With Christmas just around the corner and the end of the semester in sight, its hard to believe another month has flown by and here we are just shy of a year old! She is crawling everywhere and pulling herself up to stand (which means jumping on the bed in her crib when she want us to come get her). She babbles in full sentences, leaving us wishing we had a June Apple translator, because I know she is saying a lot, we just don't quite understand. But I bet it won't be long, before she is chattering away in a language more familiar to us. And if she talks as much as she babbles, I foresee many rounds of the "Quiet Game" in our future....
Apparently all June wants for Christmas was her two front teeth, because that's what she got. And, boy were they vicious in their entrance. She was not a happy camper, that's for sure! And with those teeth brought Miss June's first fever, which meant her first dose of Tylenol, which I didn't hesitate giving her, knowing she needed it, although, I was sorry to introduce such chemical yuckiness into her system. But it brought her fever down and I don't regret it one instant. Perhaps it was not the chemical yuckiness as much as crossing the threshold into what I am sure will be (as it inevitably is for all of us) a lifetime of medical interventions of some sort of another. I credit breastfeeding and dirt fearlessness for the absence of sickness up till this point, and know many a baby who did not fair as well as she did, nor make it as long before their first introduction to Tylenol. Of course, as medical interventions tend to go, one beget another, and a call to her pediatrician's office to let them know about the fever, resulted in their advisement that I take her in to urgent care as her fever was hovering at about 101 degrees. So in we went and although by the time we got there, she didn't have a fever at all, the doctor did see a slight reddening in her ear and some dullness, indicating a possible ear infection. So, then came the penicillin. Ugh. Now this was something I did not really want to do. The doctor said it was up to me, but she advised it (oh, yeah right, like I can really say no to that). After a consult with her pediatrician's office (who could not see her themselves as they were booked that day), they supported the choice of antibiotics, since she had had the fever for the past couple days, and it could get worse. So I decided, reluctantly, to go ahead and give it to her. My reluctance was due, in part to the same reasons I didn't like the Tylenol. I was also reluctant because I would like to avoid giving her antibiotics if they're not necessary, in order to avoid the yucky side effects, such as weakened immune system when used frequently, intestinal trouble and possible allergic reactions. Amos' mom is allergic to penicillin and subsequently, Amos was never given it. He did however have many ear infections as a kid and tubes several times. I also had a fair number of childhood illnesses and took antibiotics all the time. The doctor assured me that penicillin allergy is generally not genetic. I also had horror stories of ear infections leading to hearing loss running through my head. And then there was the dreaded Anne Frank Fever (inside joke). So, I filled the prescription, and began the ten day cycle. Literally, within ten minutes of the first dose, she had diarrhea. I couldn't believe how fast it coursed through her system! By the next day her fever had gone away entirely, but she had a raging diaper rash. I cut out all fruit and most vegetables and was giving her lots of yogurt (to rebuild good bacteria), cereal and, of course breast milk. By day three she had a rash all over her body. I called the doctor and she told me to stop the penicillin, which I happily did. Needless to say, the rash went away immediately, the fever never came back and although we have not been back to the doc for a follow up, she does not appear to have an ear infection. I am sorry I gave her the penicillin in the first place, although I know I made the best decision with the information that I had at the time. If I knew it would clear up on its own, I wouldn't have given it to her. But I didn't know that. The doctor I spoke to at the urgent care clinic when I called about the rash told me that more and more doctors are choosing the "wait and see" camp when it comes to childhood ear infections, in order to avoid unnecessary antibiotics. Hmmm. I guess the first doctor I saw did not fall in this camp.
Needless to say, I am glad she got better, and I am glad she didn't have to take much of the penicillin, and I am glad her allergic reaction was not worse than it was. It is so hard making decisions about what is right for someone else's body. Particularly when that someone else is your child. She doesn't have the words yet to tell me how bad she is feeling, or if she has a headache, or if her ear hurts. I just have to guess, based on ambiguous clues that could mean a lot of things. I can't imagine what it must be like for parents whose children are much sicker than June was. I guess all we can do is trust our instincts, seek out trusted sources (in my case June was seen by a doctor we'd never met), educate ourselves, and have faith that it will, hopefully, all be alright.
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