Infectious

If you were in Vegas this week, betting on Jack's illness, and you put your money on the three-team parlay of fever, conjunctivitis and an ear infection, you are now a gazillionaire.

Please cash in your chips and leave while you are ahead.

The pediatrician took one look at Jack's yellow-oozing, crusty eyes and made the call of conjunctivitis. He then said the with a cold and fever, conjunctivitis is usually teamed with an ear infection.

After removing a small mound of ear wax from his ear so he could just look in it, he exclaimed, "And there's the infection."

At least I think that's what he said because all I could clearly hear was my baby screaming bloody murder in my ear while I held his hands down so his ears could be inspected.

We walked out of the office with two prescriptions for antibiotics and eye drops 10 minutes after we breezed in to start the visit. That's what I call service!

So we spent the afternoon indulging Jack in whatever he wanted. Looking at his disgusting gunky eyes, with the little dark circles under them, and his red, stuffy nose made me want to hug him.

He played and smiled like always, but he also wanted a lot of cuddling. Which was the tipoff he was really sick. Normally, this kid wants nothing to do with cuddling. Even when he wants to nurse, he's more apt to peck me or headbutt me and try to suck my chin, than to bury his face in my shoulder.

So we took lots of walking laps around the house and I let him nurse as much as he wanted and he took a nap on my lap in the afternoon. Wait -- that's not different from any other day, even when he's in perfect health.

But I am telling you, I feel so letdown. My breastfed, non-daycared baby is sick. This isn't supposed to happen. He's supposed to live in some breastmilk bubble where all the children are sniffle-free for the rest of their lives. Shouldn't I get a refund or something?