Eli has an ear infection.

This is his first ear infection. He doesn’t go to daycare, so it is possible to still get an ear infection without being exposed to other kids in a daycare.  Bacteria is everywhere.. Where did we get this one, i don’t know..  This one kind of sneaked up on me. Eli did not have a fever, however he  had been fussy, not sleeping well and pulling on his ear a lot ( like trying to rub back and forth between his ear and eye). I took his temperature at home and he was 98.1 so pretty normal. He had kept me up most of the day yesterday, this morning he didn’t take his morning nap, only when i held him on my shoulder. Then  i decided to dig further. There, he had some yellowish green fluid coming out of his right ear.  Man. The eardrum had ruptured…as bad as it sounds, this will heal on it’s own. The body has the ability to heal. It actually gave him relief from all that pressure from the fluid build up. But the stinker to this is  when the eardrum ruptures it  can result to hearing loss, or other bacteria infections.

I called his pediatrician and the nurse got us in today. His Dr confirmed it was an ear infection. We do have a history of ear infections. Julian had them back to back, the resolution was to get him the ear tubes, since then we never had ear problems with him again.

Basically babies eustachian tubes are smaller and kinda like in a horizontal position,  unlike adults who have them almost vertical.. making it easy for any fluids trapped in the middle ear to drain. So when babies have any fluids trapped in the middle ear space, that eustachian tube becomes blocked. now that area becomes a perfect spot for bacteria to breed in. So this is where we are today with Eli. What hurts the most is that pressure from that fluid. It is the reason why kids have a hard time sleeping when they have ear infections.

They are painful. The Dr did not prescribe anything for the pain. He prescribed amoxicillin (an antibiotic) to try to get rid of that bacteria. Typically for pain one would have to take Tylenol or Ibuprofen, but he is only 2 1/2 months old. Plus with the fluid having came out, the Dr thinks he should be ok.

We are on the look out for any fevers, refusal to eat, no wet diapers or just if we feel like he is getting worse, then we would have to take him back in. We had  his well baby check up scheduled for this Friday. He would have received his vaccinations then, but we do not know if he will still get them since he is now sick.  The Dr still wants us to go in so she can check his ears.

The stinker about using  antibiotics is, they get in the system and also gets rid of the good bacteria then if taken too much the body builds immune to them. Then you find yourself making several trips back to the Dr for more antibiotics. This time i am being cautious. If Eli keeps on getting back to back infections, i will ask for the ear tubes right away. I won’t punish him as much as how Julian suffered. I will also try to get him to see  same  Dr as much as we can, so she can have that history with him. With Julian he saw so many Drs in that office, that one of them looked at his record and told us we needed to go see an ENT asap. That was the best diagnosis i ever received, i swear. I know when you hear ear tubes you get so nervous, your kid will be put under general anethestia and all the things that could go wrong etc..

For us, it was a stop for continous pain that our son was going through. His appointment was set for 8am , the night before his appointment,  fwe were told not to feed him anything after midnight. That was tough.  Family and friends who know Julian, you got to know this was a big boy then, he loved eating, lol… I should have done what one of my coworkers did with his child. Him and his wife drove around the neighborhood till it was time for their appointment. Their kid actually slept part of the night. Well that night i had to have my husband stay up with Julian, he would see me and reach for the breast. He didn’t understand why i wasn’t feeding him, he cried most of the night.. I was getting emotional, he was crying and i was crying…it was hard.

The procedure itself  was roughly 15-30 min. They sucked out a lot of pus from his ears, it was terrible and am glad they didn’t let us in on the surgery. They made us wait in the waiting room… It felt like a lifetime!  I sat there praying the entire time. One of the nurses came and offered me coffee and she looked at me and said he will be ok, this is the best thing for him. I know it was, but i had my worries. So, i am sitting here  and going through everything that i know with  reoccurring ear infections and pray that Eli won’t experience this.

When a kid has fluid in the ear, it is true this does affect their hearing… place both your palms on your ears then try to talk or listen to someone talk. That is how kids with ear infections hear. So if your kid is having all those reoccurring ear infections and this is at the prime where you are trying  to teach them, they are trying to learn, i mean it can cause delays. The good news is if any of this issues are caught early, there is intervention, and  ENTs can get them on the right track again.

I am Taking Eli back on Friday, so we will see how all goes. For now, mommy will just do what mommy does best. Take care of my baby and hope for the best.

Ear infections. They do stink, but they are treatable!

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my c-section was a repeat c-section. 

