Tis the season...

for runny noses, stuffy noses, snotty noses, coughs, ear infections, and pink eye. Last week, I insisted that Gene take Andrew to the pediatrician. Something wasn't right about him. He normally eats like a pig and he wasn't. I just had a feeling that something was wrong. And I was right. He had infections in both ears and was prescribed a 10 day antibiotic which we finished on Thursday.

During the week, however, Andrew developed a really runny nose and a terrible sounding cough. Now, this wasn't enough alone to freak me out. It took a note in his cubby at school this week warning that another child had been diagnosed with RSV and was hospitalized with pneumonia to really freak me out. So, I called the nurse on Thursday to get reassurance that Andrew was OK with the symptoms he had and to find out what I needed to watch for with the whole RSV thing. This morning, he just wasn't any better, actually the cough was worse and the snotty nose was a green/yellow color. AND one of his eyes was goopy.

So, off to the pediatrician we went. Diagnosis? Andrew's left ear is infected (again) and he has pink eye in both eyes. At least this occurred over a long weekend. The doctor wants to see him back after this round of antibiotics to make sure it's cleared up. We'll discuss tubes at that time.

On another note, Austin's got a stuffy nose. For the most part, he's a healthy kid and rarely gets sick. He thinks he has to go to the doctor for this stuff nose. He's told his teachers that he can't take a nap because he can't smell.

Two positive things came out of this day.

1. Andrew was officially weighed today at the doctor's office. He weighs 20 pounds, 13 ounces, almost a whole 2 pounds more than Austin weighed at 8 months old. Did I mention that Andrew's officially 8 months old? I can't believe he's only 4 months away from being 1!
2. The prescription we got for the ear infection is on the free list at the Publix up the road from the doctor's office. The only bad thing is the inconvenience of having to get out of the car and go into the store with a baby in tow. But at least the script was free!