My 6-year-old daughter will soon be having a tonsillectomy. Even though this is a totally routine outpatient procedure, I am fretting. And one way I deal with anxiety is by preparing—or perhaps more accurately, over-preparing. I’d like to buy her a number of fun things to entertain her during the two weeks the doctor suggests we plan for her to be in a nest on the couch, and I’ve been distracting myself with the decisions.
Our Target has some of the Littlest Pet Shop Petriplets sets on clearance, so I bought Elizabeth the kitties one (photo from Amazon.com) which has three cats and a little triple cat-perch, and the bunnies one which has three bunnies and a little triple carrier. These don’t seem to me to have high play-value, but they’re cute and she likes cute, and they can be played with from a couch nest.
Speaking of cute, we got So Cute You Could Die (photo from Amazon.com) last year to bring as a gift to a 9-year-old’s birthday, and it was a big hit. It’s a small book (only 5×5) and a simple concept: pictures of cute things. I thought she might be up to leafing through some pictures before she’s up to reading.
I don’t know if I would have taken a chance on the Zhu Zhu Pets Fun Pack (photo from Amazon.com) for $10.99, but I found it on clearance at Marshalls for $4.50—probably because the box was a little smooshed and the plastic wrapping torn, but I threw out the box so I don’t care. Inside the box was three coloring/activity books of the standard sort: some coloring pages, some word searches, some mazes, some matching activities, a sheet of stickers.
I bought her a $4 Hello Kitty puzzle at Target, but when I was trying to find a picture of it online, she saw this Hello Kitty 100-piece puzzle in a tin (photo from Amazon.com) and flipped for it.
Penguin pillow pet (photo from Amazon.com): it’s a comfort lovey, plus it’s a pillow for increasing the comfiness of the nest. Perfect for recovery.
I recently found I have a surprising level of patience for doing these BrainQuest cards with a child. I got the 3-4 years set on impulse after a frustrating waiting room experience with a restless Henry. I like them because they come in two decks (one for my purse, one for the car) and because they’re more “Point to the BLUE item!” than “Point to the post-modern impressionist!”—though I did still feel a little self-conscious about them when I used them in a waiting room the next time (”Look, I am efficiently filling our minutes of downtime with Educational Flashcards!”), even though I tried to keep my voice low and non-show-offy. Little did my fellow waiting-room waiters realize that the cards were meant as restraints, not as nurture.
Anyway, I was thinking I’d get these for Elizabeth in the 5-6 years kindergarten set and in the 6-7 years first grade set. We can use them while waiting for her turn at the hospital, and we can also use them when she’s feeling a little better.
All great ideas. I think she’ll be sleepy so active play will be minimal. Nest activities sound perfect. Do you have Netflix? Maybe queue up more kiddo movies than normal? Does she play DS? My daughter really likes the Cooking Mama and Crafting Mama games but isn’t particularly interested in any others.
I hope it all goes easy for both of you!
OH jammies - a special pair of jammies or two since she’ll be nesting for so long. It always feels good to put on clean jammies.
Amanda | July 6th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Both of my nieces had their tonsils out two summers ago (one was 5, one was 7). Both doctors had said day 10 was the worst and both moms said that yes, day ten was the worst (pain-wise). Something about scabs and ewwww. So I guess prepare for that day with whatever pain meds you are using. They both said it was odd because it was just about when the girls were feeling better when day ten was a set back.
I hope that you also bought yourself a few recovery gifts? I know you are nervous and I think it’s normal to fret when your otherwise healthy child has to have a big procedure. I think chocolates and chick lit should be ordered for the mom.
Melanie | July 6th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
I’m the most awful sort of person in that I will tell you that despite how neither of you will ever know the horror, you should be very glad indeed that her tonsillectomy is happening while she is young. Mine was the week after I graduated high school & turned 18. It was so horrible. WEEKS of recovery and mind-numbing pain. The surgeon told me it would be like that, and that’s why they do it young when they need to; adult tonsillectomies are terrible.
I agree with Melanie that you should be sure to have some recovery things for yourself. And some things to somewhat distract you from the waiting room fretting, as well.
Alicia C | July 6th, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Never underestimate the power of a coloring book and crayons… for kids or adults! It’s my go-to gift for anyone in the hospital or at home recovering.
Tara | July 6th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
I FEEL YOU. i have had 4 total surgeries in the last 4 years, 2 in 18 months, 2 in 4 months, and here is what has helped me (pretending to be six now;)
netflix instant (you have a wii, right? so set it up on there) with kids shows./movies. soothing/quiet movies, especially. gentle. that sort of thing. she will be a little drugged for awhile so VERY sleepy.
small stuff to do with her hands while she watches tv. maybe some BIG easy to string beads with tupperware to put them in otherwise, gimp or whatever. the loop n’ loom is AWESOME
http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Toys-184WP-Loop-Loom/dp/B000GKXWZO/ref=sr_1_5?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1309976674&sr=1-5
maybe a few of those really small playmoble sets? they are cheap and if you grab a couple different kinds she’ll have options.
oh! and stickers and a sticker book. i’m thinking that she is going to be on the couch, drugged and sleepy, and watching lots of tv, and needing mostly just quiet stuff to play with.
nest close to the bathroom!
vanessa | July 6th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
What about Sticky Mosaics, or have you two done all the sets? Looks like you found some great things for her to do while she is awake. She will be so grateful to you for doing this when she was small. My husband was 34 when he had his removed and it was something he wouldn’t wish on any other adult!
Chris | July 6th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Oh, great ideas. And I love the idea of special jammies too, I bet you could find Hello Kitty no problem.
I wonder if you could find her a personalized special bottle of some type to keep by her for drinks. They’ll tell you that keeping her hydrated will really help her stay comfortable and maybe it would be more fun with a special bottle. Maybe even something she could decorate herself with stickers, like that toothbrush you guys did?
Finally, I just have to say again that my 4-year-old bounced back so much faster than I was led to believe. Maybe he’s a special case, but he really only wanted to be on the couch for about three days. His recovery toy was a talking Woody doll and it is still his ABSOLUTE favorite so I don’t think he has any bad associations with the recovery time.
Jaida | July 8th, 2011 at 2:15 pm