We knew it would happen. Everyone talks about it. We just hoped that our little one had some sort of super-human immune system that could fight off the illnesses that no other child seems to be able to fight off. She has only been sick once before. She had only one cold right after her twelve month doctor visit and hasn’t been sick since.
Well, it happened. Eleanor started daycare and immediately got sick, no super-human immune system after all. The first weekend after her first week of daycare she had some cold symptoms and was complaining that her ear hurt and was tugging at it. We took her into urgent care and sure enough, she had an ear infection. So we started her on antibiotics and she was mostly fine for the rest of the following week, just a little more clingy and lethargic than usual.
Over the weekend, however, things were not so great. Her cold seemed to be pretty much gone and she wasn’t complaining about her ear at all, but she started to have some diarrhea. (Here is where she gets upset when reading this as a teenager, “That is sooo embarrrasssing, Mom!” Well, it’s necessary for the story, so..) With the diarrhea has come a terrible diaper rash. Every time she pees or poops she is in pain. We are trying to do what we have done in the past when she has a bad diaper rash-not use wipes, just cotton balls for clean-up, and give her bottom a little airing out time before putting a new diaper on-but the poor girl is in so much pain it’s difficult to clean her up at all, and then she immediately wants a new diaper so that her bottom is covered up and we don’t really want her going around naked bottomed with diarrhea. What I’ve been trying to do is to keep her diaperless on the changing table for as long as I can keep her entertained before putting a new diaper on so that her bottom has time to dry out.
Monday morning she woke up at about a quarter to six which is almost two hours earlier than usual. She was crying inconsolably. Her poor bottom was presumably in a wet diaper for the better part of the night. And she didn’t want a change because she knew it would hurt. I did give her a change and then she spent the morning sitting with me on the couch watching a Curious George DVD, eating cheerios, and drinking soy milk. She would cry when I got up, so I just sat with her reading a book while I had Josh make her a doctor’s appointment from work. She eventually fell asleep on me and I was able to slide out from under her and replace myself with a pillow, so that I could get dressed and ready to take her to the doctor. Meanwhile she got to sleep for about an hour before we left.
So we went to the see the doctor. He confirmed that her ear infection had cleared up so we could discontinue the use of antibiotics, which were probably the cause of the diarrhea. Although he said that she might just have a stomach bug in addition to the ear infection so that could be another cause. So I didn’t give her any antibiotics all day Monday, but the diarrhea has continued. Ugggh. I’m keeping her home from daycare today and hopefully she will get better.
4 Comments
Poor Eleanor.
Feel better Eleanor! Sick girls are not fun. Sorry Maggie and Josh– hope you get some sleep and rest, too. It gets better. They start getting less and less sick and when they are sick, it’s for a shorter period of time. This going to daycare thing gives them that super human immune system!
Oh ugh! I’m so sorry — diaper rash is one of the worst, just because every time you have to touch it it causes them so much pain! I thought Oliver was super-humanly strong, too, until, you know — he got sick three times in three weeks. Darn it! Where are those super-human babies (although I wouldn’t trade mine for anything and I know you wouldn’t either)?
Poor baby and parents. Well if Eleanor doesn’t have a super-human immune system yet, she definitely will after a few years of daycare. Hope she feels better soon, diarrhea is no fun!