Ugh- need more mommy advice!

Ever since Jameson was a baby he has been a snorer. We asked about it when he was little and the doctor just assured us that it was normal, but that if he was still doing it when he was three or so we might need to have it checked out. Well, Jameson is well over three and the snoring has only gotten worse. And now we often hear his breathing pause during the night and then gasp, which is indicative of sleep apnea. When we told his doctor all of this he was in agreement that we should get him checked out by an ENT to see if/what needed to be done about it.

Well, Friday morning was his ENT appointment and, as I feared, he needs his tonsils AND his adenoids taken out! :( He informed us that he would grow out of it eventually but that it would probably be a long time due to how large his tonsils are (apparently they are "most definitely a size 3", whatever that means). And, because that all isn't fun enough, he saw some fluid in his ears and said that if the fluid isn't gone by the time of the pre-op appointment they are going to do tubes also. Ugh!

I know that his sleep is being VERY interrupted due to all this and that it is important that they do the surgery, but it doesn't make me any happier about it. We are going to wait until the beginning of May to do the surgery so it is after I am staying at home and Shaun's busy time at work is over so he can take off a week to help out. I really wish it worked out to do it sooner to get it over with, but I think it is going to be best for everyone for us to wait.

The advice part- if any of you can give me advice on any of this I would be most grateful. I am looking for any tips on how to best prepare him (he is afraid of any doctor outside of his regular doctor so I don't know how to get him the most prepared). Also, if your kiddo had this done, how bad was the recovery? The doctor said to prepare for a week of recovery. Did you find this to be about right? How did you get them through this week? Anything you wish you would have done?