Culprit
Everything was fine with the baby all afternoon, which is a pattern I had noticed yesterday. And then we got home from my son's first piano recital (him and 10 other kids), and she gamely took one spoonful of yogurt. Then my sneaky plan was that the next tiny spoonful would be the antibiotic. It's brand name is, I think, Augmentin. She gamely took it, curled up her nose and lip, started coughing, started gagging, and threw up all over the floor. She has lost two pounds now and only weighed twenty before. Our friends say she look scary thin. And now I think we can say that the antibiotic is making her throw up and have diarrhea. It may be true that she did throw up at 2:00 AM that one night, before the antibiotic. But our credible theory was that her tummy just got too full that time. She seemed to be on the road to recovery and the diarrhea and vomiting had stopped. The repeated diarrhea and repeated vomiting started only after the antibiotic, which was prescribed for the ear infection. That's convincing enough for me. I refuse to give her any more, and my wife is of the same opinion. One the side of the bottle the small print lists vomiting and diarrhea as possible side effects. There is a way out, however. Apparently the pediatrician's office already told my wife that if the baby is not responding to the antibiotic, they can just give her a shot which will clear up the ear infection and obviate the need for nine more days of antibiotic. We are going to take that option. But first, we are -- my wife actually -- is going to make darned sure she has explained to her, to her satisfaction, what is in that shot. We are pretty sure it won't be Augmentin. I count as one of my blessings that my wife is very precise about information, and verbally alert and adept. She is not about to be cowed by any fast-talking functionary at the doctor's office. I can count on her to protect the baby. I think she may even call me on the cell phone to brief me before they give the baby the shot.
In other ominous news, the boy says he had a loose yellow poopy, and my wife verifies that although she did not see it, she heard it sloosh out of him. And he says he rectum hurts, stings, like burning. It looks normal enough to me, maybe just a tad reddish. I wiped it with a baby wipe and he flinched and said it hurt a lot. I believe him. Then I put a big glop of A&D ointment on it and he flinched and cringed for a moment, saying it hurt, but then he seemed to be better.
All this relates to trying to get food into a boy who is constantly putting his hands in the back of his pants right when you are trying to get him to sit down and eat. That's right after you swab the vomit off the floor. Imagine, if you will, how many times I washed my hands.
To my son and daughter, I will say, if, through some fluke of the internet, or data retention, plus boredom, you wind up reading these accounts at some year in the future, I want you to know that, while I am writing mostly about the stress of parenting, the fact is that I am in awe of you both, and I love you, and I would sacrifice anything for you.
Everything was fine with the baby all afternoon, which is a pattern I had noticed yesterday. And then we got home from my son's first piano recital (him and 10 other kids), and she gamely took one spoonful of yogurt. Then my sneaky plan was that the next tiny spoonful would be the antibiotic. It's brand name is, I think, Augmentin. She gamely took it, curled up her nose and lip, started coughing, started gagging, and threw up all over the floor. She has lost two pounds now and only weighed twenty before. Our friends say she look scary thin. And now I think we can say that the antibiotic is making her throw up and have diarrhea. It may be true that she did throw up at 2:00 AM that one night, before the antibiotic. But our credible theory was that her tummy just got too full that time. She seemed to be on the road to recovery and the diarrhea and vomiting had stopped. The repeated diarrhea and repeated vomiting started only after the antibiotic, which was prescribed for the ear infection. That's convincing enough for me. I refuse to give her any more, and my wife is of the same opinion. One the side of the bottle the small print lists vomiting and diarrhea as possible side effects. There is a way out, however. Apparently the pediatrician's office already told my wife that if the baby is not responding to the antibiotic, they can just give her a shot which will clear up the ear infection and obviate the need for nine more days of antibiotic. We are going to take that option. But first, we are -- my wife actually -- is going to make darned sure she has explained to her, to her satisfaction, what is in that shot. We are pretty sure it won't be Augmentin. I count as one of my blessings that my wife is very precise about information, and verbally alert and adept. She is not about to be cowed by any fast-talking functionary at the doctor's office. I can count on her to protect the baby. I think she may even call me on the cell phone to brief me before they give the baby the shot.
In other ominous news, the boy says he had a loose yellow poopy, and my wife verifies that although she did not see it, she heard it sloosh out of him. And he says he rectum hurts, stings, like burning. It looks normal enough to me, maybe just a tad reddish. I wiped it with a baby wipe and he flinched and said it hurt a lot. I believe him. Then I put a big glop of A&D ointment on it and he flinched and cringed for a moment, saying it hurt, but then he seemed to be better.
All this relates to trying to get food into a boy who is constantly putting his hands in the back of his pants right when you are trying to get him to sit down and eat. That's right after you swab the vomit off the floor. Imagine, if you will, how many times I washed my hands.
To my son and daughter, I will say, if, through some fluke of the internet, or data retention, plus boredom, you wind up reading these accounts at some year in the future, I want you to know that, while I am writing mostly about the stress of parenting, the fact is that I am in awe of you both, and I love you, and I would sacrifice anything for you.
posted by brainhell at 8:34 PM
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