Reed gets tubes

Reed got tubes in both ears today, and he is doing well. He was a little fussy when he woke up from anesthesia, but it quickly wore off. We will spend the afternoon relaxing and cuddling. We are hoping the tubes put an end to the continuous ear infections.

Ear infection

I noticed Reed pulling on his ear and a little yucky snot. We headed to the pediatrician, and it was confirmed an ear infection. This is the fourth ear infection, so it is looking like Reed will be heading to an ENT doctor soon. For now, he is taking Omnicef to clear up the infection. Sounds very familiar!

Ear infection

Reed woke whinny and clingy. I noticed that he was a little warm, so I checked his temperature. It was right at 100. We spent the morning cuddling and watching a little TV. He wasn't very hungry, and I noticed he was getting warmer. I checked his temperature again, and it had gone to 102.5. I packed the boys in the truck and headed to the doctor.

Unfortunately, his pediatrician's office closes at noon on Wednesdays, so we headed to Dr. Miller's office. After a thorough check, the doctor said Reed had a severe ear infection in his left ear. He prescribed an antibiotic for the next 10 days and Motrin for pain.

I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. I pray that I haven't passed my ear issues to him. An ear infection is very uncomfortable, and I spent the afternoon and evening keeping him comfortable.

Tubes and adenoidectomy

Ryland is getting tubes today. He may also get an adenoidectomy, but we won't know until the doctor checks them out. He was a sleepy head on the way to the hospital.

He finally decided to wake up a little when we arrived at the hospital. I am sure he was wondering what was going on so darn early in the morning.

Now the little mischief monster comes out. Ryland was very curious about the bed and the hospital equipment. We let him play with it for a little while we waited. He quickly decided that they were all boring. We couldn't give him anything to eat or drink, so things started getting uncomfortable very fast.

After waiting about an hour and a half, it was time. John Chris gave Ryland hugs and kisses, and I took him back. The nurses had prepared me for the Giggle Juice and said that it would calm him down before the real anesthesia. I sat in a dark little room with him while one nurse blew bubbles and another shot the Giggle Juice up his nose. All hell broke loose. Ryland started screaming, crying, and arching his back. I tried to calm him down, but another nurse kept rushing him to go on back. I rocked as long as I could, and he started to calm down. As they wheeled him out of the room, I could not hold back my tears.

John Chris and I sat in the waiting room for about 35 minutes before the doctor came to tell us how the surgery went. Ryland's adenoids were huge, so they were removed. The doctor said everything went according to plan, and he would be in recovery soon.

About 10 minutes later, we were called back to the recovery area. He was barely awake and drifting in and out. When he would wake up, he could feel the IV in his foot, and he would start kicking and screaming. John Chris rocked him while I held the IV and the monitor wires up so they wouldn't pull his skin. I couldn't help but think about the time we spent with Ryland in the NICU. It is so hard to see your baby in the hospital.

Ryland was released with a few prescriptions and some magical ear drops. We headed by the pharmacy and then home. He slept most of the afternoon, but when he was awake, he was acting a little drunk. He stumbled a good bit and laughed a lot.

We are hoping and praying for an improvement with ear infections, and we are so happy things went well.

ENT

Ryland had an appointment with an ENT doctor today. We have been looking forward to this visit, and we were hoping for a positive outcome. The visit went great. Ryland let the doctor look in his ears without a fight, but when it came to looking at his throat, Ryland unleashed the crying beast.
The doctor said tubes would be appropriate and possibly removing of his adenoids. We are scheduled for June 18th. I never thought we would be happy to schedule surgery.

Double ear infection

Ryland was up most of last night. He ran a 102.5 fever for about an hour before it finally broke. He isn't pulling at his ears, but this is typical fussiness with an ear infection. We headed to the pediatrician for a visit, and of course it was a double ear infection. Ryland is back on an antibiotic and continuing the decongestant.

I have said one more ear infection, and we are going to a specialist. Today I made the call. Ryland has an appointment for consultation in 2 weeks. I have spoken to the doctor, and we will go ahead and schedule a operation for tubes when we go in. I hope that the surgery will be helpful and give Ryland more happy days!

