Day 360 (Thursday, 1/20): Ear Infection, Part II

Thursdays are usually my days for dissertating as I don't teach and LB is at daycare, but unfortunately this Thursday was not so productive as I took Miss LB to the doctor's. Obviously, Lilybeth's health and our mental well-being about her health is much more important than my dissertation. She's been sick lately, and the last couple of days, she had been touching her ear and doing the sign for "pain," a good indication for an ear infection, so we decided she needed a visit to Dr. Roopa. LB's appointment was at 10:45 AM (the only slot available, actually), so I dropped her off at Pam's at 7 AM, went to work on my diss at a nearby Starbucks until about 9:30, and then returned to Pam's to retrieve her. We had already paid for the day at Pam's, and since there are no sick-day refunds, I figured that I had better take advantage of at least part of the day.

10:45 is just an awful time for an LB doc appointment because (and I'm sure some of the parents out there can empathize), it is dangerously close to LB's 11:30 - 12ish nap time. The lure of the cozy freeway drive is just too much for a little one near nap, and of course LB was asleep as soon as we got on the road. But maybe that little nap did her well because she was generally happy and friendly at the doctor's office. In the waiting room, she pretended to be a dinosaur and in the examine room, she wanted to climb up a little stool in order to look out the window for "big trucks." However, when Dr. Roopa suggested that I bring her back for a flu shot once she's feeling better, Miss LB let out a little yelp and then stared suspiciously with a furrowed brow at Dr. Roopa.

And as was predicted, Lilybeth does have an ear infection. Of course, Dr. Roopa could not tell if it was the same ear infection she had had before Xmas or if it was a new one, and so she put her on antibiotics.

But I'm happy to report that despite feeling a bit off, Miss Lilybeth is still her cheerful and funny self, as is demonstrated in the photo below where she's using her highchair tray as a chair.
And I'm also happy to report that on the drive back from the doctor's, I was able to keep LB awake. Once we got back home, she slept for an hour and a half, and I was able to pound out a couple more sentences on my dissertation.