Let the sickness begin!
I cringed as I took her to the doctor the other day - knowing what she was going to say and already having to accept what it might mean. One look in each ear was all that was needed to confirm what I was already thinking...ear infection. But this time it was plural - as in ear infections in both ears. Ugh.
I had chronic ear infections as a child. If I sneezed too hard, it seemed like I developed an ear infection. And mine were of the variety - 10% of the pediatric population with ear infections, I read the other night - that had drainage from my ears along with my infections. If you think it sounds gross, I promise it was. Like having pink eye, but in my ears. Every morning waking up with my ear canals clogged up. Having to irrigate (wow, no pun intended...get it? Ear-igate?) Having to wash my pillow, pillow case and sheets. Ugh for real.
So it is with these memories that I take in the news that Jenna has her second ear infection(s) in less than a month. And the fact that the doctor is already discussing tubes. Tubes? For a four month old? :(
And enter my experience with tubes... They didn't help me. The ear infections continued after I had the tubes inserted. I'm sure it was better than before, but I distinctly recall this fact. Because then came specialized pair of ear plugs one after another. Anything to keep water out of my ears (when I was swimming in a pool all the time). Only until the ENT suggested allergy testing did we finally pinpoint the cause behind my ear infections. And bronchitis. And sinus infections. And every other sickness that came within a certain vicinity of me... Soon after I started allergy shots, my ear infections vanished forever....like magic...
Which brings me back to the doctors appointment with Jenna. Can we look into allergy testing? Not until two years old because the results are not reliable on infants and she would probably come back with some false negative results. Damn.
So here we are with another round of antibiotics, Tylenol for pain because she has been more fussy in the past two days that the grand total of her entire four months of life, and a nice little sinus infection that snuck in there somewhere along the way. Poor little munchkin!
Who knows where this will lead. I'm hoping for the best (no more ear infections and a mom who is aweful-izing) but preparing for the worst....surgery, allergy tests, shots...more sickness. Manage my expectations, right? On the up side, I have my experience to pull from in all of this, meaning if tubes don't work, we have a good idea of what will. It's just a matter of letting her get old enough to seek that solution.
Speaking of aweful-izing...JP and I were talking last night about our fears in this process. My fear is that she has all of the other issues I have - multiple medication allergies, severe reactions to general anesthesia, freakish allergies that could land us with hives or anaphylaxis at any moment. It doesn't seem like such a big deal when I think about my own experience, but my parents were trained medical professionals who knew how to handle my weird stuff when it cropped up. I'm a social worker. I flipped out first and then remembered to slap her back the other night when she choked on rice cereal. Wrong order for sure, although it turned out ok (save for a very hysterical mom and a frustrated - with mom - dad). I guess this is where that handy dandy "One Day at a Time" comes in handy, huh? Again, as does my experience. Since I have my experience to bank on, we can monitor her in a way that couldn't be done for me. We can hope for the best but prepare for the worst, knowing if it happens, we can handle it. Right?
I had chronic ear infections as a child. If I sneezed too hard, it seemed like I developed an ear infection. And mine were of the variety - 10% of the pediatric population with ear infections, I read the other night - that had drainage from my ears along with my infections. If you think it sounds gross, I promise it was. Like having pink eye, but in my ears. Every morning waking up with my ear canals clogged up. Having to irrigate (wow, no pun intended...get it? Ear-igate?) Having to wash my pillow, pillow case and sheets. Ugh for real.
So it is with these memories that I take in the news that Jenna has her second ear infection(s) in less than a month. And the fact that the doctor is already discussing tubes. Tubes? For a four month old? :(
And enter my experience with tubes... They didn't help me. The ear infections continued after I had the tubes inserted. I'm sure it was better than before, but I distinctly recall this fact. Because then came specialized pair of ear plugs one after another. Anything to keep water out of my ears (when I was swimming in a pool all the time). Only until the ENT suggested allergy testing did we finally pinpoint the cause behind my ear infections. And bronchitis. And sinus infections. And every other sickness that came within a certain vicinity of me... Soon after I started allergy shots, my ear infections vanished forever....like magic...
Which brings me back to the doctors appointment with Jenna. Can we look into allergy testing? Not until two years old because the results are not reliable on infants and she would probably come back with some false negative results. Damn.
So here we are with another round of antibiotics, Tylenol for pain because she has been more fussy in the past two days that the grand total of her entire four months of life, and a nice little sinus infection that snuck in there somewhere along the way. Poor little munchkin!
Who knows where this will lead. I'm hoping for the best (no more ear infections and a mom who is aweful-izing) but preparing for the worst....surgery, allergy tests, shots...more sickness. Manage my expectations, right? On the up side, I have my experience to pull from in all of this, meaning if tubes don't work, we have a good idea of what will. It's just a matter of letting her get old enough to seek that solution.
Speaking of aweful-izing...JP and I were talking last night about our fears in this process. My fear is that she has all of the other issues I have - multiple medication allergies, severe reactions to general anesthesia, freakish allergies that could land us with hives or anaphylaxis at any moment. It doesn't seem like such a big deal when I think about my own experience, but my parents were trained medical professionals who knew how to handle my weird stuff when it cropped up. I'm a social worker. I flipped out first and then remembered to slap her back the other night when she choked on rice cereal. Wrong order for sure, although it turned out ok (save for a very hysterical mom and a frustrated - with mom - dad). I guess this is where that handy dandy "One Day at a Time" comes in handy, huh? Again, as does my experience. Since I have my experience to bank on, we can monitor her in a way that couldn't be done for me. We can hope for the best but prepare for the worst, knowing if it happens, we can handle it. Right?
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