How's this for a Saturday night!? My how the times have changed!

Sophia hasn't been her usual self lately. I sensed that she had the beginnings of a cold seeing that her sleep patterns were all off and she had a runny, stuffy nose. It is that time of year with lots of viruses going around so I anticipated a low-key weekend with lots of rest and plenty of fluids. However, after her nap on Saturday Sophia woke up screaming, yanking and tugging at her left ear. My first thought was one of panic because it was Saturday and I knew I couldn't make her an appointment with our family medicine doctor until at LEAST Monday. Even then there was no guaruntee that I'd get an appointment for her first thing Monday morning with how jam packed the military health care system is these days. If this was an ear infection, the sooner I got her on antibiotics the better! I remember from when I was a kid that ear infections could go from bad to worse sometimes as quickly as overnight. There was no way I was going to take the chance of that happening so I made a quick call to my Mom for advice, gave her some motrin to reduce the swelling in her ear, and drove off to the ER expecting a longgggg night. Luckily, the motrin seemed to do the trick and I had a semi-pleasant toddler for the almost 3 hours we waited at the Naval Hospital. I figured that with symptoms of an ear infection on top of having a toddler that was smiling and responsive in the waiting room, we would be one of the last ones to see a doctor but I didn't have a problem with that. My goal was to get a diagnosis on her ear and get her on antibiotics before the pain got any worse. When I was a kid I had the most excruciating ear infections. I would get them every time I had a cold or a sinus infection and at times was put on vicodin for the pain. I got really good at detecting them because the earlier I would notice and get on medicine, the less painful the ear infections were. I guess Sophia gets my lovely, infection prone ears but the good news is, with my experience as a kid (AND my amazing nurse Mom who has the answer to EVERYTHING) I know how to detect these suckers! It was interesting to see Sophia deal with not feeling well. Other than a cold here and there, her most significant cold/ear infection around the time she was one, she's been very healthy. Now that she is almost two, Sophia is much more verbal and more aware of her body parts which helped me identify what was hurting her and find a solution. She's on a five day course of antibiotics and has a follow-up appointment with our family medicine doctor on Friday to make sure that her ears are clear for our flight to Virginia. I feel like I've dodged a bullet. Although Sophia hasn't been 100%, we were able to steer clear of the intense pain ear infections can bring and have an enjoyable lazy Sunday together. She's been a trooper...taking her medicines, eating lots of healthy foods and of course lots of snuggle time with Mama. Not too long until she'll get cuddles from Dad too and I'll have a partner to keep our little one healthy!