antibiotic #3

Update: Alex just started taking his 3rd antibiotic. :(

Background: A few weeks ago (when his primary care provider was gone) Alex was sent home from daycare because they thought he had pink eye. He did NOT have pink eye, we knew this. He just gets goopey eyes and rubs them when he has a cold, which he did have. So, in order to get him back to daycare, we had to take him to the Dr. and have the Dr. say he DIDN'T have pink eye.

While at the Dr. office, he did prescribe an antibiotic (antibiotic #1) since Alex's snot was pretty green and he'd had a cough for about 2 weeks. He was diagnosed with "sinusitis". I really thought long and hard about giving this to him, since he actually seemed fine. He had a cough and some snot, but he had a cold. He seemed mostly fine.

Well, we did decide to give it to him. And he got better.

But, on day 8 of a 10 day treatment (while on vacation!) he got sick again. Coughing and snotty. I thought this was really strange since he was on antibiotics. I decided to remember this, since it was odd to me and file it away in my memory.

Good thing I did. It was my new motherly instinct and it turned out it was right.

"Day 11" (means first day with no antibiotics) he was really, REALLY sick. He slept all day - very odd for him. He was extremely snotty, bad cough and now really goopey eyes. So much so that his eyelashes would stick together in the mornings. :(

As I said - we were on vacation.

"Day 12" he was still sleeping all day and each of us had to trade off with having our baby boy (who was now one year old) sleep on us all day while the other one would take the dogs down to the beach and get some fun for them. We decided to find a doctor and get some help. Something wasn't right.

So, now he was diagnosed with sinusitis, ear infection, and eye infection. He was given antibiotic #2 for a 10 day treatment.

March 24th (Monday) was day 5 and he wasn't really any better. I have never experienced a baby having an ear infection, although I've heard many stories. Although, it wasn't quite what I thought (screaming all the time) - he has been very cranky and very unlike himself. Nothing is quite right and there has been lots of screaming/crying. Just not continuous, thank god!

By day 5 the antibiotic should be working - I thought!

Things are so busy for us right now and so we decided to take him to his regularly scheduled 12 month visit, today (Wednesday). My instinct was right, again. His ear infection was not gone and Dr. Pregnant with her 3rd child confirmed this. (She is a great doctor, by the way. I have found that you can like a Dr. when things are good, but find out that you don't like them when things go bad. But, it's pretty bad and I still like her quite a bit.) She prescribed antibiotic #3, supposedly very strong along with some ear drops that help with pain. The pharmacist says it is a very good antibiotic and he should be much MUCH better in 3 days!

That's Saturday.

We can't wait for our little man to be his happy self again. We were beginning to wonder if his crankiness would ever stop.

We are hopeful, but I am really paying attention to my instincts since they have been right on when concerned with him.

P.S. We knew he didn't have pink eye. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I didn't give him antibiotic #1... or if his regular care provider would've been there... or if a lot of things. I guess this is motherhood. I'm glad he's got the pain drops - makes a mom feel better.