The First Baby Drama

So last weekend was Labor Day, for most that means a last attempt to squeeze in vacation or the last summer retreat; not so much for those of us with newborns. Last weekend was a tad more eventful than I would have liked it to be. We spent some time with friends that were visiting for the weekend (and had recently moved away). It was a great time as we got all of our boys together and even managed to squeeze in a photo shoot. Lots of fun!

On Sunday we went through our normal routine but at our 9 am feeding I noticed that Isaac’s eye was getting a bit crusty. I did what most modern mothers do and took to the internet to see what might be causing this affliction. (Warning to new or soon to be mothers – while this can be helpful, it can also scare you into a state of paranoia if you are not careful).  After research I was pretty certain that it looked to be a blocked tear duct – fairly common among infants. However, at the next feeding we noticed that the eye was getting progressively worse and was taking on characteristics listed on line as needing medical attention. We headed to the Children’s Urgent Care.

So at 11 days old we are in urgent care with a nurse who states that he is her youngest patient ever! Great! Glad we got that award. After a one-and-a-half-hour wait we saw a doctor who did a culture of the eye and gave us antibiotic ointment to apply over the next few days until we could get in to see our doctor. Of course part of her advice was that if it got worse we should go to the Emergency Room. Turns it was conjunctivitis or pink eye, hmm, not sure where he got that!

I should mention at this point that about every half an hour I broke down in tears. What should we do? Did I cause the infection? Was it going to cause permanent eye damage? Was I missing other signs and symptoms? Was he in pain? How could I make it all go away? Of course, Ben was amazing. Comforting me, helping me out, applying the medicine and taking care of Isaac when I just couldn’t take looking at the infection any more.

By Monday afternoon all was back to normal again. We continued applying the ointment and by Tuesday you couldn’t even tell that there had been a problem. Thank the Lord! One medical emergency down, an infinity of others to go! I sure hope I toughen up a bit.