My Dr scheduled this a week before my due date so i didn’t have to go through all the labor pains. It was scheduled for Monday, June 8th 2009.

The  Friday before, i went to register at the hospital. They took my insurance info, my emergency contact, and pretty much typical registration stuff. Then a nurse  came to get me and drew some blood  for testing. They also took a urine sample and instructed me about my appointment that coming Monday.

They told me they would draw one more tube of blood for another test . They confirmed my appointment which delivery was schedule for 10:30AM but wanted me there at 8:30AM for prep. The nurse asked that i don not eat anything after midnight , including  medications, or other. She asked that i shower with an antibacterial soap and wash  about 3x  around my belly and down there with that soap then rinse out, and not to apply any lotion or cream anywhere in my body the day of surgery.

Also i was told not to wear any jewerly and if i had to bring my jewerly , my husband should carry it. I was also told not to bring lots of cash, as we all know i wasn’t going to  carry my purse to the operating room.

I arrived that morning on time and there was a very sweet nurse waiting for me, her name was Nancy…I loved her. She really made me feel comfortable. She explained everything that i already knew in details. She had me change into a gown, i put on my socks as the room was chilly. she hooked the baby monitors around my belly to monitor the baby heartbeat and oxygen. They checked my blood pressure and vitals. They had my husband move my hospital bag and my belongings to my recovery/permanent room. While he was out they hooked up my  catheter in and yes , i felt the pinch and the slight pain, but not too horrible ( yes  i was not on pain meds yet)

She explained to me step by step what was going to happen to me. My doctor was already there, however was called to perform an emergency c-section to another patient …so keep in mind if you have a scheduled c-section, you may end up waiting a while,  since emergency c-sections will be performed first., so just be mentally prepared for that possibility. 

The anaesthelogist came to see me and explained what he was going to do, and the effects. They were going to use the spinal and not the epidural as the spinal kicks in within seconds, plus with the spinal no needles would be left  stuck in my back  during surgery unlike  an  epidural. They answered questions that i had and then left.

My Dr came in to check on me as well, and to let me know another nurse was going to  come in and they would take me to the Operating Room. Nancy told me since it is a repeat c-section,  this would take a little bit longer like an extra 25min to clean up the old scarred tissue from my previous C-Section , and by doing this it would  leave room for a  clean tissue in case i decide to have another baby…It was good to know, but 2 babies are enough for us, lol.

My husband kissed me goodluck and was told to wait till i was prepped in the OR then they would come for him.  I walked to the OR.  Iwas holding my catheter in one had, while the nurse held my other arm. The nurse told me , it was good for me to walk, so i can still feel like am in control, given what  was about to happen to me, which kinda made sense.  I was wearing socks only and no shoes. The OR was extremely cold.. i mean really cold! My sweet nurse brought some warm blankets and  put them around me as i was already shivering.

They helped  me sit up on the bed (which was raised really high), sat on the edge and arched my back in a way that  i was bent forward and my lower back sticking out. then the anesthelogist administered the spinal on my back, and as soon as he was done, they literally said 1-2-3 lift your legs up to the bed, and lay on your back. Then slowly i started getting numb and my Dr pinched me apparently really hard on the belly, i didn’t feel a thing. They asked me to wiggle my toes, in my mind i thought i did, but nothing moved, and that is when they called it ready.

They placed a blue curtain in  front of me like from my neck , so i couldn’t see my belly. My hands were spread  apart  causing my body to be spread like a cross, and the anestethologist was close by, on my right shoulder, talking me through the process the entire time. I mean  they really made me feel ok. They brought my husband in, he came in with his camcorder ( yes my Dr let him record the whole thing) he sat by my left shoulder. He stood up to record it, then all of a sudden i see someone lower his camera, grab my hand , squeeze the life out me and literally,  sat down like  someone had dropped a bag of potatoes..

I knew , he saw something he wished he hadn’t. i looked at him, like boy you better don’t pass out on me.

Then he collected himself stood up  again and this time the baby was already delivered. I heard that cry. That wonderful, loud first cry. The Doctor goes, he is a pretty decent size. very good looking, here mama look… they lowered the curtain so i could see him, and i started crying. Crying tears of joy. He looked handsome and pretty big!  The anesthologist wiped my tears away, saying look at you you cried into your ears, i laughed, and cried some more. My heart felt with joy. All the worries, the fears, the doubts, the restlessness all gone. My baby was here and he was ok.

