Ear Tubes & Goose Eggs oh MY

Being a mother is HARD work. Not only is the physical labor part kinda grueling (during birth and to beyond)....but the emotional rollercoaster is not for the weak of heart. My son has sent me to heaven and hell these past few 19 months...and honestly I would'nt trade it for anything (that crazy love thing again), but still...I NEED A DRINK, or a shot of heroine or something...come on help out a cracker girlfriend.

So to those of you who have blissfully healthy chilren who barely get runny noses and are so graceful they hardly ever bruise....I am estatic for you...and you best be saying some thankful prayers to whomever for that mercy. Grant, for those of you who know him and or those of you who have kept up with the journey via Olive Juice, has had his unfair share of challenges (although thank GODDESS he doesnt have a terminal illness etc...I KNOW THINGS COULD BE WORSE and many hugs and blessings to parents who have to deal with those kind of situations). Im embarrassed to say how many different doctors I have taken him too...with the hopes of finding answers or at the very least finding a doctore who we love and who actually cares about Grant.

A VERY short, simple synapsis of his health history:

2 days old - screaming, arching back while nursing, mild exzema
1 months old - starts choking till blue on his own mucus repeatedly
2 months old - diagnosed with GERD after ER admission
4 months old - every bug starts triggering a major respiratory reaction which includes wheezing, coughing, labored breathing, retractions etc (he was tested for RSV 3 times!)
6 months old - 1st ear infection (in conjunction with RSV supposedly)
7 - 14 months - lots more lost sleep & nebulizer treatments
15 months - ruptured ear drum with ear infection
18 months - ruptured ear drum with double ear infections

That brings us to today. After trying watch and wait, natural remedies then 2 rounds of antibiotics (one being very heavy) he STILL has an ear infection with fluid. I am so sad about this. It is SUCH a huge disappointment. The good news is he can hear (which isnt really news but he was tested by an audiologist which was awesome). The Ped ENT was awesome by the way..I really did fall for her...didnt hurt that when she walked in she commended us for still nursing. So she said she recommends ear tubes for little Grant. He fits all the reasons for doing so...being on the severe end actually.

We scheduled for March 3. I will still research it farther...but I am at a loss. We have tried everything except a wheat and corn elimination diet. The thought of that just overwhelms me! When we did the milk and soy elim diet...we had no results...so that was such a let down for some much work. I guess I am too lazy to go for wheat right now. Sad really. I am ashamed.

It was really an exhausting visit....and I am still soaking it all in. I did remember to tape the visit...which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Its so hard to remember all the details...especially with a little one getting into everything. I feel for Grant...and just want him to be pain free and healthy. History tells us that leaving stubborn ear infections alone...can truly kill. It isnt a joke.

And just to add insult to injury my poor little dear HIT HIS SORE HEAD AGAIN TONIGHT...really really hard on the door jam. It was LOUD. It swelled up again....just terrible. I tried to take a picture...the shadow is where it jolts up in goose egg style. My heart is just aching for him. I am pretty stressed about the whole situation.

Motherhood is feeling the joys and pain of your extensions.

Road Trip on Heavy Drugs

Road trip time! I am at home packing and cleaning the house (and obviously sneeking a post in there somewhere). We are heading East..to the Missouri state capital (which is....you can do it). On the agenda: visiting family, eating lots of good food and bringing a load of storage stuff. See we are trying to move out there for various reasons (none being the charm and mystic of the city)...so each time we visit we pack a trailer full of misc items we rarely use (so why keep them you may ask) most of which has come from the basement storage vault. Anyhoo...we are aiming to leave shortly after lunch. This way Grant can take his nice long nap while in transit (fingers crossed).

So yesterday I took Grant to see what I thought was a Pediatric ENT (ear nose and throat) Doctor for his double ear infection and ruptured ear drum which has not healed in over a month now. Turns out he is just a regular ENT who treat lots of kids (still irritates me that they did not clarify that when I asked if he was indeed a Pediatric ENT while making the appointment grrrrr). Now I know to ask specifically if the doctor sees only kids. Live and learn right.

