It's been a month since the last post. Sorry. Things have been nuts around here on the virus front so we've not been venturing out anywhere interesting and we've not been taking lots of pictures. The insanity began about six weeks ago when the three of us were struck down with a particularly bad chest cold. Mine morphed into borderline bronchitis and Sam, predictably, came down with an ear infection (his fourth in seven months). A course of antibiotics for Sam followed with no clear improvement. Half-way through the second round of antibiotics, Sam developed a fever and was clearly in pain. We thought that the ear infection had flared up again but as it turned out, he had contracted hand, food and mouth virus on top of everything else. I had never heard of this virus before but luckily my officemate had. As such, when I showed her the horrible welts that had suddenly appeared on his hands and feet, she said that her son had contracted the virus years ago and that it was highly contagious and common among daycare kids (luckily only one other child at our babysitter's came down with it). Our doctor confirmed the diagnosis and referred us to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist for the ear infection that appeared to have survived the second round of antibiotics. The ENT saw Sam this week and gave us the good news that Sam's infection was gone but the not great news that Sam would likely need ear tubes in the new year as his ears don't appear to be particularly good at absorbing the fluid that accumulates in his ears during ear infections. At the moment, Sam is healthy again but the fluid is still hanging out in his middle ear. As such, we're totally worried that he will develop another cold in the near future and that the fluid will get infected again. While I'm not too happy with the idea that Sam is going to need ear tube surgery, I'm even less happy with the idea that he might be fighting another ear infection soon. We're scheduled to fly in less than a month so I really don't want him battling an ear infection near that time. The good news in all this is that the ear tube surgery appears to be a common procedure with about 800 a year being performed at the Janeway Hospital here in St. John's (according to our ENT). Add to that the numerous people who have told me that their brother/son/friend's child had the procedure and that they are much better for it, and my nerves are calmed somewhat. At this point, I just want to get the darn thing over with so that we can go back to a heavenly stretch of time without constant infections and antibiotics. Many people have told me that little ones tend to be constantly sick during their first year of daycare and/or school (whichever comes first) before their immune systems strengthen and they become more resilient. Sam has been going to daycare for almost ten months now so I hope relief is in sight soon!
In terms of new developments, this month has had its share. Among the most note-worthy, Sam has discovered that:
1) Saying "hiya" and waving makes his parents grin like crazy.
2) Pointing at random things is fun and causes Mommy and Daddy to say loads of new words.
3) Lids for pots make pretty effective cymbals.
4) Standing up on chairs, sofas or half-way down the staircase makes Mommy freak out!