Ear

Ouch! That is the only way I can even begin to describe today. I woke up at 3AM with a terrible earache. I took some medicine to try to get back to sleep, but I was unsuccessful. As soon as Ryland woke up, we headed to the urgent care clinic to see a doctor.
I felt so silly writing down my problems. Ear, congestion, cough - then I made the change to EAR!, congestion, cough. The doctor came in to examine me, and he asked about the medicine I had taken overnight. I told him I took a Vicadin that was left over from when I had Ryland. He made a funny little face and said "Vicadin for an earache". I wanted to slap him, but instead I just said "Yep".
He then looked in my hear, stepped back and said "How many Vicadin do you have left?" I told him probably around 4 or 5. He said "You are going to need some more". Duh! He then told me what I already knew was coming. He predicted that my eardrum would rupture do to a severe sinus infection. He gave me more Vicadin for pain and an antibiotic for the infection.
Of course my eardrum did rupture a couple of hours later. It is a funny feeling when your ear starts running and oozing. What was so scary about this time, is that I lost most of my hearing this time. I have ruptured both eardrums before, but I never had hearing loss like this. I am extremely concerned and very upset. Cross your fingers and say a prayer that it comes back.

Another Doctor visit

Ryland woke up not feeling well again. He was fussy, congested, and pulling at both ears. I went ahead and called the pediatrician for an appointment. I explained that we could not wait until our scheduled appointment on March 4th. They worked us right in to see Dr. McCoy.

He checked Ryland really well and said his ears looked like hell. He prescribed another antibiotic and a twice daily decongestant. I do not like the idea of medicating him around the clock every day, but after a discussion with the doctor I agreed to give it a shot. I hope this is the answer to clear up his never ending drainage. Cross your fingers.

Back to the doctor

Today was Ryland's follow up appointment with the pediatrician. We had prepared to be referred to an ENT doctor, because we had noticed Ryland pulling at his ear over the weekend. We saw the Ms. Linda, the nurse practitioner, and she said he had a double ear infection again. This makes 7 ear infections in a little under 11 months. RIDICULOUS! She wanted to try one more antibiotic before we go to the specialist. I agreed to give it a shot.

The new medicine can only be found at a compounding pharmacy. This was a new endeavour to me and I was very unsure. Luckily, our friend Sharon is a pharmacist at a local compounding pharmacy. She was happy to help and warned me that it tasted terrible. She tried it, and said it was disgusting.

Later that afternoon, I gave him the medicine and he very quickly spit it right back out. I couldn't even get anything in him to chase it. I tried this evening again, and he threw up everywhere. John Chris and I both tried a little taste of the medicine and it is terrible. We will continue to try.

Ear infections in children are very common; however, if a child has repeat infections usually a specialist will put tubes in the ears. Antibiotics can clear the infection, but sometimes the fluid stays in the ear canal. The process then starts all over if the fluid remains. A way for the fluid to drain is to have tubes put in the ear. The doctor puts a small straw like tube in the ear canal and through the ear drum. The fluid then drains out the tube. Gross and painful sounding but can sometimes be very effective.

To the doctor again

Ryland is still pulling at his left ear, and he has been getting fussier as the day goes on. I decided to go ahead and take him to the pediatrician again to have him checked. What do you know? An ear infection. Again. The doctor went ahead and prescribed an antibiotic and decongestant. She looked over his chart and said that she wanted to see him again in two weeks. If he has any fluid build up or infection, she will refer us to an ENT specialist and recommend tubes. We go back on February 15th, and I hope he is all clear. I hate for him to go through surgery, but the poor baby needs a break. He is in pain, and it breaks my heart.

Stomach virus X2 and an ear infection

After a very tough night and morning, I decided we should go to the doctor. Neither one of us were holding anything down, and I am was concerned that Ryland may get dehydrated. He was not eating or drinking. I tried force feeding Pedialyte, but it came up as well. The doctor said it was a stomach virus, and it should go away around 48 hours. He checked Ryland out very well and found an ear infection in his left ear. How terrible! He has a tummy problems and an ear infection. He was really fussy and wanted to be held, so we spent the evening cuddling and resting.