"Sick Kids Only"

Thursday was our first trip to the "sick kids" side of our pediatrician's office. In the past, I have looked through the fish tank to the parents and children on the other side with such pity, wondering when it would be me. The little kiddos look miserable and the parents look exhausted. I also can't help but think about is all the nasty germs coating every surface of that room!
When Marshall started sleeping poorly last week, I was just blaming it on teething (we are still waiting on tooth number 2,3,4)... the nighttime awakenings increased gradually. The preceding 2-3 nights were pretty bad, followed by crummy naps too. Then when I was at work Wednesday, Marshall ran a fever which came down pretty quickly. Even though the fever was gone, we gave him tylenol through the night. The next morning he was fine, no fever and lots of playing. I looked in his ears but they were pretty waxy, so I made an appointment.
I stood holding Marshall in the germy waiting room while a kid puked in the connected bathroom and babies were crying in exam rooms. I even said to the pediatrician when we were seen, "this is our first mommy reassurance visit." When I told her he had fever YESTERDAY and other than that was just not sleeping well, I felt really bad. He was sitting on my lap babbling and making faces at her. To my surprise he did have an ear infection, hopefully not the first of many. Marshall is not a fan of the good ole bubble gum amoxicillin, but hopefully it will do the trick.