Shortly before 1:00 am yesterday morning I was awakened by the sound of my husband talking to someone. That someone was my daughter and she had gotten out of bed to tell us she had to go potty.
Being the light sleeper I am, it was remarkable that I hadn’t heard the child come into our room. Both of our doors were closed and she’s not known to pass through them very quietly. But there she was standing next to my side of the bed and I was actually glad to see her. We’re trying to work our way through the final stages of potty training and have been urging her to come get us if she feels the need to go during the night.
As soon as I set her down on the toilet though, she looked up at me and put her hand up to her left ear. “My ear hurts,” she said. Her Pull-Up was already heavy and wet so I pulled it off, replaced it with another one and brought her back into her room.
I suffered through chronic ear infections when I was Autumn’s age. I distinctly remember the agonizing pain that would keep me up at night and the ensuing tossing and turning and crying. I had tubes put in my ears when I was five, which alleviated the problem but did not eliminate it. I had my last infection twelve years ago and wound up arguing with an HMO nurse who assured me what I was feeling couldn’t be an ear infection since adults rarely get them. It turned out I had won the lottery because I was 25 and both of my ears were severely infected.
So I didn’t have to go back very far to remember how much it sucks to have an ear infection, and as I tucked Autumn back into bed I promised her I’d take her to the doctor the next morning. I gave her a kiss and went back to my own bed, but a few minutes later I heard quiet sobbing. A few minutes after that her voice drifted in from her room.
“Mommy? Is it time to go to the doctor now?”
“Not yet, honey. We have to wait until it’s light out.”
Shortly after that she reappeared with her blanket and Pooh bear and asked to get into bed with us. Nathan and I had been through this enough to know we’d get little sleep with Autumn in bed with us, but we’re not so heartless and selfish that we’d turn away our sick kid. And we lasted about half an hour before bringing her back to her room.
I slept with her in her bed for awhile. Not long, but long enough for her to get comfortable. The part I remember the most about my ear infection problems was that my mom was always there for me. She would give up the warm spot in her bed and sleep with me while I was in pain. I always found her back in her own bed the next morning, but it was a wonderful, comforting feeling having her next to me as I drifted off to sleep. It was the best kind of medicine I could have asked for.
Autumn slept until 9:00 the next morning and I took her to the doctor as soon as I could schedule an appointment. It’s an ear infection, a minor one in just the left ear. While I would have appreciated the kind of sickly, listless child that would have allowed me to accomplish more around the house yesterday, Autumn was thankfully not derailed by the infection at all.
Me? I was wiped out. Still am.
I hope your little one feels better soon and you too. What a well-written post.
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Amanda from Michigan/Scoopie77’s last blog post..scoopie77: Trying to focus.
Thanks, Amanda! She is feeling much better.
I always try to remember how comforting my mom was, so when Cam is sick I can be there for her,too. But damn if it’s not hard to be nice in the middle of the night!
Hope she feels better soon!
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I have been there soooo many times with my girl. She’s eight now, and has had surgery for tubes a whopping four times!
The best comfort is you being there, but I’ve found that benedryl will help relive the pressure and make wee ones drowsy (usually – in a few kids it has the opposite effect). As for pain relief, children’s motrin works far better than tylenol.
Hope this helps if you need it in the future. Even more, I hope you never need it. 🙂
Sweet dreams.
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