Poor Baby

Those of you who know our family, know that we have a history of ear troubles with our kids.  Micah had several (& I mean several) ear infections prior to his first (& only) set of tubes.  Rebecca has had the same difficulty but to a higher degree.  More ear infections and 2 sets of tubes along with her adenoids being taken out.  (Both of them are doing much better, but I do anticipate that Rebecca will have at least one ear infection this winter.)  What I can't believe is that our littlest member is heading down the same path as her brother and sister.

Just over a week ago Rebecca came home with a cold.  No big deal for her, but for her 2 week old sister it is a big deal.  Try as we may to keep them apart, Olivia came down with her sister's cold starting last week Friday.  Of course I was concerned that Olivia would come down with RSV just because she is so little.  We kept a close eye on her all weekend and with no improvement I decided to take her to the doctor on Monday just to make sure everything was okay.

On Sunday evening I had said to Nick, "Watch, I bet that she has an ear infection."  I really just said it in jest and we both dismissed it because we had never heard of a 2 1/2 week old with an ear infection.  Besides she didn't act like her ear hurt.

Monday morning came and I took her to the doctor.  After closely listening to her heart & lungs he checked out her teeny, tiny ears and low and behold - fluid and redness(!) - a sure sign that there is an infection.  Both the doctor and I (and the student doctor) were so surprised.  Here it is only October and the smallest member of a family with a history of ear infection has an ear infection - sounds like it could be a long winter....

A round of antibiotics was prescribed and Tylenol on an as need basis and things seem to be looking up for little Olivia.

Sleeping has posed some interesting situations and Olivia has slept in several different positions in the hope of getting her to sleep.  Here is a photo from yesterday.  I smashed the Bobby pillow into the cradle to both prop her up and hold her tight. Big brother has also been great at holding her and comforting her.

We hope that it was just a freak one - time occurrence, but we will have to see what the coming months bring.