bubba's first ear infection

Until recently I thought Magnus was a bit of Super Toddler, having avoided the dreaded ear infections that seemed to plague his friends and tranform their parents into bitter, sleep-deprived zombies.

That all changed at 1:25 this morning, when he called to me from sleep. Normally he's a sound sleeper so I knew something was amiss. I retucked him into bed and lay next to him. He snuggled into my neck and started itching his left ear, slowly at first. Then more aggressively. Then constantly.

"Do you have an itchy?" I asked, like a moron. (It was 1:30 AM, after all.)

"I have a boo boo," he corrected me, tugging more incessantly on the ear, which I could see even in the dark was turning bright red.

I scooped him up and laid him on my shoulder, hoping that walking around in a circle a few times would bring him some relief. About five minutes later, I was huffing and puffing and calling for J. Who ordered me back to bed after reminding me I am pregnant (somehow I'd forgotten) and that I should be resting.

Alas, there was no rest for the Alt household, as Magnus alternately wailed, cried, laughed and wailed until six a.m. He never went back to sleep and never let go of J. I think I slept for about an hour, roused by the fussing and the fact that my Breathe Right nasal strip was about to fall off.

We were able to get him to the doctor right at 9. She took one look inside Bubba's ear and declared, "Yes, it's infected, and bulging." Bulging? "Only one ear," she confirmed, which I guess was good news. She wrote us a prescription for antibiotics, told us eventually there would be some bursting (bursting?) and sent us on our way. And thus began the Longest Day Ever. I'm working from home now and it was J's work from home day as well, so a tag team approach was agreed upon. When Bubba wasn't wailing and trying to pull his ear off, he attached himself to me like a barnacle. As soon as I found a comfortable spot on the sofa to sit with him, he would jerk upright and wail for J. Who held him until he fell asleep, then awakened, then screamed for me.

I called my mother to solicit advice. Surely she must have some Mexican Mother Trick that would instantly calm my fussy toddler. Plus, my younger brother had been plagued by ear infections as an infant, so this was something she knew something about.

"No, mija, you really can't do anything. Wait til the antibiotics set in," she said.

Chingada.

Around five p.m., Magnus woke from a three hour nap on J. He looked sad and pitiful. But the whining was starting to dissipate. He sat in my lap and I read him a few stories. Around 8 p.m., he was eating Jell-o and carrots (don't ask), laughing at Yo Gabba Gabba and having himself a merry old ear infection time.

He woke this morning as if nothing had happened. I dosed him with some kiddie motrin to keep the pain at bay and observed him. He was his normal happy, demanding self. It's amazing, really, how resilient these critters are.

So while yours truly is bummed that he was felled by a common childhood ailment, I take comfort in the fact that it was confined to one ear, healed super quickly, and that I can probably score six hours of sleep tonight.

If the nasal strip stays on.