Max's ear infection

When I came to pick up Max from day care after work at 6:00 PM on Thursday, the teacher said that he had been crying for 15 minutes before I arrived.  Since Max hardly EVER cries, we knew something was wrong with him.  He usually only does his normal excited yells or shriek, but no crying.

The teacher handed a very upset Baby Max to me as I attempted to put him in his car seat to bring him home and calm him down there, but we didn't get that far, as Max vomited all over me in the day care room.

So, that Thursday night, he was not feeling any better, even after we gave him some Tylenol.  The day care teachers thought that he had an ear infection, because he was tugging at his left ear, he threw up and he was abnormally upset, and they know that he's usually an easy-going non-crying baby.  Max did not sleep Thursday night, and I think David and I each took taking turns waking up 4-5 times that night, getting maybe 2 hours of sleep.  It felt like we were back in the newborn days when we all were on the 1-2 hour sleep schedule.

David's mom, Nancy (or "Nani" as Reagan and Max know her) was so kind as to cancel her hair appointment on Friday in order to watch Max for part of the day until we were able to bring him in for an open spot at the doctor's office Friday.

Sure enough, it was an ear infection, and it was in the left ear that he was tugging on in day care on Thursday.  The doctor said that the right ear was clear of wax, but he found some wax and then some puss (thus, the infected part) behind the wax and verified our guess.  I was relieved that he found the ear infection, because if it wasn't that, we wouldn't known why Max was feeling pain.

Max started taking the refrigerated, pink, bubble gum-flavored Amoxicillin antibiotic that the doctor prescribed.  After taking two doses both Friday and Saturday, Max is already feeling so much better!  Special thanks again to Nancy for taking care of Max while Mom and Dad needed to go to work on Friday.  We're so glad he is almost back to his normal happy self!

And, the other good news is that when they weighed Max at this doctor's appointment, he measured 20 pounds, 6 ounces, meaning that he had gained a whole pound since just his recent 6-month doctor's check-up appointment!  Growing boy!!!