I don’t know why, but I feel like we’ve reached a milestone today!
Solly was awake around 4:30 this morning for a drink, and when it quieted down, I heard Dekker, once again, wailing from his room. “GUUUUUYS!! GUUUUUYS! HELP!” So I rushed down to see what was going on, and once again, he complained of ear pain.
He complained of ear pain on Sunday too, but it went away fairly quickly. Then he had no issues yesterday, and now this morning, his ear hurt again. He wasn’t about to just take a drink and go back to bed, so I got out our sickie blanket and snuggled him up on the recliner with me. We talked a little bit, and I tried to confirm that he was actually hurting. I was wondering if he was nervous about school the next day, or something else was maybe giving him anxiety. But he was insistent, and I believed him. But he had no fever or sickness to go with it. Then I saw his scratch his ear by shoving his finger into it, and I wondered if he had just scratched the inside really badly and it was hurting. The mommy in me said to take him in anyway, because I would hate to assume something and have him actually be sick.
We got to the doctors office around 9:30 and waited an hour to get in. Thank goodness, Dekker wasn’t in any pain at the time, and he was SO patient and chill while we waited. When it was finally our turn, he was weighed, and then we were led into an exam room. We didn’t wait too terribly long before a doctor came in. I’ve been to this clinic dozens of times as a walk-in patient, as its our go-to walk-in clinic, but I had never met this doctor. I really liked her, though. She didn’t really address me, but spoke with Dekker and asked lots of questions. Did he have a sore throat? Do you feel sick otherwise? Do you go to swimming lessons? He finally said to her “Just my ear. This one.” He pointed to his right ear. She came around and checked his right ear, and sure enough, he had an infection. She very lightly pulled on his earlobe, and he told her it hurt a little bit. She checked the other ear, and pulled on it, and he just giggled and accused her of tickling him. It was a really good appointment, honestly.
On our way out, she brought him to an office door that had a big hanging advent calendar looking display on it, and invited him to pick a candy out of any pocket he liked. He chose a candy cane, and thanked her on the way out. He was still in great spirits, so we called his prescription through, and I took him to school in time for lunch.
I’m really glad we went in, and I’m SO glad Dekker told us about his ear pain. The doctor said the infection was still in the early stages, which is why there was no fever or other sickness along with it. I guess lots of kids don’t notice them right away, but its not a secret that Dekker is a pretty sensitive little guy. Also, he’s never had an ear infection before, so it was likely a feeling he had never felt before. I’m glad we have the tools to take care of it now.
Its almost time to go get him from school, and we planned together that we’d all decorate the tree (finally) when he gets home. Should be a nice way to finish off the afternoon!