It’s ear again

And I bet you thought I’d lost my touch with the ear puns ever since Baby B’s tube surgery in February 2008. Ha!

Six weeks ago, The Husband and Baby B had to make a Sunday visit to the doctor, where Baby B was diagnosed with pneumonia. We had to make yet another Sunday visit to the doctor today (incidentally, I love our pediatrician office for this, among many other reasons) because we suspected pneumonia again. Fun times!

It started on Thursday night when Baby B came down with slight congestion in her sinuses, but she was fine enough to go to daycare on Friday without any hesitation. She had a slight runny nose for most of the day on Saturday, but nothing that we thought twice about, really. Just like last time, it all went downhill — and quickly — after bedtime on Saturday night.

She first woke up around 11 p.m. I went in to check on her, and her chest was more congested, her breathing was more labored, and she seemed to be running a slight fever (I didn’t bother taking it, but I’d guess around 101 or 102). At first she told me her ear was hurting, but then said her mouth her, and I asked her to point it out to me. She pointed at her lower back right molar, which is coming through the surface at the moment, so I thought that’s what her pain was from. I finally got her back to sleep after laying beside her and singing some songs with her, but then she woke up again crying out in pain around 12:30 a.m. This time The Husband went to check on her, as he did a few more times before he eventually just decided to stay in her room with her for the rest of the night since she was crying out so loudly and so often. None of us got much sleep with Baby B absolutely wailing for most of the night and there was not much we could do for her other than give her Tylenol.

I got up this morning, got ready, and called the doctor to see if we could come in. We were told to come ASAP because they didn’t have anyone there waiting. The Husband and I threw on some clothes fit for a public outing and drove separately since I needed to go to work (a little late) after seeing the doctor, and we met at the pediatrician’s office. Baby B did have a slight fever (and it turns out I did too when the nurse let Baby B take my temperature!), and the doctor came in to ask questions and listen to her breathing. I think she decided it’s not pneumonia at this point despite the fast, labored breathing (I think it was headed in that direction), but she did hear a lot of wheezing that obviously wasn’t normal.

The best part was checking the ears…major infection in the right ear (the one that Baby B had told me hurt) and some infection in the left ear, though not as bad as the right. Her tube is not in her right ear anymore, and her tube is no longer in the ear drum of the left ear, so that’s not helping her anymore and will likely fall out any time.

Oh, so that explains the wailing every time Baby B would lie down in bed last night. I suspect her ears were not feeling well whenever she’d try a horizontal position. Funny how tubes cure the recurrent ear infection thing and you quickly forget to suspect that as the culprit. I mean, I don’t feel guilty about it or anything because we took her to the doctor as quickly as we reasonably could since it wasn’t a medical emergency situation, but just an interesting observation that it didn’t really occur to me, even after Baby B told me her ear hurt. Lesson learned: Trust what Baby B tells me.

She received a nebulizer treatment in the office, and we were sent home with Augmentin, three days of a steroid, and another refill for albuterol (which we’d gotten at the last visit 6 weeks ago). I had to leave before her neb treatment was done, but The Husband said that her breathing sounded much better after the treatment, so hopefully she’s on the upswing. We’re already making arrangements to stay home with her on Monday and Tuesday.

Kind of funny that we had a very mild winter as far as illnesses, and now that it’s not really sick season, she’s had two Sunday trips to the doctor within six weeks of each other. I’m trying not to let myself think that the ear infection thing is going to be a trend again, but you better believe that if it is, we’re heading right back to the ENT to look at tubes again. I have no regrets about having it done and would do it again without hesitation if the right situation presented itself.

Here’s hoping it does not.