Monday, August 24, 2009
Ear Infection Update
OK, so we took Morgan to the doctor and he said it definitely looks like the non-allergic amoxicillin rash. I find the term "non-allergic rash" to be an oxymoron, but anyway...He said her ear infection was looking much better and that we didn't need to switch to a new antibiotic. In fact, he said she could stop taking the amoxicillin. He didn't want to label her as "allergic to amoxicillin", either, since she didn't have any other reactions. He said there's nothing we can do about the rash - it will just have to run its course, which could take 7-10 days. My poor baby already has eczema, she doesn't need new rashes! Well, I'm very glad she'll be off those antibiotics. I think they were causing her mood swings, poor sleep, etc. I expect her to improve much more quickly, now. Hooray! :)
9 Month Update - Running a Little Behind...
Morgan turned 9 months old a little over a week ago. She had her 9-month pediatrician appointment last Monday. She weighed 22 pounds, measured 28.5 inches long and her head circumference was 46 cm. All of these values were in the 90th percentile! I was really looking forward to this appointment, as I was told there wouldn't be any shots. Well, the pediatrician said he "lied" and they had received their shipment of flu shots. They were expecting an early flu season, so they offered us the shot. Not wanting to turn down protection for our baby, we agreed to give her the shot. She let out one squeal, but I had her bottle ready and popped it in her mouth and she was a happy camper. I watched her closely for the rest of the day to watch for reactions, but she was fine.
Then, 2 days later, on Wednesday evening, she started to look a little down and extra tired and fussy. I chalked it up to being sleepy and put her to bed. I woke up at 1:00 a.m. to the sound of an odd cry. She was crying in a way that sounded different and I didn't wait to see if she'd go back to sleep. I rushed in her room and picked her up and she was burning up! She was moaning and her whole body just felt so hot to the touch. My husband got up to see what was going on and he picked her up and we headed to the kitchen to take her temperature. She looked ill and then began to vomit, but she was choking on it and it scared me. She only choked for a second and then it all came out. After she threw up, her temperature started to come down. It was at 102ºF, but had come "down" to 100º. I was about ready to head to the ER, because I didn't know what was going on, but we decided to give her a minute and see how she did. I gave her a little bit of water and she was very thirsty. I thought that was a good sign (that she wanted to drink.) She even gave me a little smile. I called the nurse line and she said as long as her fever was below 104º, there was no need to take her anywhere. I asked if she thought it was a side effect of the flu shot from 3 days before and she said it was possible. She said to just try and get her back to sleep, since she was undoubtedly tired. We put her back to bed and she fell asleep.
The next day, she was fussy on and off all day long and she kept a temperature around 99º/100º. I hadn't given her more Tylenol, as I was waiting to talk to the pediatrician's office. I spoke with another nurse and she said it very well could be the flu shot giving her the fever. I resumed giving her Tylenol and that kept the fever down. Thursday night, I gave her a dose of Tylenol around 6:00 p.m. Pretty much as soon as it wore off, at around 10:30 p.m., I heard her cry again and went to get her and she was burning up again. Due to lack of sleep, I can't recall whether she threw up that time, but I gave her some more Tylenol and she went back to sleep. She also awoke again at 4:00 and I fed her and she drank almost the whole bottle. She slept until 6:00 and I got her up and thought she was a little better. However, she still seemed warm and was making odd sounds. I put her in the highchair and started making a bottle. I heard more off sounds and looked at her (I had turned the highchair a little so I could see her) and she was turning red and choking on vomit again. This time was even scarier than the first time, as her eyes were red and she seemed in distress. I ripped the tray off the chair and pulled her out and luckily she cleared what was stuck and started breathing. Two near heart-attacks in two days was enough for me. I called the pediatrician's office when they opened and they said the earliest appointment available was for 10:45 a.m., which seemed like years from then. They said if we went to the E.R., we could wait all day and I agreed, so I made the appointment. My husband took the day off from work and we took her in to the doctor. She was looking/feeling much better by then and we joked that it seemed silly to be bringing a smiling baby into the office. However, with her waking up 2 nights in a row and choking on vomit, I had to have her checked.
We saw a nurse practicioner and she checked her over and found that it wasn't the flu shot that was bothing her, but instead, a mild ear infection. She prescribed the antibiotic Amoxicillin. We had to wait an hour on the prescription, but Morgan's fever was already down and staying down. We got the medicine and she did NOT like it. It hadn't been refrigerated yet, which is supposed to improve the taste. She spent most of Saturday and Sunday alternating between smiling and crying. One of the side effects is mood swings and I believe she had them. She would actually smile then immediately start crying actual tears, poor thing. Last night, Sunday night, I was putting her in her pajamas and noticed she had a rash over her entire torso, front and back. It was exactly like the pictures I had seen when researching Amoxicillin side effects. It was called a "non-allergic amoxicillin rash". My poor baby seems to be the "lucky one", getting those side effects that only 5-10% of users experience. :( I called the pediatrician's office, though, because I read that the rash must be looked at, to rule out a true allergic reaction. So, we now have an appointment for 9:15 a.m.