I was impressed by the waiting room complete with a lesson on germ sharing and a sink in which to wash hands. Loved that! The patient room was also very clean. Another perk. The Doctor introduced himself(kudos!) and was very friendly. I was also intrigued because he basically agreed with me on everything from the negative consequences of the overuse of antibiotics, being skeptical of doctors in general, the possible connection between allergies and ear infections & not giving a lot of credibility to allergy tests especially in babies.




He asked me to hold Grant for the probing...but I said that Grant was a great patient so he had him hop on the big chair. Sure enough Grant just allowed him to look deep within his ears, nose and throat (duuhhhhh). From the sound of it that doc had never had a 19 month old behave in such a way. Such a proud mama I was! So...the diagnosis...severe sinus infection, double ear infection both with bulging puss filled ear drums and enlarged adenoids. I could have told him that..but I was here for solutions. He gave me 3 options...a)do nothing, although the infection could get into his inner ear and possibly cause deafness or get into his brain and cause meningitis, b)start a round of heavy and serious antibiotics to which he had one that Grant had not tried and was not related to those he is allergic to, with the hopes that it will leave grant free of infection or c)go right to ear tubes. If the antibiotics do not work, he will recommend the ear tubes at that point.

I decided to go ahead with the antibiotics. The name is Clindaymin. Its another very old drug that is not common anymore. It is only given for serious bacterial infections because it can cause colitis and other strange blood problems. GREAT! However I really feel that I must try it because Grant is not getting better on his own and he is V miserable. The Doc said that if you or I had what he has...we would be in bed moaning. Kids tolerate pain much better...especially when they are like Grant and have extremely high pain threshold due to the amount of pain he has had to deal with in only 19 months! So I said a prayer of thanks and gratitude and am having faith that Grant will handle the drug perfectly and heal quickly.

The med is giving 3 times a day for 14 days! Whew! Its no fun. Thank GOD Grant is taking it very sweetly thus far (even though the doc said it tasted as bad as it smells). Dad and I tasted it and didnt find it offensive...strange. Oh well at least its better than expected!

So say a prayer for little Grant and know that he is healing. We are definitely pushing the probiotics and breastmilk during this time. I will also take extra acidophilus with the hopes that it passes to him from my milk.

OK off to vacuum and change over the laundry. Have a wonderful weekend and tell me all about it.

Friday night feeling allllright

This month has swooooooooooshed on by in mighty fashion. Sure 2 trips both about a week in duration will do that to a month it is true. For a frigid, stiff, usually boring month like January...this one has beat all.

Although I did not have to work in the office today...my day was super dooper ridiculously busy. I unpacked (again), started laundry, did the dishes, balanced the check books, drove to Lawrence to shop for my American Girl Doll Party tomorrow (yes don't laugh)and spent one hour at the Merc choosing immune boosters for the family (oh ya I had a sushi lunch too...so it was not all work). On my way home I did some much needed banking (the old fashioned in person type) and stopped by the office to play catch up so Monday won't be hellacious. By the time I arrived back home to enjoy my "day off" it was 4PM. I quickly popped in my netflix movie..." A long engagement" and 45 minutes later i picked up Grant from day care. After I finish this blog I will resume the viewing. Honestly...I love watching a flick in 2 or more parts...it suits my lifestyle remarkably well...and I enjoy pausing and reflecting on what I have seen. My husband HATES doing this..and it is another reason we watch very very very few movies together (but overwhelmingly it is because he has terrible taste in movies heheh)

Grant had a blast at day care. He missed his friends so so very much. He was chasing down strange children on the trip hoping to get a minute of interaction with his own kind. He definitely knows he is a kid.

