More than the sniffles...

On Wednesday we took Bennett to see Dr Johnson because he had a congested cough and runny nose for 5-6 days and on Tuesday we noticed he was losing his balance and falling a lot more than usual. He has yet another ear infection, described by his doctor as looking "like glue in his ears." She also diagnosed him with pneumonia! I feel terrible that we didn't bring him in earlier! He had his 15 month well-child check-up only a week before and there was a small amount of residual fluid in his ears from his previous infection (which was only 3 weeks ago). Poor little buddy. No wonder he couldn't walk straight. He has been having such a hard time sleeping due to the congestion and probably pain from sinus/ear pressure. We have been using the humidifier, a menthol vaporizer and his breath-right strips (which are very cute by the way) and round the clock medicating with Tylenol/Motrin. His lungs sounded clear on Sunday night while he slept and I tried to listen on Tuesday before I went to work but he was playing, running around and not at all interested in sitting still so I could listen to his lungs. But I listened again Wednesday afternoon and sure enough there's a decent wet rattle in his left lower lung. I wish I could cough for him to get it all out. And when do they learn to blow their nose? It's like a constant drip but not enough to get at with the bulb suction. We have started him on the antibiotic Zithromax and it's been >24hrs since his first dose. He has already improved -- when I last checked on him he was sleeping soundly (and quietly) through his nose. So, a few more days of the antibiotics and hopefully we will be back to normal. We follow up in 3-4 weeks to check for fluid in his ears and if it is still there Dr Johnson wants to think about getting tubes. yikes!

But, kids are tough and B didn't let a thing like pneumonia get in his way of playing and having fun.


Climbing into his "garage" where we store all of his cars/trucks/airplanes. I had to make a quick decision between pulling him out (teaching him right from wrong) or grabbing the camera...


...the camera almost always wins.