Our weekend trip to the doctor

The weekend of March 19th was generally a good one for us. 

Saturday morning we made a trip to the zoo.  During the early spring, the zoo doesn't open until 10 a.m., so we got there around 9:50 and waited at the gates.  We were among only about 40 people waiting, so once inside we didn't see anyone else for awhile.  It was a nice day--the sun was warm and the animals were out and active.  It was actually the first zoo visit where Baby Girl was able to watch the animals and enjoy them.  We saw Beco, the elephant, some monkeys, the fish (the aquarium was almost empty, so we didn't feel like we were going to lose her in the dark), the manatees, and some tigers.  She loved it!

We left the zoo and headed to get some lunch because once we got home, it would be naptime.  Of course, she fell asleep during the 10 minute drive to lunch, so we woke her up and took her in the restaurant to eat.  She didn't seem really interested in eating, but we weren't concerned since she doesn't typically eat well at fast food restaurants.  We got back in the car and The Hubby entertained her until we got home so she didn't fall asleep.  She went down for her nap wtih no problems and off I went to meet a friend's new baby.

When I returned, Baby Girl was awake and had been crying for me.  I picked her up and snuggled her a bit and realized that she was pretty warm.  We couldn't find a thermometer with batteries, so we decided to take her to one of the clinics inside a pharmacy.  We sat down and were looking at the information and discovered that they didn't accept our insurance.  We didn't know how to find out if the other pharmacy clinics accept our insurance, so instead of going home we decided it made more sense to go to a clinic inside a grocery store a bit away that we knew would take our insurance.  On the drive, we could tell she didn't feel good.  She didn't talk, sing, or whine and we could hear her breathing was a bit fast and loud.  We got there and there was one person being seen and another waiting. 

Baby Girl was clingy and lethargic--something we'd only seen from her one other time, when she'd had a double ear infection (it was also the only other time she's had a fever).  She sat on my lap (wouldn't go to Daddy) and snuggled with me.  She's half-heartedly wave at the baby who was waiting with her mommy, but I could tell she wasn't herself.  After we'd waited for about 30 minutes, I went and got her a snack and some water--we'd left the house without a diaper bag or anything.  Good thing we were inside a grocery store.

While we were waiting, a few other people came in to see the nurse practitioner, including one couple that apparently had already signed in but needed to leave.  They went to see her before we could.  At this point I was starting to get a bit upset--couldn't these people see we had a sad, sick 19 month old???

Eventually we got in to see the NP.  She took Baby Girl's temperature--101.5.  She did an exam and, of course, found an ear infection.  She kept looking up things in her tablet PC, making me feel a little uncomfortable.  I know her specialty isn't pediatrics, though, so I suppose it's good that she's double-checking her thinking.  She prescribed us Omnicef for her ear infection (what I was actually already on for my sinus infection) and then also a steroid for her breathing.  I asked her to check her temp before we went and it had indeed gone up to 103.4.  After paying, we immediately went out to the pharmacy area and picked her up some ibuprofen to bring her fever down.

We submitted the prescriptions and went to look for something for dinner.  You see, this grocery store is a-may-zing.  Seriously.  The Hubby and I decided we could have a really great date night there.  At a grocery store.

We went to the hot foods station and found some personal pizzas.  We got pizzas for all of us and sat down to eat.  Baby Girl wasn't really interested in eating, but did seem to perk up--she was chatty with some little girls at the next table.  Eventually it was time to pick up the prescriptions and go home--we got home around 7:00, just in time to nurse her and put her to bed.  She slept well overnight as we alternated Tylenol and ibuprofen to keep the fever at bay.  She still had a bit of a fever when she woke up, so we kept up with the fever reducers until about noon on Sunday.  She was acting like herself by then and had a great day with my parents at our house.  You never would've known she'd been so sick the day prior. 

We go to our own pediatrician for a recheck next Monday to see if her ears are healed.  They seem to be, but what do I know?  The kid never shows signs of an ear infection unless she's got a fever, which has only happened twice.  She's acting like her normal happy self, though, so we assume it will be an easy visit.

(This was written over a week ago.  The recheck was fine, but she still had some fluid in her right ear.  We're going back in the middle of May to see if the fluid is still there.  If it is, we'll be referred to an ENT.)