Let's Take Him to the Doctor

...just to make sure everything is okay. It's what I was thinking as I woke up to Nate screaming yet again in the middle of the night. He has some good nights and then he has had the nights where he's up so often I feel like neither of us slept at all. He started teething again in mid-June, but 3 of those little teeth have popped through and so I didn't think he should be in that much pain anymore. And then I read an article in my Parents magazine about how parents often mistake babies getting up in the middle of the night for teething when really there are other causes, such as an ear infection. While he wasn't showing a lot of signs of an ear infection--no pulling at the ears, temperature, extreme fussiness--he has been upset with me whenever I clean his left ear at bath time. So, after another long night this past weekend, I decided to take him in on Monday.

Sure enough. The doctor said it wasn't a full blown ear infection but he does have fluid behind the ear--which also explains his runny nose. So he's on amoxicillin for that. We also asked about his pooping. He was pooping more regularly but now it's just a couple times a week. And the thing that was most concerning is that it seems painful when he does poop and is the consistency of clay. I know, you love all the details! So it seems as though he's suffering from a bit of constipation. We are starting with dietary changes first, more fruits like apricots, peaches, and prunes and cutting out bananas and dairy. He needs to drink 4oz of juice a day as well. Hopefully this will take care of it, although it will be hard to determine if it is working now that he's on antibiotics, which may cause diarrhea. So we might have to wait until he is done with his meds and then see if the changes in his diet work. If not, then he'll have to start on miralax daily, long term. We're hoping it doesn't come to that. We also asked about his eczema. Some days it bothers him so bad he just scratches until his skin is bright red and almost raw. So the doctor prescribed some cream to put on twice a day. It will be a trial and error until we figure out exactly what strength cream he needs and so now he's on the medium strength. We also need to bathe him in different soap (Dove, Cetaphil, etc.) and the lotion needs to be mild (aquafor, eucerin, etc.) so no more smelling like baby lotion. :( But hopefully that will help his poor sensitive skin.