Ear Infection

Poor little Claire has her first ear infection.  She woke up early last Thursday morning.  Matt went to check in on her and decided to take her temperature which was slightly over 102.  I fed her while Matt called the nurse's hot-line at nearby Children's Hospital.  The nurse suggested we give her Tylenol every few hours and try to make sure she's getting plenty of fluids and sleep.  She was very fussy Thursday and Friday.  Her temperature was up and down.  She wanted to be held and cuddled a lot.  Even though we didn't want her to be feeling bad, we did enjoy all the extra cuddling time.  Matt watched Claire while I was at church Thursday morning, and she wouldn't calm down for anything.  He finally turned on Veggie Tales and she quickly fell asleep in his lap.

I spoke with a nurse at Claire's pediatrician's office on Friday who said that we needed to bring her in if the fever got high and stayed there for a few hours.  Sure enough, Saturday morning around 3 AM, Claire woke up with a fever over 102 and it stayed there until I took her in to the doctor's office around 8:30 Saturday.  The doctor diagnosed her as having an ear infection.  We got a prescription for an antibiotic and he recommend using Ibuprofen instead of Tylenol.  He also said she should have yogurt twice a day while on the antibiotic. 

She seems to be doing a little better but is still not her normal happy self.  She is back to taking naps in her crib.  Yesterday she took four naps instead of her usual two or three.  She's got a bit of a cough and sounds congested.  She's being a good sport about taking her medicine but hasn't had much appetite.

I asked Matt how he knew to take her temperature that first time.  He said he could tell by her cry that she didn't feel well, and he's absolutely right--she does cry differently when sick.  We remembered looking at a table in a book about a baby's different types of cries.  At the time, Claire was very young and we sighed in frustration because every cry sounded the same and we didn't know what she wanted.  Now we've really gotten to know her.  Too bad there's not more we can do to help her feel better.

Hopefully she's be all better soon so she can enjoy Thanksgiving and visiting with her Huyser grandparents, Aunt Dana, and Uncle Andrew next week!