The Veldmans: The never ending ear infection

Ava seems to have the never ending ear infection. It all started three weeks ago with the double ear infection. Then we moved on to the "amoxicillin rash", took another visit to the pediatrician and started the z-pack, and she's still not back to her happy little self. She's been crying when we put her down to sleep the past few days, and she was up again at 1:00 this morning crying for only a short time. I noticed that she's pulling on her earagain. So, I called in "sick child" to work today (not sure I could have made it there with my car anyway). Nate & I took Ava into Children's Hospital to get her blood drawn to see if she truly is allergic to Amoxicillin. I thought that they might put a little cream on her arm to numb it up a bit before the needle stick but they didn't. They laid her down on the table and held her legs and her one arm down. She did just fine with that and was just looking around and observing everything, even after they applied the tourniquet. Then the poke came and so did the tears. They had to dig a little bit before finding her vein (I was standing there praying they would get it soon). She was a brave girl, and after some hugs, kisses, and a few cheerios the tears were gone. We stopped in the ER that I work in and one of the doctors there was nice enough to look in Ava's ears for me. Our pediatricians office was closed until 1:00 today due to the snow. So, he took a look and said that her right ear drum is still bulging and that the left ear doesn't look very good either. So home we went and waited for the pediatricians office to open. Luckily Ava's pediatrician was working today and I ran through everything that we have been through for the past three weeks. She called in another antibiotic for us which we started this afternoon. I'm praying that it does the trick. I want a happy and healthy girl for her 1st birthday.

As for our weekend...Ava's photo shoot left a bit to be desired. I knew we were in for a treat when she woke up from her nap after only 45 minutes. The two previous days she had slept for almost 2 hours). So, she was over tired, had an ear infection, and we couldn't get the little turkey to sit still. I'm hoping that we got at least a couple of good ones. If not, it wasn't due to lack of effort. Thanks to our photographer Ang for her patience! :)

Saturday night Ava stayed home while Nate and I went out to dinner with Grandpa & Grandma V, and uncle Wes. We celebrated Grandpa's 60th birthday. It was nice to get out for a night, and the food was delicious! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for a wonderful evening!

Sunday we had planned on going to church in the morning but Daddy was not feeling well. I feel like our house is big germ fest, as we go through boxes of kleenex. Grandma and Grandpa V stopped over for a little bit. Other than that, it was low key as the snow started to fall. We're still waiting for it to stop snowing. The twin cities got anywhere from 12-18 inches. This winter has been crazy. I'm so ready for spring!!!

Daddy holding Ava up above his head. She thinks that this is SO much fun!

This picture explains Ava's day in a nutshell...a cotton ball and band aid on her right arm from the blood draw, and her syringe and new antibiotic. She actually looks pretty happy about it. Let's hope that the new antibiotic works!