First (little) Freak Out

I agree with your mother when she says it is amazing how fast you become a worrier as a parent.  Two weeks ago we didn't really have a care in the world.  Even though we knew you would be coming, we slept at night not knowing what dangers and possible problems lay in wait for our little precious child.

Last night was the first time I started to get a little concerned about your well being.  Of course when I am bouncing you there is always the thought in the back of my mind that I will hit your head or drop you, but I know most of that is irrational.  Last night was a serious cause for concern.

There was goop in your eye!

I know, I know it doesn't sound serious but there were other circumstances that added to the worry.  The eye had been filling up with more and more gunk even after we kept cleaning it.  You slept most of the day, which for you is VERY unusual at this point.  You didn't eat well, also highly irregular.  And even worse when your mom tried to feed you, you would eat for a minute or two and then come off crying.  You usually pass out eating!  Needless to say crying is quite a departure from quietly slinking into slumber.

So what did we do?  Well I had resolved to call the pediatrician in the morning if things had not cleared up or gotten better.  (Your mother and I had both taken naps so I felt we were well equipped to handle a long night if need be.)  But your mom decided why wait to call the pediatrician when we could do it now (10:30PM).  So we did.

I called the on call number and left a message for someone to call back and an RN (registered nurse) called back and walked through your "symptoms" with me.  She said the eye was a simple eye-infection that lots of babies are prone to.  Makes sense since your hands are ALWAYS up by it, often pulling your cheek down or even sticking your fingers in it.  She said the screaming was probably another battle with gas, like the first few nights we had you home.  She suggested the Mylicon again and possibly a hot pad for your tummy.  FYI - The hot pad idea didn't work as well as I had hoped.

With the nurse's assurance that all was well unless certain problems persisted, we continued trying to feed you and get you to sleep.  And sleep you did from 12:30AM until sometime after 3AM.  I wouldn't know your mom woke up and took care of you before you really started crying so I slept through it all.  The next time you and I were both awake you had a good breakfast and seemed to be on the mend.  Your eye is still a little red and swollen, but the goop is gone for the most part.  Now your eye is just a little extra moist.

To illustrate here is a before and after:

And for those who feel the need to ask stupid questions - No we did not hit you or cause physical harm to come upon you in any way.  It is/was an infection.