Last Weekend

I don't even know where to start this post today. We had a pretty rough weekend. I could start with the pitiful way Z looked and acted all weekend as the fever consumed his little body. I could talk about guilt, which is what I felt all weekend as I realized I both had lots of choices and none, at the same time. I could spend a long time talking about my frustration with (apparently all) pediatric practices. Instead, I'll just start at the beginning.

Our new doc found Z's first ear infection 2 weeks ago at his checkup. He took (the disgusting) Augmentin for the prescribed 10 days, and by day 11/12, he was feeling great. His nose was not running for the first time in what felt like forever. So, I (not wanting to waste time on my day with Z, and remembering that the doc said if his nose cleared up, it would be a good sign that the infection cleared) canceled my follow-up appointment for that Friday earlier in the week. Then, Friday he wakes up with a fever. I call the doctor and leave a very detailed message explaining my dilemma and requesting a callback from a nurse to help me decide what to do. Of course, babies get fevers all the time, including mine, so I was not worried at that point, I was just looking for a little guidance. NOONE CALLED ME BACK! The whole day passed, and I had my phone right by my side (like even took it to the bathroom with me) and got nothin. Okay, now I know I have previously commented on my feelings about hostile policies in pediatric practices, but my last doctor ALWAYS CALLED BACK. I guess you get rid of one problem and you take on another. We attempted to go on as usual with tylenol and such, and he seemed to be okay at that point.

Friday night was miserable for all of us... I was up with my own congestion/allergy troubles and checked on Z, who was breathing rapidly. Well, that made me nervous so I went in and he was burning up. I dosed him up some more ibuprofen and he went back to sleep (I did not). Then, he was up again crying and whining early that morning. It was probably close to 6 when he finally fell asleep, and he stayed asleep until 12:30 IN THE AFTERNOON! When did he turn into a teenager? When he finally woke up, he was a little disoriented (as you might imagine), but the fever had gone down. So, we decided to try and make something of the day.

To break from the negativity: We went to the zoo for the first time, and he perked up a little, but the mood was still a little somber that day. He started saying "duck," which was really cute.

Nick took him around and there was a lot of this:

A fair amount of this:

Then this, once Nick made the genius decision to let him ride around on his shoulders

 

I love how he's got a hold of Nick's ear here

 

After some TLC from mom and dad, he started feeling a little better

 

This was the best pic I had with him (not saying much)

Unfortunately, Saturday night was not much better. He woke up again, got some medicine and went right back to sleep. He woke up at 9, but was back asleep by 10:30. He didn't get up until 3, when I had to wake him up. At this point, I have had it with this fever thing. Then, the fever was gone. It wasn't until a couple of hours later that he got his appetite and energy back, but we finally saw him turn the corner.

He slept all night Sunday night and had more TLC with his grandma on Monday. Then, today he woke up in the morning crying inconsolably. He finally got over that after a lot of comforting (and after I let him play with my makeup bag, which he likes for some unknown reason). I'm not sure this story has ended, but for right now, everything is semi-normal. 

We are going to the doctor (once and for all) on Friday, so we can get some peace and maybe a couple of answers.