Tuesday night Kennedy got out of bed and was crying. I thought she was sad because I was doing laundry in the garage and she couldn't find me. So I put her back to bed. 10 minutes later she was out of bed again crying, but not the whining cry... a hurt cry. I picked her up held her in the living room just looking at her when I noticed her grab hold of her ear. She said, "ouchies in my ear."
GREAT! Not one of our children has ever had an ear infection...ever! AND Justin wouldn't be done with work for another 2 hours! I quickly acted upon the first thought that came to my mind and was soon talking to our neighbor down the street. She's a mom of 4 grown children and the closest geographical help I could think of. (Thanks to being a member of the church.) Anyway, I explained what was going on and Mary expressed her empathy for the situation and then told me exactly what to do... nothing. Nothing but a little Tylenol and a heating pad! I was surprised to hear that in addition to having children with ear infections, she worked in a pediatricians office for some time and they regularly sent people home with their children's aching ears. What a relief!
She also said there was one thing I could do, but that it might sound a little weird. Okay, I was all for it. She explained the process of heating up a teaspoon of oil to luke warm and then putting some in Kennedy's ear. Never seeing this done before, I wasted no time testing it out. I normally put alcohol in the kids ears after swimming, so oil was not a huge deal for me or Kennedy. Apparently the oil softens things up... I can't remember the rest of the specifics, but it totally worked! Kennedy finally fell asleep and in the morning let me know, "no more ouchies!"
Moral... yay for going to church and meeting new friends! Many experiences in my life have been made easier with the help of good friends and this was no exception. If I were not an active member of the Church I would not have met Mary and would have gone to an E.R. with 3 children, under the age of 3, by myself late at night. Now I know ear aches are no big deal and that even if Kennedy's ear drum had ruptured, we still wouldn't need to go to the doctor.
5 comments:
I was just reading about warm oil in their ears and that it soothes it, then I stumbled across your blog... should have told me this yesterday!!!! I am still taking Isaac into the hospital, he is still fighting a fever, and I have waited long enough, I am thinking it could be a multiple things with him, he RARELY gets sick, so I think its more than just his ears... although he has been sleeping finally, poor baby boy.. I hate it when there isnt anything I can do... cuddling helps for a bit until he starts saying owie! I will keep you posted!
My youngest has been battling ear infections since he was 8 months old. He even had his tubes replaced last month, and has another ear infection. So lame!!
I know what you mean about members of the church, we would be lost in the desert if it weren't for the members here. They have become our family, now that we are further from home. I don't know how people move away from home, and not have an immediate social network through church--namely the Relief Society!
That is awesome you had her!!! Great advice, I'm sooo glad you shared that. You are the best :)
Im' glad everything worked out. BRandon actually had 16 ear surgery's growing up for Chronic Ear infections and blown ear drums. No fun. Taylor has had two in the past month, so we have to moniter them now. I'm glad you had friends to support you!
Hi I just stumbled onto your blog, by doing a search on Mommies!
Can you tell me what type of oil is advisable to use for the ear infection? I had never heard that before and I keep two small children everyday in my home. One of which just had a bad ear infection!
Thanks So Much!
lesleyhdockweiler.blogspot.com
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