A Tale of Two Sickies

And Dominic got sick…AGAIN.  Oh, and so am I…again.  Dominic is now on his 4^th round of antibiotics in the last 2 months.  This time he had another (terrible) ear infection (his 2^nd one) and Pink Eye.  Yes, Pink Eye.  WTF?  Dominic is not in daycare.  Dominic drinks breast-milk.  His parents both have healthy immune systems (I was a teacher whose immune system was very strong for goodness sake!).  I just don’t understand it.  Will my poor, little boy be able to feel well for a whole month straight?  Please? 

Dominic's crusty eyes from having Pink Eye

Last Thursday afternoon after Dominic woke up from his 2^nd nap I noticed his eye being really swollen.  Once he took a bath his eye seemed to get better, so I figured it was just allergies from being outside at the park the day before.  The next day, I examined hte situation and realized that Dominic hadn’t been napping well for the last day or two, sleeping for just an hour to an hour in a half at each nap.  He had also been very clingy the last couple of days.  Clinginess and poor naps are always big signs that something is going on.  I thought it was because he was teething because one of his teeth looked like it was about to come in.

Looks like he has a black eye, but it's just Pink Eye giving him that shiner :(

That Friday night, Dominic was being even clingier than before.  He wanted to be held constantly.  When our neighbors came home for dinner, Dominic started crying for no reason and being very antisocial and sensitive to deep voices (men).  I also noticed that he was having a lot of eye boogers coming out.  I'd wipe his eyes clean and within a few minutes, his eyes were yucky again.  I thought at first it was from all of the crying, but after wiping eye booger after eye booger after eye booger from his eyes in combination with his clinginess and fussiness, I knew something was really wrong. 

I did a quick Google search - of course - and saw that it could be pink eye.  Dominic’s 12 month appointment was scheduled for Tuesday, so we wondered if it was necessary to take Dominic to the doctor the next morning (Saturday) or if we could wait till Tuesday.  Brian called the pediatrician at home (yes, at home on a Friday night…the advantage of having the pediatrician as a family friend…at least it was an advantage to us, probably more of a disadvantage for Dr. Smith).  Anyway, Dr. Smith told Brian that it was probably pink eye and to definitely bring him in to the office tomorrow morning.  The Alpharetta office is the only location of the practice open on Saturdays and is only open till noon.  He also said that 85% of kids under 3 with pink eye develop an ear infection, so it was especially important to come immediately instead of waiting till Tuesday.  

So, we went, saw Dr. Smith who was luckily working that morning, and found out that not only did Dominic have pink eye, but he also had a terrible ear infection…again, putting him in that 85%.   Dr. Smith rated the ear infection a 3 out of 4 in severity.  To add to the woes, we noticed that Dominic has also started coughing, sneezing, and being congested.  Dr. Smith prescribed an antibiotic (Augmentin) for the ear infection twice a day, eye drops for the pink eye 3 times a day, and a decongestant for the congestion twice a day.  He also recommended giving Dominic Ibuprofen for the pain every 6-8 hours.  Needless to say, that’s a lot of medicine especially for such a little guy.

We additionally had to go back on the yogurt diet thanks to antibiotics again, which Dominic only went off of a week before.  I think we are single handedly supporting Stonyfield’s Yobaby division with all of Dominic's yogurt eating.  I’ve started participating in their rewards program in fact.  We also continued to give Dominic applesauce and add more cheese (another favorite food of his) to his diet to help counteract the high amount of poopy diapers that he and I undoubtedly was forced to endure thanks to the antibiotics. 

  

Brian and I took Dominic back to the pediatrician for his 12 month checkup/follow up appointment on Tuesday.  Dominic’s pink eye had cleared up, so we didn't have to continue giving him the eye drops, thank God!  Dominic’s left ear was still infected but had improved.  We had to continue giving him his antibiotics for that.   By Thursday, Dominic had seemed to be fully recovered.  I think the last day or two of his clinginess was more because he actually was teething.  His 5th tooth (the top right side tooth) finally broke through.  What a trooper, getting through pink eye, an ear infection, vaccines, and teething all in a week.  

Just to review how sick Dominic has been in the last 2 months alone, below are Dominic's last 6 doctors visits in that time period:

• December 29^th – sick visit: diagnosed with a double ear infection (10 days of Amoxicillin)
• January 14^th – follow-up visit (postponed from January 12^th due to the snow): one ear was still infection (7 days of Cefdinir)
• January 21^st – follow-up visit #2: clean bill of health!  J
• February 8^th – sick visit: diagnosed with a sinus infection (10 day of Cefdinir again)
• February 27^th – sick visit: diagnosed with an ear infection (left ear) and Pink Eye (10 days of Augmentin, eye drops 3 times a day, prescribed decongestant twice a day).   
• March 1^st – 12 month checkup/ear infection follow up: left ear improved but still infected (continue Augmentin), recovered from pink eye (no more eye drops!). 

6 doctors' visits in 2 months are way too many if you ask me.  L

Of course, not long after Dominic got sick, so did I.  Mommies should not be allowed to get sick.  It’s hard enough to care for a sick baby or toddler, but when you have no energy, feel awful, are dealing with all of your own sick symptoms, and have lost your voice, it’s torture.  I luckily managed to avoid Dominic's pink eye but had worse symptoms in some ways from the same virus.  It started off with me coughing a lot, a sore throat, body aches, a little fever, some congestion, exhaustion, weakness, and a complete loss of my voice for 2 days.  The worst part is that I couldn't sing or even speak very much to poor Dominic, who is a language sponge right now.  Not being able to sing to him has caused the changing table to be even more challenging.  Thank God for texting, email, and Facebook so I could communicate with other people without a voice.

By the end of the week, I had my voice back (a very hoarse voice), but my nasal congestion increased a lot, and I still am coughing and have a sore throat...not to mention my tiredness persists.  I took a trip to Walgreens' Take Care Clinic in the hopes of some antibiotics or at least medicine.  Unforunately, the nurse practioner decided I just needed OTC drugs and couldn't even tell me for sure if I could take them since I'm breastfeeding.  Did I mention that I paid $99 for this visit (not covered by insurance).  I will never go back to one of those clinics ever again!

I'm really hoping that Dominic and I both can avoid getting sick now that it's warm out.  To say that I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired and of having a sick and tired toddler is an understatement.  Crossing my fingers...