorie stuff in the first few days, as their little bodies need the calories to heal. She made milkshakes with just vanilla ice cream, whole milk and a scoop of Shaklee protein powder.