Imagine there are two pubs on the same street. They both have comfy decor, delicious beer, and lovely friendly staff. At pub B, the beer comes fast, in big jugs. At pub S, the service is slow, and even though the jugs are big, when they finally arrive they are only about half full.
Which pub would you choose? Pub B? I thought so. Well, so do Arlo and Huey. If pub B is shut, then they will go to pub S, but during the day they don’t really settle in for a good hard drinking session. (Night time is different - any pub will do when you’re half asleep.) Pub S is struggling a bit, but is trying out some new marketing strategies and buying in some more beer to try and lure the customers back. It seems to be working - Arlo in particular is a fan. Even though it’s been a rough few months for the baybeast liquor industry, we’re confident that the sales figures will continue to improve. We’re hoping to keep our customers for a couple of years yet!
Arlo is mad for animal noises. So far he makes consistent sounds for lion, elephant, monkey, fish, rabbit, frog, duck, chook, snake, tiger, dog, cat, cow, parrot, small bird, and probably more that I can’t remember right now. But I’ve never been able to tell him what giraffes say. My friend’s husband solved the problem, and Arlo has taken on this new animal noise with enthusiasm:
PS We’ve seen a big difference in his language since his ears were drained and adenoids out. There are words! And so many more consonants! He said ‘mama’ the other day and it was sweet to hear - there had been no m or n for months. We are still Baba though - I think that has stuck.
Last night when I got home from the hospital, leaving bean there with a slightly manic Arlo, I carried Huey from the car to our bed and he barely stirred. Then I sat at the computer and wrote this email to our family:
“Arlo’s adenoidectomy went very smoothly. After a long fast (which he coped with very well) he went down easily and although he woke up pretty sad, within an hour he was bouncing around happily with a fistful of cheese, and making Huey laugh! We’re so proud of him. The doctor said his adenoids were indeed very big, but that his ears didn’t have too much fluid in them so he didn’t put grommets in after all (which was what we initially wanted so we’re pleased with this outcome). Apparently it will take about 2 weeks to really notice a difference in his breathing, because of the swelling. Bean and Arlo are in the hospital for observation tonight, but will come home tomorrow morning. Bean’s mum is arriving tonight to help us out over the next few days, which is wonderful.
Thanks so much to you all for your supportive messages! We’re glad it’s over, but glad we did it too.”
Today he has been mostly very chipper, and we have noticed a huge difference in his breathing already. It’s kind of spooky walking into the bedroom when he is asleep and not hearing him snort and snuffle and struggle for breath. I really noticed it today when he got on the phone to a friend. It’s been a running joke that he never says anything but just breathes heavily down the mouthpiece. It seems his prank calling days are over!
