Sad baby

We went from this...

To this...

Literally overnight. :(

Which means we saw a lot of this...

So much of the day was spent doing this (hanging out in the doctor's office)...

Sierra thinking about "self-diagnosing" while the doctor was taking awhile to get in to see us.

Trying to bring comfort to this precious little thing...

Sierra is really most content when in her daddy's arms. Praise God that Brian was off work today! He spent much of the morning patting Sierra's back and carrying her around the house.

Praying that tomorrow brings more of this...

And this...

*Update - Sierra has a cold. Praise the Lord that is all that it is. Just a runny nose, cough, congestion. However, we have been concerned about her ears. I did not write about it before, but during her 9 month check up in January, Sierra was diagnosed with an ear infection. Her pediatrician said it was at the very very early stages and that is probably why she had not been fussy or irritable; we were feeling bad that we did not know she had an infection. While we were talking with the doctor, during that appointment, Brian casually said, "Oh I had many ear problems when I was little. I think I had tubes in my ears by the time I was 2 or 3." The doctor seemed very concerned about that fact and quickly jotted down some notes in Sierra's chart. Apparently, bad ear infections and ear related problems can be genetic (based on the genetic structure of the ear).

So, back in January (much to my dismay) Sierra was treated with an antibiotic for 10 days. (I am not a big fan of antibiotics.) Since that time though, Brian and I have noticed that she is still tugging at her right ear and when my parents were here this past weekend, they also noticed that she was favoring her right ear. After talking to Brian about it, we decided to put a call into the doctor for an appointment. So this morning, before Sierra woke up, I called and scheduled an appointment for this afternoon.

It all really started last night though...

Last night before bed, Sierra was acting really funny; she completely refused to nurse, which is very odd for her. After putting her down, she cried and fussed for about a hour (yes, we are those kind of parents, letting her "cry-it-out"). Normally, this would not be a big deal, but she hasn't really cried herself to sleep in months. She usually just falls right to sleep with no noise at all. After about an hour, I went to check on her to see if she wanted to nurse (she didn't), but she did want to lay in my arms and rock. I gave her a little bit of Tylenol (another thing we don't like to do very often, but I gave in and gave her 3/4 of a normal dose for her weight). I put her back to bed and again, she cried and fussed for another 45 minutes to an hour. This time, Brian went in to check on her; he changed her and rocked with her. She finally settled a short time after he put her back down. All through the night though, we heard her several times over the monitor; fussing, stirring, crying, etc. Poor little girl.  

This morning around 11:30 am, she was still asleep, I guess given the fact that she didn't sleep well all night, she was still tired. I went in to check on her and she started crying the moment she saw me and was very fussy (another odd thing, Sierra always wakes up happy).  After changing her, we noticed she was really warm, I took her temp and it was 100.8 degrees. She was also really congested and stuffy. Needless to say, we were glad we had already scheduled the appointment with the doctor. So, after a few hours at the doctor's office it was determined that Sierra has a bit of a cold (not sure where that came from) but she also has another ear infection. :( This was extremely disappointing. 

The fact that her father has a history of pediatric ear problems and this is her 2nd infection in less than two months is discouraging. The doctor said that going to the ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist) at this point is kinda "jumping the gun." She said even given Brian's history, we need to go through all the hoops; follow the protocol, treat this infection, and keep a close eye on it. Recurring ear infections in infants and toddlers can cause hearing problems and of course we do not want that to happen. 

The doctor started to discuss another antibiotic and I spoke up and stated my opposition to antibiotics for Sierra. She was completely accepting of my concern and said that she too does not like to overly prescribe antibiotics. She said there was a "safety net" we could try first. Give Motrin and prescription ear drops for pain and see if it brings Sierra some comfort over night. If it does not, then we can use the antibiotic. Of course we jumped all over that option. So tonight (when Brian finally got home after waiting for the prescription to be filled at Walmart) we gave Sierra some Motrin and almost instantly her fever, which had returned at 100.9 degrees, went down and about an hour later, she started to become her happy, fun-loving self again. Then before bed, we gave her the ear drops. She fell right to sleep with no problems. Praise the Lord! We are praying this does the trick so we can avoid giving the antibiotic and let the infection clear up on its own. 

Also, I must give a shout-out to my wonderful Sister-In-Law, Blakely. I know she doesn't expect this, nor would she think she deserves it; but I think she totally deserves it. Blakely is a PA (Physician Assistant) and is my personal "on-call doctor." I texted her first thing this morning about Sierra's fever and have talked to her several times today; actually she just called me again and she is at work tonight. I appreciate her so much for calling and helping me know what is the best way to help Sierra. Blakely has great advice about when to give Tylenol and Motrin, what do to about these ear infections, and she understands my hesitation about antibiotics, etc. Sometimes this "first time mom" thing is a bit trying and seeing my kiddo so sad and sick today really helped me understand the pains of parenting, on a completely different level. I am so glad that I have someone close to me that I can ask questions, get answers, and with whom I trust. Thanks Blakely! Love you so much!!!

Please continue to join us in prayer over Sierra. We pray that the ear infection gets better and not worse and that Sierra will have a wonderful night sleep and will be feeling 100% by tomorrow. Thanks!

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. ~1 John 5: 14-15