Molar Misery

The last few days in the Rothwell house have been...well, painful...for everyone.  But poor Colin most definitely endured the most misery.  It all started with a head cold, something we've grown used to as an inescapable side effect of child care at the gym and church, playdates, and baby story time at the library.  To me, I think the benefit outweighs the negative in that I know Colin is having opportunities for social interaction that are so valuable, as well as building an immunity to bacteria and viruses that he'll encounter sooner or later anyways (and I'd much rather him feel yucky now when he can't remember it and won't miss any school as a result).  But, I digress.  With the cold came several high fevers and a mild ear infection.  So after a visit to the doctor, he's back on the pink stuff.  That's amoxicillin to you and me, but if you had a whiff of this bubblegum-flavored elixir it would take you right back to memories of your childhood sniffles.  We also noticed that Colin's appetite wasn't nearly as robust as it normally is.  As the days went on, it got to the point that he pushed away practically everything we put in front of him...even some of the tried and true favorites. We knew when he refused a cheese stick that something was definitely amiss.  Marshall solved the mystery last Friday evening by inspecting the inside of Colin's mouth with a flashlight, only to discover that BOTH of his top molars were pushing their way through.  We were relieved that we had an answer to this frustrating dilemma, but we also felt so terrible for our little guy.  We tried to offer soothing, easy-to-eat foods like yogurt, applesauce, and oatmeal...I even made him a frozen fruit smoothie.  But unfortunately for us all, the only things that seemed to offer relief were ibuprofen and his pacifier, and we just had to wait it out.  Luckily he was able to sleep just fine, and needed a lot of extra rest.  Finally today, we seem to have our baby back.  He had a regular breakfast (well, regular for him anyway...he eats an uncanny amount for such a small person!) and has been cheerful and active throughout the day.  At least now we'll know what to expect when the lower molars decide to make their wretched appearance.