Love and Cuddles

For the last 48 hours, Brian has been just miserable.

His normal, calm demeanor has been replaced by very irritable behavior. He refuses to be put down for even a few moments, and he frequently demonstrates ear-piercing shrieks of pain. Last night, he cried hysterically for 2 hours straight, woke up at 1:00am for comforting, and then began another long crying jag at the crack of dawn.

All the signs of another ear infection. And so, this morning, we headed off to the pediatrician's office.

I was quite proud of the girls. They have been eagerly awaiting a live-animal show at the public library, scheduled for 10:30 this morning. Since that was the exact time of Brian's appointment, I gently informed them of the change of plans. There were a few teary eyes, but when I asked them if they would like to go to Grampy's house while I took Brian to the doctor, they quickly perked up.

"Grampy has cookies!!!", they cried. "And vegetables in his garden for us to pick!"

So, after dropping the girls off at Grampy's house to enjoy a morning of cookies and carrots, I headed up the street to Brian's doctor. We were whisked into an examining room, and his jolly doctor quickly diagnosed double ear infections. Within 10 minutes, we were out the door with our prescription for Amoxicillin.

Brian cried the whole way home. He took his first dose of antibiotic at lunchtime, and then proceeded to fuss his way through the afternoon. He wailed during dinner, and screamed while Dan put the girls to bed. But then, I remembered something.

When Brian was only a few weeks old, and frequently crying during the evenings, he used to enjoy a lullaby CD that we bought when Beth was a baby. So tonight, while Dan read stories to the girls, and listened to their prayers, I located the CD and popped it into the stereo. I held Brian close while the music played, and slowly, I felt his little body start to relax. His sobs grew softer, and finally, he put his head down on my shoulder and fell asleep. Every few minutes, he would let out a little moan, but he finally grew completely quiet.

I gently sat down on the couch, and held my little boy close. I could feel his soft hair on my cheek, and I just enjoyed some much-needed quiet time with my son. I'm hoping and praying that the antibiotic begins to work soon, so that my little guy can feel better again, but until then, it's my job to sooth and comfort him.

And sometimes, even while sick, he's the one that sooths and comforts me.