My husband took off followed the nurses who were cleaning up the baby across from me in a baby station set up in the OR. Now it was cleaning the tissue time for me, and then closing me up, then it was all over.  a total of 45min. They wheeled me back to my room. The post op nurse stayed with me , never left my side. She checked my vitals, blood pressure and all that stuff. It took me a long time for my body temp to come back up, so she brought me more warm blankets. During this time she always checked to see if i  could wiggle my toes, or feel anything yet. My husband had stayed with the baby the entire time after delivery. The baby was taken to the nursery where they cleaned him up some more, weighed him, and checked to make sure all was ok.

Within 30 min they brought the baby to my room. The nurse helped me try to get him to latch on. I had made sure they knew i would be breastfeeding him and not to offer him the bottle. I said ok to give him a binky though. Latching on was hard.. you would think because i had breastfed before it would be easy, but no. I had to remind myself, the baby is learning to do it too, so we had to help him.

Finally my body temp picked back up and i could feel myself again. The post op nurse left then and i was left with the baby nurse working on feeding the baby. After 30 min of feeding, the nurse took the baby ( yes, they won’t leave you alone with the baby yet…) My husband finally left around 2PM to go get Julian. I was already missing him. He was home with his uncle that day.

Julian and Shil came back and Julian got to meet Eli for the first time. He kept on saying woow, a baby . The nurse held Eli on Julian’s lap, he was all smiles. He was a bit scared seeing me on the bed though with all that IV still hooked up to me.  They brought me some liquid diet as i couldn’t eat solids yet till after passing gas.

Talking about gas…It is painful…You know if you have regular birth you do not have to worry about gas. With a C-section, all the air from the belly and below is usually trapped on the shoulders. Mine was on my right shoulder. I had never felt that pain before in my life! My incision did not hurt me as bad as the gas hurt me then. I was screaming like a baby. I had symptoms like heavy pressure on the chest, but i ignored it, not knowing it was gas. So when they ask you to walk  after they have removed the catheter…please just do it. take your pain meds, and push that baby bed and walk on the hallways. This help move that gas. I heard from another friend later that sodas like sprite or 7up help as well. My attending nurse ended up giving me a suppository and when it kicked in , boy i didn’t realize i would be happy because i passed gas, boy i was happy! I called that relief! of course and i could eat too, i was starving!

All in all,  my surgery went great. My recovery was even  faster this time. It was not an emergency, so i had not pushed or gone through all the pain. I walked as much as i could and took my pain meds on schedule. A friend of mine that is a nurse recommended i take that IBuprofene  religiously, as that is what actually treats the wound and takes the swelling down. The narcotics given usually numbs the pain, as they are supposed to, but what treats you is the ibuprofen.

If i was to have another baby, C-section is the way to go for me, personally. If you had asked me before Julian i would have said no, after Julian i begged my doctor to do it natural, but she said no. I am thankful she said no. It went well.

So if you are about to have a scheduled C-section, hope this has given you a mental picture.

You will be ok, and good luck!

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How do you know your baby has gas? Very easy, they cry a lot and you will notice them twisting like their tummy hurt, also the tummy tend to be hard,  and also will be making faces as if they are in pain.
 
Causes.. Really just like adults  babies do get gas, and it is normal.. now if they are really uncomfortable  and it is keeping them up, then there are things you can do to help. if you are nursing you may notice  it more   after eating certain foods.  Some folks swear  they see this often after eating anything  dairy, beans, cabbage, broccoli, or spicy foods … but i won’t recommend eliminating all these from your diet  yet.  You will need to figure out which ones are  worse as far as causing gas, then  go from there.

Remedy: First you can start by rubbing their tummy in circular motion, this can help out a bit but what really has worked for us is  Gripe water. Gripe water is really good for gassy and that colicky child. The first 2 weeks this was a lifesavor for us. Eli was so gassy. I ate beans one day and man, yes that was it for me. He was twisting crying non-stop then i remembered i had some Gripe water… just remember if you open the bottle you have to refrigerate. We bought our gripe water from Target.  Also Mylicom drops work, and if you have figured out what the culprits are, you can actually use the drops on the baby after every feeding, if you don’t want to give up your foods.  With Gripe water there is a limit  you can only use 6x /day.

All in all, Gas can be  painful and uncomfortable for babies, and when they don’t get the relief  they need , boy oh boy, forget about sleeping that night.  My suggestion if you are expecting soon. Just buy yourself a bottle of Gripe water or Mylicom drops and stash it away somewhere, because bottle feeding or breast feeding there will come a time you would need it.

Hey, enjoy parenthood!

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