"It's like bringing home a neutered puppy..."

That's what Brian says at least.  You take your dog in to be neutered and when he comes home he doesn't pee on the carpet anymore, right?  We took our squirrelly little JoJo in to have his adenoids/tonsils removed and he came home from the hospital a kinder, gentler JoJo.  Rest assured, he did come home with all his boy parts, too.

 

It has been almost a month since the surgery.  The first few days were hard on the little peanut.  His throat hurt a lot and he was very mean and clingy.  However, once the initial pain went away we really have seen a HUGE improvement in JoJo's personality and behavior.  Before the surgery JoJo was highly impulsive, destructive, and sometimes aggressive.  He would do anything to get attention and most of the attention he was getting was negative.  He was especially aggressive with me.  Every diaper change was an almost guaranteed punch in the face or kick in the stomach.  Often he would look to see if I was watching and then find something he could throw across the room and break.

But apparently feeling crummy gave him a new found appreciation for how warm and cuddly Mama feels when you're sick.  He wanted to spend long periods of time sitting still and quiet on my lap.  Score!!!  Before surgery there had never been a still moment in JoJo's life.

JoJo has also turned into a helping machine.  He wants to lend a hand on every chore in the house (whether you want the help or not).  The moment he steps into the kitchen he heads straight to the pantry to grab the broom to sweep.  Or he tries to empty out the dishwasher (even if the dishes haven't been washed yet).  Or his very favorite chore, taking out the trash. 

Most important, JoJo's sleep apnea has completely disappeared. No snoring, no gasping, no gurgling. Just sweet quiet sleep. One of the things we think has had a big impact on his behavior has been co-sleeping. A few weeks before the surgery we started having him sleep with us. The gasping at night was making us more and more nervous so we felt better having him sleep in our room. Since the surgery he has stayed in our room and that extra cuddle time seems to really be a break through in his behavior. 

 

Now that being said, today was probably the worst day of behavior that our kids have had collectively in our entire time as a family.  JoJo cried off and on for 8 hours straight.  Louise joined in for most of that time.  Manny was hitting, Grace pushing, Haven was whining.  Even sweet little Kat was acting like a creep most of the day. 
Sheeshhhh!  We need a do over!!!

 

Tomorrow is a new day.  Let's hope we get our old new JoJo back and kinder, gentler versions of all our other kids, too!  I could really use a whole pack of neutered puppies.