There is a monster in my house. It lurks around every corner, hides in the dark crevices of the shadows. It constantly waits for me to let down my guard, and BAM! the baby has another ear infection.
Ever since my bouncing baby boy reached the tender age of 7 months, he has been struck down by not one, not two, but seven ear infections. I see his pediatrician more often than I see my husband.
Each time, antibiotics are prescribed — sometimes refilled — and the infection clears. This seems to be some sort of germ trickery, as it has convinced both the pediatrician and myself that if we can just keep him healthy into the summer months, the infections finally will cease.
And each time we think we have it licked, we are wrong.
Every time my tot catches a cold — a nearly biweekly occurrence for a child in day care — it manifests in an ear infection. If he drinks fluids while reclined too far, ear infection. If I look at him cross-eyed between the hours of 3 and 4 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month, ear infection.
Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and have tubes put in his ears. But I keep thinking if he can just make it a few more months, the ears will develop enough to drain the fluid properly. It's frustrating, because I want to do what is best for my baby's health, but when you're just not sure if it's totally necessary, it's difficult to make a decision like this.
All I know is the warm weather can't get here fast enough, with its wonderful humidity that prevents cold viruses from spreading like wildfire. And I'm thinking of deploying a vitamin C bomb at his school in order to keep all the nuggets healthy through the remainder of spring.
We've had so many colds move through our house, I should buy stock in Kleenex. It's nearly to the stage of a pox on our house, but I suppose there's no need to get biblical.
This, too, shall pass and a solution will be found one way or another. But each time I open the door, the trepidation is nearly too much to bear. Perhaps I could put him in a bubble? Not long, though, only until he's 21.
— Sarah Leach is content editor at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at (616) 546-4278 or sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.
Ever since my bouncing baby boy reached the tender age of 7 months, he has been struck down by not one, not two, but seven ear infections. I see his pediatrician more often than I see my husband.
Each time, antibiotics are prescribed — sometimes refilled — and the infection clears. This seems to be some sort of germ trickery, as it has convinced both the pediatrician and myself that if we can just keep him healthy into the summer months, the infections finally will cease.
And each time we think we have it licked, we are wrong.
Every time my tot catches a cold — a nearly biweekly occurrence for a child in day care — it manifests in an ear infection. If he drinks fluids while reclined too far, ear infection. If I look at him cross-eyed between the hours of 3 and 4 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month, ear infection.
Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and have tubes put in his ears. But I keep thinking if he can just make it a few more months, the ears will develop enough to drain the fluid properly. It's frustrating, because I want to do what is best for my baby's health, but when you're just not sure if it's totally necessary, it's difficult to make a decision like this.
All I know is the warm weather can't get here fast enough, with its wonderful humidity that prevents cold viruses from spreading like wildfire. And I'm thinking of deploying a vitamin C bomb at his school in order to keep all the nuggets healthy through the remainder of spring.
We've had so many colds move through our house, I should buy stock in Kleenex. It's nearly to the stage of a pox on our house, but I suppose there's no need to get biblical.
This, too, shall pass and a solution will be found one way or another. But each time I open the door, the trepidation is nearly too much to bear. Perhaps I could put him in a bubble? Not long, though, only until he's 21.
— Sarah Leach is content editor at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at (616) 546-4278 or sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.
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