My Tough Cookie
I think Charlie might be one of those kids who gets sick but doesn't fuss about it much.
He's been grabbing at his left ear for the last 3-4 days. At first I thought he was just grabbing it the way he grabs everything else, which seems to be beyond his control. His little hands just grab things randomly, you know? But he's been doing it a lot more. He wasn't fussing or anything, and when I examined his ear I saw that the skin on it was really dry. Maybe he's just itchy, I figured, so I put some aquaphor on it. This morning he took a longer nap than usual, and when he got up he was screaming for no apparent reason. He started screaming when I laid him in my lap to feed him, and he wouldn't take his bottle. He did this yesterday too. I couldn't figure out what could possibly be wrong. I thought maybe the formula was too hot, but it was fine. I just had to hold him for a while to calm him down, then he finally did take his food. It was weird.
Now, it's been a lot of years since I had an ear infection, but the thing I remember most about it is being up all night because lying down was agonizing. The fluid in my ears would slosh when I leaned back, so I wanted to sit up. Aside from him grabbing his ear, this is the only clue I got that he might have an ear infection.
He took another unusually long nap this afternoon, and was fussy about lying down again when it was time to eat. After he ate and spent about an hour staring into space, my worrying was renewed again and I decided to take his temp. It's 100.2, and I took it the old fashioned way, so I'm sure it's accurate. I gave him some Tylenol and made him an appointment to see the doc tomorrow morning. I'm going to check his temp in an hour and see if it's gone down, and I'm going to keep checking it all night. His little butthole will just have to get used to it until I'm satisfied that he's okay.
I know I'm a rookie at this mother stuff, but I would've expected an ear infection to be accompanied by a lot more screaming and fussing than I've seen so far. The only other thing going on with him is that he's got a rash on his skin that is getting worse. We'll find out what all of this is about tomorrow, I guess.
I halfway expect the doctor to give me the "anxious new momma" treatment.
He's been grabbing at his left ear for the last 3-4 days. At first I thought he was just grabbing it the way he grabs everything else, which seems to be beyond his control. His little hands just grab things randomly, you know? But he's been doing it a lot more. He wasn't fussing or anything, and when I examined his ear I saw that the skin on it was really dry. Maybe he's just itchy, I figured, so I put some aquaphor on it. This morning he took a longer nap than usual, and when he got up he was screaming for no apparent reason. He started screaming when I laid him in my lap to feed him, and he wouldn't take his bottle. He did this yesterday too. I couldn't figure out what could possibly be wrong. I thought maybe the formula was too hot, but it was fine. I just had to hold him for a while to calm him down, then he finally did take his food. It was weird.
Now, it's been a lot of years since I had an ear infection, but the thing I remember most about it is being up all night because lying down was agonizing. The fluid in my ears would slosh when I leaned back, so I wanted to sit up. Aside from him grabbing his ear, this is the only clue I got that he might have an ear infection.
He took another unusually long nap this afternoon, and was fussy about lying down again when it was time to eat. After he ate and spent about an hour staring into space, my worrying was renewed again and I decided to take his temp. It's 100.2, and I took it the old fashioned way, so I'm sure it's accurate. I gave him some Tylenol and made him an appointment to see the doc tomorrow morning. I'm going to check his temp in an hour and see if it's gone down, and I'm going to keep checking it all night. His little butthole will just have to get used to it until I'm satisfied that he's okay.
I know I'm a rookie at this mother stuff, but I would've expected an ear infection to be accompanied by a lot more screaming and fussing than I've seen so far. The only other thing going on with him is that he's got a rash on his skin that is getting worse. We'll find out what all of this is about tomorrow, I guess.
I halfway expect the doctor to give me the "anxious new momma" treatment.
Sometimes they scream, and sometimes they just fuss a little, but pulling on the ear is classic. Some doctors won't give anything for ear infections anymore unless they're really bad - just say give something for the fever/pain and let it take it's course. Even so, I always felt better letting the doctor look at it anyway, because, as sure as you don't, it will be something major and they will raise hell because you DIDN'T bring them in. There's no winning with Dr. God.
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