I'm so sad that she's sick, but I keep telling myself how lucky we are that she didn't get this sick when she was under 3 months old. I would have hated for her to have to get a spinal tap for fever, etc. This is really her first time being sick, so I'm glad that she's a healthy, robust 9-month-old baby, with reserves to get her through her waning appetite.
Oh, and another thing I wanted to add was that this illness has not slowed down her development, which I think is great. She learned to make the "Ba" sound and has been "talking" up a storm the past couple of days. She has said "bay bay", "bah bah", "bob", etc. I just love it! On top of that, last night, my husband called me into the living room to show me something. He had her standing up, holding on to the front of her walker and she was making perfect walking movements! She was taking slow steps forward, as he held the walker, to keep it from running away from her. She definitely can't walk behind it alone, but it was still amazing to see!
I'll post another update later...
Then, 2 days later, on Wednesday evening, she started to look a little down and extra tired and fussy. I chalked it up to being sleepy and put her to bed. I woke up at 1:00 a.m. to the sound of an odd cry. She was crying in a way that sounded different and I didn't wait to see if she'd go back to sleep. I rushed in her room and picked her up and she was burning up! She was moaning and her whole body just felt so hot to the touch. My husband got up to see what was going on and he picked her up and we headed to the kitchen to take her temperature. She looked ill and then began to vomit, but she was choking on it and it scared me. She only choked for a second and then it all came out. After she threw up, her temperature started to come down. It was at 102ºF, but had come "down" to 100º. I was about ready to head to the ER, because I didn't know what was going on, but we decided to give her a minute and see how she did. I gave her a little bit of water and she was very thirsty. I thought that was a good sign (that she wanted to drink.) She even gave me a little smile. I called the nurse line and she said as long as her fever was below 104º, there was no need to take her anywhere. I asked if she thought it was a side effect of the flu shot from 3 days before and she said it was possible. She said to just try and get her back to sleep, since she was undoubtedly tired. We put her back to bed and she fell asleep.
The next day, she was fussy on and off all day long and she kept a temperature around 99º/100º. I hadn't given her more Tylenol, as I was waiting to talk to the pediatrician's office. I spoke with another nurse and she said it very well could be the flu shot giving her the fever. I resumed giving her Tylenol and that kept the fever down. Thursday night, I gave her a dose of Tylenol around 6:00 p.m. Pretty much as soon as it wore off, at around 10:30 p.m., I heard her cry again and went to get her and she was burning up again. Due to lack of sleep, I can't recall whether she threw up that time, but I gave her some more Tylenol and she went back to sleep. She also awoke again at 4:00 and I fed her and she drank almost the whole bottle. She slept until 6:00 and I got her up and thought she was a little better. However, she still seemed warm and was making odd sounds. I put her in the highchair and started making a bottle. I heard more off sounds and looked at her (I had turned the highchair a little so I could see her) and she was turning red and choking on vomit again. This time was even scarier than the first time, as her eyes were red and she seemed in distress. I ripped the tray off the chair and pulled her out and luckily she cleared what was stuck and started breathing. Two near heart-attacks in two days was enough for me. I called the pediatrician's office when they opened and they said the earliest appointment available was for 10:45 a.m., which seemed like years from then. They said if we went to the E.R., we could wait all day and I agreed, so I made the appointment. My husband took the day off from work and we took her in to the doctor. She was looking/feeling much better by then and we joked that it seemed silly to be bringing a smiling baby into the office. However, with her waking up 2 nights in a row and choking on vomit, I had to have her checked.
We saw a nurse practicioner and she checked her over and found that it wasn't the flu shot that was bothing her, but instead, a mild ear infection. She prescribed the antibiotic Amoxicillin. We had to wait an hour on the prescription, but Morgan's fever was already down and staying down. We got the medicine and she did NOT like it. It hadn't been refrigerated yet, which is supposed to improve the taste. She spent most of Saturday and Sunday alternating between smiling and crying. One of the side effects is mood swings and I believe she had them. She would actually smile then immediately start crying actual tears, poor thing. Last night, Sunday night, I was putting her in her pajamas and noticed she had a rash over her entire torso, front and back. It was exactly like the pictures I had seen when researching Amoxicillin side effects. It was called a "non-allergic amoxicillin rash". My poor baby seems to be the "lucky one", getting those side effects that only 5-10% of users experience. :( I called the pediatrician's office, though, because I read that the rash must be looked at, to rule out a true allergic reaction. So, we now have an appointment for 9:15 a.m.
I'm so sad that she's sick, but I keep telling myself how lucky we are that she didn't get this sick when she was under 3 months old. I would have hated for her to have to get a spinal tap for fever, etc. This is really her first time being sick, so I'm glad that she's a healthy, robust 9-month-old baby, with reserves to get her through her waning appetite.
Oh, and another thing I wanted to add was that this illness has not slowed down her development, which I think is great. She learned to make the "Ba" sound and has been "talking" up a storm the past couple of days. She has said "bay bay", "bah bah", "bob", etc. I just love it! On top of that, last night, my husband called me into the living room to show me something. He had her standing up, holding on to the front of her walker and she was making perfect walking movements! She was taking slow steps forward, as he held the walker, to keep it from running away from her. She definitely can't walk behind it alone, but it was still amazing to see!
I'll post another update later...
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