It's been a while since I've really caught up with everything happening, so I wanted to update on a few doctor visits that Emily has had over the past two months.
In December, we took her back to the orthopedic specialist for her hip checkup--she was actually supposed to go when she turned two, but our appointment got cancelled and it honestly fell to the bottom of our priority list because we felt like it wasn't presenting any problems for her. Em certainly has no trouble moving her legs, whether it's dancing, running, jumping or climbing--she seems to be constantly in motion! So we finally got the appointment scheduled several months ago (this doctor books up pretty far in advance), and she went in on December 19. She's very outgoing and never meets a stranger (something I'll talk about at another time), so she's great at making friends with everyone in the office. They checked her hips and did an x-ray. The doctor said her left hip socket is still just slightly more shallow than her right, but it's within normal range, so he doesn't need to see her again until she's about five. Sadly, I know that will be here so quickly...but five seems like a long way away!
Em then went back for her dentist visit on January 3--another doctor that books up quickly since her dentist is also a pediatric orthodontist. We chose her for all the great reviews we read, but also because I didn't want Em to have to switch dentists if she needs an orthodontist sometime in the future. Her name is Dr. Bird, and the office is very kid-friendly (trees with birds everywhere, which Em loves). I even talked to her about the dentist that morning, telling her she was one of Hermey's helpers (Hermey, of course, is the elf in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer who wants to be a dentist instead of make toys). She got pretty excited about that until she went in and asked about Hermey, and the technician (with a confused look on her face) said "who?" I guess part of my plan should have been bringing everyone in on it first.
Em is doing much better brushing her teeth at home--still probably her least favorite thing to do, but she cooperates most of the time--so I had high hopes for this visit. Unfortunately, it didn't go well. It took three of us (Mick, the technician and me) to hold Em down for her to clean her teeth (which really only consisted of brushing them with the little spinning brush), and the only reason she could even get to them was because Em was screaming. It was horrible. Part of me wanted to just forget the whole thing, but I don't want her to think that she can get out of it by throwing a tantrum! So we stuck with it, and the dentist brushed on the flouride and said her teeth looked great--no cavities!
Over the past few weekends, I feel like we've had Em at her pediatrician every Saturday for her ears (luckily, they have appointments in the mornings on Saturday and Sunday). Sometimes she says they hurt, and other times she'll say it feels like there's something in them. Once she said there was a baby caterpillar in her ear, and another time it was Tinkerbell flapping her wings--at least she has no trouble telling us what's happening. She just finished an antibiotic for an ear infection in her right ear, and we took her back last weekend to make sure it was cleared up. The doctor said there was still some fluid in her right ear, but the infection was gone. This weekend, we took her back again and it's infected. AGAIN! So I asked for a referral to an ENT specialist, and as the doctor prepared to write another prescription for an antibiotic, I asked if she really needed it. He said at her age, she's healthy enough to fight off the infection on her own, and the antibiotic doesn't get rid of the fluid, which is really the problem. So we decided to skip the antibiotic this time, and if her ears are hurting, we'll just give her Tylenol or Advil. She's such a trooper that most of the time she doesn't want to take anything, but I know they have to be bothering her. She asks "what?" or "what did you say?" pretty often now, so I'm worried that it's affecting her hearing too.
Our ENT appointment is on January 30, so we'll know more then--I'm afraid I see tubes in our future :(.
Crunchy momma here - there are some natural remedies you could try for the fluid in the ear. Our chiropractor massages an area on the neck that helps the eustachian tube to drain. I would have been skeptical about the success, except I couldn't hear out of my left ear even after a round of antibiotics and after she worked on it that afternoon it started to pop and gradually my hearing was back to normal.
ReplyDeleteSaline nose spray can be great for keeping all the fluid moving and draining the way it should. Also, my chiropractor swears by having kids drink while you pinch their nose to help the fluid drain.
Maybe it is just their age that doesn't like the dentist! SG does not like to brush her teeth either and it is was tough getting her to open up for the dentist.