Category: Health/Doctor

The doctor told us that she wanted to see Ajax again after he finished up his second round of antibiotic, so yesterday I took him back into the office for our third visit since December.  The doctor asked how he’d been and I explained that Ajax had been a bit of a pistol and wasn’t sleeping well, but no fever.  She checked his right ear and sure enough it was still infected.   Ajax is now on a three day injection of a very strong antibiotic.  It was a pretty major shot into the muscle, poor little man.   Dave has to take him back on Friday and then again on Saturday.  I am afraid he will begin associating the office with shots and pain; so far he has no problem going to the doctor’s office and thinks its fun to play with the little chairs in the waiting room and talk to the nurses.   The doctor said that there are no ill effects of being on three rounds of antibiotics, since he hasn’t been on them constantly.  But I’m still a little concerned.   She also said that the down side is that this bacteria is becoming very resilient.   I asked if he needed to see a specialist or if he would need tubes and she said it was a little premature for that, but if these continue he will need to see a specialist.   I must admit it was pretty upsetting hearing that little guy has been suffering from an ear infection for over a month now, which would explain his head hitting, frustration, and troubled sleep.  I again asked the doctor if there was anything we could do differently, or that we weren’t doing good enough and she assured me that there was nothing we could do, that unfortunately it was just the shape of his ear.  Again, still pretty hard to hear.

So I feel a silly.  Here’s what happened.  All day Sunday Ajax’s mood continued to be, well … difficult.  He was getting frustrated and hitting and thumping his head.  He then proceeded to get up several times throughout the night.  He was warm and upset and somewhere around the third time he got up I realized, he still has an ear infection.

I ended up taking him back into the Doctor’s office today where it was confirmed- yep, the infection never cleared up.  The amoxicillin unfortunately didn’t do the job and we’re now onto augmentin, which my mother-in-law says is a pretty serious antibiotic.  Because this is his second round of antibiotics he is also on probiotic supplement.   The Doctor said that the infections seem to be reoccurring in his right ear so that the cause is really anatomical and not anything that we’re doing wrong or bad (which made me feel better).

What I chopped up to troubled twos was actually Ajax saying he didn’t feel well.  I feel quite horrible.

Cookie Day 2010 was revolutionary with my Christmas present from Mr. Dave.  Yes, Dave gave me my present early- a kitchen aid mixer!  I’ve wanted one for years but would never pay for one, so this year Dave surprised me with one.  Although there was a bit of a learning curve using the mixer, it totally changed cookie day.  It cut my prep time down significantly.  I prepared four separate cookie doughs in half the time!  By the time my mom and dad came over, I was ready to start throwing things into the oven, crazy.

As I mentioned, it was cookie day and that meant a fun filled day of baking.  Ajax was thrilled to have his grandparents over and kept them both very busy playing.  Dave and my dad were professional in their roles as taste tester and all agreed the cookies came out very well.

Today Ajax had his 15 month check up.  I had promised him no shots, but of course I miscalculated and the first thing the nurse told us when we checked in, was – oh, Ajax just one more shot buddy!  So yes, I lied to my child.  He received the last of his DTaP/HIB booster and is now all set with shots till he’s two.

Ajax weighed in at 24 lb 9 oz, putting him in the 50th percentile; for length he was 33 in., putting him in the 90-95th percentile; and for his head circumference he was at 48.5 cm, putting him in the 75-90th percentile (not quite sure what the head measurement is supposed to show but there it is).    The doctor said that he was very healthy and tall!  He was also impressed with how many words Ajax knew and then commented, ah yes, only child, lol.

Ajax had a fever wavering between 101 and 102, which started Saturday night.  It was like the top of his head was on fire.  By Monday morning, however, the fever had seemed to break,  but I was still worried so I made an appointment and today Dave took Ajax to the Doctors.   The Doctor examined his ears (again, I was concerned he had another ear infection) and the nurse drew blood.  The Doc said that Ajax was just getting over a virus and that he did seem to have a tiny bit of fluid in his ear, but that it was such a small amount the Doc wasn’t worried about it.  Overall, a clean bill of health.  Dave did report that Ajax weighed 23 lb 11 oz.

This photo was taken as I was trying to get Ajax ready for bath time.  He put his shoes on his hands and raced through the house laughing, it took me a bit to catch him and get him into the tub.

Although I’m not a “crunchy” momma by any means, I still feel it necessary to buy organic foods for Ajax.   Organic baby purees, organic yogurt, organic smoothies…  and Ajax seems to be allergic to all of it.  Whenever he has any of these organic products he breaks out in this terrible rash and hives.  I have no idea why.  Organic stuff is supposed to be the best, right?  Well Ajax’s body doesn’t think so.

Since Ajax now has 4 teeth with more quickly coming in, I picked up his very first tooth brush!  I just ran it under cool water and then just kind of put it on his teeth, lol.  He got a kick out of it and kept trying to lick it or bite down on it.

Well we unfortunately discovered Ajax’s first real food aversion or allergy: yogurt.   I haven’t figured out if it was the specific yo-baby brand that upset him or yogurt/dairy in general.  A few months ago I started giving him plain yogurt over the course of a few days, then added some of his fruit for a few weeks, and then I discovered that they actually make yogurt for babies!

Well, of course Ajax loved it and so we were giving it to him for almost all his breakfasts and then bam!   Terrible allergic reaction, poor little guy.   It’s now been a few days with no yogurt and he’s doing much better.   Maybe in a few months we’ll revisit the yogurt situation, but till then we’ll stay clear of it.

I also think Ajax is getting another tooth coming in because I’ve noticed that he’s getting a little congested and appears flushed.  Seems like we just went through this.  Oh, I’d like to thank those of you who have been donating your coupons to me; now I just need to cut them all out (Grandpa Nader, Aunt Teri, Dara, and Grandma Dingeldein!).

Although Ajax is not yet 100% he is starting to rebound from the runny nose and cough that have accompanied this bout of teething (we have yet to see a new little tooth though).   On some development notes- Ajax has been sleeping wonderfully at night, so that means we finally have a well rested home.  He is also waving hi and bye now, which is just so cute.   He is babbling all the time now and has developed new “words” everyday.    He also pulls himself up on everything and wants to be everywhere you are (kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc).

Ajax had his follow up appointment today with the Doctor to be sure that his ear infection had cleared up.  The Doc checked everything out and said that his ear looked fine (though Ajax screamed throughout the entire exam).  Doc did say that there was a little bit of fluid, but that that was normal following an infection.  He said to be sure not to give Ajax bottles while lying flat and to avoid the cold.  I have no idea how to do the latter during a Michigan winter.   Ajax also weighs 21 lb 11 oz.  So obviously he didn’t gain pound in two weeks (I think?) so I believe the nurse weighed him incorrectly last time.

Tonight for dinner Ajax only had table food, no purees!  He had sweet potatoes and pears.  He loves feeding himself, but now I’m always worrying that he’s not getting enough to eat.