Oh and a quick update on Grant's tender ears (A.K.A. ear infections)....after over 2 weeks of weeping ears and no vast improvement using natural remedies...I decided to discuss with our pediatrician another option. What other antibiotics are available...Bactrim was not going into my son...what else can we try (he is already intolerant of amoxicillan and cefadroxil..basically all generations of cephlosporin). Fortunately he offered up zythromycin. 29 hours into treatment he appears to be tolerating it perfectly! This is very exciting because my mother and a close friend both had terrible reactions to it...including excruciating cramps and explosive diarrhea (tmi). I was nervous giving it to him....but NOTHING LIKE WITH BACRTRIM!!!!! That stuff can kill you! It is on the insert. Straight up....Russian roulette...hope for the best. Now I realize anything can kill you...and everyone reacts differently to drugs...but Bactrim kills on a regular basis. Steven Johnsons syndrome is what it can cause...and that is the killer...the skin falls off..Oh lordy...Im sorry but I cannot take that risk or just the overall heavy side effects. So long story short.. he is on antibiotics...and please god please...let it kill the infection for good. I also have him on double probiotics, lots of yogurt and kefir to help keep his good buggies around. I am sooo very very tired of seeing him in pain with his ears. Gotta bring out the big guns.

So the elevator pic is the only pic we took this trip. It was that good of a trip hehe. He sure does love the elevator though...and this month it was like we lived in NYC. I just noticed that my mom and him are kinda dressed alike..too funny! He loves his nana no doubt.



The first pic..super smiley guy with apple...I took tonight. Notice the tear...the pic was taken not 15 seconds after a full on tantrum...I cant even remember over what. He sure is a pistol that child...but I am so glad he has an opinion, a voice and conviction!

Happy Friday!

Breastfeeding & Antibiotic Use

Ho hum.....whoa is me. Yet another sweet, well intentioned mama led astray by her deeply trusted yet ignorant and most likely sold out family physician. Ho hum

Grant has a new baby at his day care; an adorable 3 month old whose older sister attends as well. I was ecstatic to hear that he was being nursed while mom was on a nice a phat 3 month maternity leave. Upon seeing the bottles, I asked if she was sending pumped milk. No she wasnt. Bummer. But thats cool....you can supplement during the day and still get the wonderful immunological, nutritional and nurturing benefits of breastfeeding in the evenings and throughout the night. I was excited, when yesterday I noted what appeared to be a nursing callous on his upper lip. She must be still nursing at home I hoped.

However....I was having my lunch date with Grant when the baby's mother came to pick up her brood. I softly asked her if she was still nursing. Her smile turned upside down and she sadly spoke that no, she got sick and had to take antibiotics so she HAD to stop nursing. She obviously was disappointed and had hoped to nurse longer. I empathized with her and just simply stated that it was wonderful she got 3 months in...no only 2 she corrected me. My heart was just dulled. I needed to look into this more. Does a nursing mother really need to disrupt feeding just for antibiotics?

Turns out NO...you dont need to stop nursing bc of most medication. This American Academy of Family Physicians article sums it up: "Physicians receive little education about breast-feeding and even less training on the effects of maternal medications on the nursing infant.1 Yet, concern about potential harm to the nursing infant from maternal medications is often cited as a reason to advise discontinuation of breast-feeding. Overwhelming evidence demonstrates the benefits of breast-feeding and the deleterious effects that can result from premature weaning.2 This article provides information to facilitate medication use in breast-feeding mothers."

Im irritated that first and foremost physicians are leading mothers astray. Even if they are not bought and sold by the formula companies (which is rare) they should learn more about breastfeeding and medication. This is besides the fact that in my opinion they should STOP pushing antibiotics for every little thing GRRRR. I am also irritated that this educated, internet savvy mother did not take the time to advocate for her and her family's health! I googled breastfeeding antibiotics and hundreds of sites came rushing forth denouncing the need to cease for such a reason.

Now I am armed with the truth. Next time I hear of someone whose dr is leading them down the formula path bc of medicinal contraindication - I will cry WOLF.