Teething Woes

Eli is cutting his back molars.  Not a fun week in our house.  He's been drooling enough to put out small fires, running fevers, isn't eating much and is just grouchy (not his normal attitude).  Last night (Wednesday night/Thursday morning)  he wouldn't go down for bed.  That's very unusual for him because his normal is about 12 hours a night.  Total he got about 3-4 :(  As the night went on he got fussier & fussier and kept pulling at his ears.  I was already giving him Tylenol & Ibuprofen so I tried a warm compress.  He didn't like that, but he didn't like anything at this point. 

Dr. Amy saw him this morning and said his ears are not very red but there's a lot of drainage.  In addition to the Tylenol & Ibuprofen we've been using for pain & fever we're adding Dimetapp & Benadryl to help dry him up & relieve the pressure.  If that doesn't work I have a script for an antibiotic we can fill over the weekend if we need it.  We'd like to avoid the antibiotic if we can because he just got over a nasty yeast infection that took a long time to clear up, but of course if he needs it he will get it.  

I know this is all normal stuff that isn't a big deal in the big picture of life, but because of Eli's heart problems his body reacts differently to normal things.  When you have a fever your heartrate increases, but Eli's heartrate can't go faster.  That means his lips & feet are purple more often.  His blood pressure is higher.  It adds to the "I don't feel good, Mommy" feeling he already has.  His BP today was a little high and his oxygen saturation was a little lower than his normal, but these are expected for what he's going through now.

Thank you for the prayers that have been said for him.  He's sleeping now, thank goodness!  Hopefully he has a good weekend and is quickly feeling better soon.