Sick

Like lots of babies, Sam and Jake had a lot of ear infections. As a new parent I remember being baffled and frustrated by Sam's ear infections, enough so that Jake was only months old before I asked the doctor, "When can he get tubes in his ears?"

But Abby never wrestled with ear infections. Until this weekend. Saturday morning she woke up with a fever but no other symptoms until 11:30 Saturday night. Add in a midnight thunderstorm and a cat fight outside the window, and momma didn't get much sleep Saturday night.

And while tending to a baby with an ear infection is physically and mentally exhausting, it is almost harder when the child can vocalize. Granted it was much easier to diagnose; Abby told me "My left ear feels crunchy. There's a balloon in my ear. It hurts only on this side." (And she was 100% right.) But it was heartbreaking to watch her squirm and try to get comfortable and have her look up at me and say, "Mama, help me!"

So Sunday afternoon I took her to the quick clinic. Of course I wanted her to feel better, but I also didn't think I could manage another sleepless night.

All I can say is that doctors have changed a lot since I was a kid. Even though Abby's doctor is great, the quick clinic has got it down. They gave her a coloring book and taped her finished product to the office door. She immediately befriended another 4-year-old in the waiting room, and when the office staff heard the girls babbling about princesses, they put Enchanted in the DVD player. After her checkup she was given a teddy bear.

So after a dose of antibiotic and some anti-inflammatory ear drops, everyone got a good night's sleep. And through it all Abby didn't lose her spirit or her empathy. When I went to wake her up this morning she was making her bed, and when I thanked her, she said, "Well, after this weekend, I thought you might be tired."