Tuesday, September 19, 2006

It Was Bound to Happen...

Our 13-month milestone: The princess has her first ear infection. And in true Emma style, it's a double infection. Nothing in moderation with this girl.

It started on Monday morning with a fever. She woke up with one, which is never a good sign, but I was optimistic that it was another tooth. By 10am it was 102.6 degrees, a clear indication this was no tooth issue. Tylenol attempted to save the day, but managed to only get the temp down to 100.5. Still, no major boogies or otherwise obvious problems. Just one crabby, crabby baby who wanted to be held ALL.DAY.LONG. My first instinct was ear infection, but she wasn't pulling on her ears and was eating and drinking just fine. Naps went okay. So I was hopeful.

Then came nighttime. She went down an hour early, but I had to wake her up around 7pm to give her Motrin. I'm not a big meds person, but when temps go above 102, I get a little nervous. Little did I know that I was about to hear from Miss Emma every hour, on the hour ALL.NIGHT.LONG.

The saddest part of it all was that she started to have minor "convulsions" around 9pm that didn't go away for around 3 hours. So while she's crying on my shoulder, trying desperately to find a way to sleep comfortably, her body was jerking for no reason. My poor, poor baby -- it totally broke my heart and scared me to death. After some late-night (early-morning?) reading, I concluded the jerking was from the fever and decided to skip work and bring her in to the doctor first thing in the morning. I'm glad I did.

The doc confirmed the ear infections and said they were "just starting," so it was good that we caught them now. He also said the convulsions were from the fever and not to worry about them. Fine with me. I'm all about putting those completely out of my mind.

So Emma is officially on her first dose of antibiotics. I'm not crazy about this, but she's exhausted and in pain, so that's a no-brainer for me -- I'm not messing with her ears. I just can't wait for the meds to kick in. Today was another crabby, clingy day, but with lots more crying. So far tonight, she's been awake about 3 times. I have a feeling it's going to be a long, long night... say a prayer for us?!

*UPDATE: Funny how I am constantly saying, "I'm not a meds person," yet I mention three in this post AND the girl is on Prevacid. Maybe I'm more of a meds person than I thought. Although, I guess that's another post all together...*

**UPDATE #2: Emma did okay last night, but still struggled with pain. She still woke up every hour, but did sleep a 3-hour stretch, which gave me and Dada some sleep. The good news is she was MUCH happier this morning and is napping now, so we'll see how the day goes. Thanks for your concern. Blogging friends rock!**

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Praying right now that sweet Emma (and Mom and Dad) get some restful sleep tonight. Adam's first ear infection was a double-whammy, too, but I had NO clue he had one. I think I took him in for something else, and the doc was like, "By the way, he has a double ear infection". Yeah, my third child, can you tell? :) He was actually the first of my kids to have one, so in my defense, I didn't know!!!
Big hug from MI...hope Emma's feeling better after those antibiotics kick in.

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

Oh, I do hope all is better soon!!

kkoois said...

poor emma and poor you! that is no fun to watch your little one be so sick like that.

elise also had double ear infections right around the same age. the only signs she showed of it were red and crusty gunk in her eyes in the morning. i thought it was pink eye and took her to the doctor. i was surprised to hear she had a double ear infection. funny how all kids show different signs of the same problem...

i say, go with the meds if needed. i tend to be a med person and probably should be less of one, but if they help and make them feel better, i say go for it. especially if your doctor okay's it.

i'm leaving this comment on wednesday morning, so please update us on how she did last night and how she is doing this morning.

Anonymous said...

OH Emma! Les the convulsions sound so scary. I know common w/high fevers but how frightening and sad to see. You are gonna be one strong Mama by the end of all this :)

I'm not a meds person either but the thing I hate about them is when they are used unnecessarily at the first sign of anything. The difference in your case is they aren't unnecessary (OK I don't know how to spell that word.) No person would want to see their baby suffer for the sake of being able to claim they are all natural. Prevacid clearly helps her and makes her comfortable. You shouldn't have to give any anti-meds disclaimers. You always put Emma's best interst and health first and everything you do is based on research and education, plus a great Mama gut.

I hope she's on the way to ear infection free!

Anonymous said...

Our poor Emmie...
I hate hearing about when she's sick; it makes me so sad. I hope she is getting better though. Uncle Johnny and I may have to come check up on her this weekend; 'cause as I'm sure you know, a visit from us could cure any illness. :-) Love you guys.

Anonymous said...

I never know when my girls have ear infections - no symptoms whatsoever. Brought Georgia in for her 9 month checkup last week (she was 10 months) and the Dr. Hottie said one was just starting. He gave me a scrip for antibiotics and told me to fill it if things got worse. Through the course of the visit Georgia was so unusually crabby that he said I'd better fill it. I thought she had been crabby from teething - obviously there was more to it... I'm not a big fan of medicating myself or my children, but I do the tylenol thing when they have a fever so they aren't miserable. And antibiotics are just a necessity sometimes, huh?

I get so sick of the guessing game sometimes. I hope she's feeling better - it seems that after 1 or 2 days of the antibiotics my girls are happier. Then its just a matter of remembering to give the rest of the doses:)

On two other notes...
1) - You work? What are you doing?
2) I saw your brother baptize his girlfriend last weekend (two weeks ago?) and thought we might see you, Jeff and Emma afterwards, but I saw your whole fam and not you guys... did we miss you?

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear that. You are talking to a mom who has battled ear infections w. both boys. Matt had them with every cold and Mark got ear tubes at 8 months.

Hang in there!!! (((HUGS)))

Anonymous said...

Oh my sweet little one, please get better really quick! Earaches stink. Love you all lots ;o)