Monday evening my poor Smug-Baby was looking really bad. She had dark red circles under her eyes and her skin looked gray. She seemed to be a bit perkier than Sunday, but I couldn't really tell. I asked Smug-Grandma to come take a look at her just to see if I was seeing things or over-reacting and she suggested calling the doctor. I have her cell number, so I called her and she said that Smug-Baby needed to come into the office first thing Tuesday morning and if she started looking any worse in the night, then to take her to the ER.
Tuesday morning she seemed better. She wasn't coughing as painfully and her color looked better to me. However, I wanted to keep the doctor appointment because she had been pulling on her ear a bit and Smug-Grandma suspected thrush in her mouth and on her butt.
When the doctor came in, I explained what I was thinking - how she was seeming better, but I wanted to make sure that she didn't have an ear infection or phenomena and get something for the thrush. Doctor looked in her ears and listened to her chest and back and looked at her butt. She said that it didn't look like thrush to her - this sent me into warning mode, because Smug-Baby has had thrush before and I pretty much know what it looks like AND my nipples have been slightly sore as of late. I chalked it up to the more frequent nursing, but after Smug-Grandma looked at her butt I put it all together. So, I know that she had thrush, which I was sure about and that was what the doctor said she didn't have. Anyway, she said that Smug-Baby's ears were a little pink and she had some rattling in her chest. She told me that if it was just the pink in her ears, her thought would be to let it ride, but combined with the rattle; she wanted to do an antibiotic to try to keep it from turning into phenomena.
Now, she just told me that the pink ears were nothing to be concerned about by saying that if that was the only symptom then she wouldn't have prescribed anything. Also, Smug-Baby had no fever and her weight was normal (20.82 pounds - so no weight loss). She seemed better and hadn't vomited up any phlegm since Monday afternoon. Her color was better and her energy level was greatly improved. I would think that if this head cold was turning into something more serious, she would be feeling worse and not better.
Here is the thing about antibiotics - they kill bacteria. All bacteria, the good stuff as well as the bad stuff and once the good bacteria is killed off, the immune system is lowered further and has to work harder to fight off illnesses. Also, antibiotics are yeast builders, so this little bit of thrush will turn into major thrush. Antibiotics are harsh and will hurt her stomach and may cause acid reflux, diarrhea and major fussiness. These are the things that WILL happen when you give an antibiotic. That doesn't even cover the maybes, like an allergic reaction or building a resistance to antibiotics so that when they are really needed at some point, they won't work as well. Another point to consider is that Smug-Baby wouldn't take the benadryl, she gagged and choked on it and vomited it right back up, so getting any medicine down her may well be impossible. Lastly, an antibiotic won't do anything for her symptoms; it won't dry up the mucus in her nose, throat and chest to allow her to sleep better or anything! All that for a MIGHT prevent??
Smug-Hub and I decided to wait 24 hours - until Wednesday evening before filling the prescription. Just to see if she is still improving or if the rattle gets worse or she starts having issues breathing. We can always have it filled at the 24 hour pharmacy if she gets really bad.
This morning, my alarm went off. Let me say that again, my alarm went off. I was sleeping when it went off. Do you know what this means? It means that I wasn't awake with a screaming baby when it was time to go to work. You know what else? She slept most of the night. She woke up screaming once at 2am, but I didn't even have to get up with her, I switched sides and after about 10 minutes she latched on and fell back to sleep. That means that she slept from 10 to 2 (4 whole glorious hours) and again from 2 to 4 when i had to get up. She is still sleeping as I write this, getting ready to leave the house in a few minutes. I am really pleased with this. This feels like progress! I think that she has finally turned the corner in this illness and is mending now. I think that she will still feel pretty bad for a few more days, and I'm not working the rest of the week for Smug-Sister so I can concentrate on giving her all the love and cuddling she can handle!! I feel so much better knowing that she is getting good sleep.
As soon as she is 100% again, I will focus on getting myself back there as well. I want to get healthy and in shape and eat better and lose weight and all those things that keep a person able to keep up with a sick baby or a baby that is healthy and running all over the house getting into everything!!
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