We’ve all been suffering colds – well, me the least and Ian the most – and both Conrad and Jessica have had runny noses and been sneezing, and coughing a bit too. Last weekend I noticed a bit of green gunk coming out of Conrad’s left ear, which made us a bit concerned. But he had no temperature and seemed perfectly happy otherwise, chatting and giggling, and both eating and sleeping as usual (whatever usual is when you’ve only been on the planet for 4 1/2 months…!). Ian phoned NHS Direct to see if there were any concerns that would warrant a trip to the A&E, but the questions they asked to assess the situation put us at ease – Conrad was absolutely fine, apart from the discharge from his ear. So instead on the Monday morning (27th October) I got an appointment for Conrad at our local surgery.
Conrad kept chatting and smiling at the medical student and then doctor, who assessed him, and the verdict was reassuring: there was an infection somewhere in Conrad’s ear, but as he was happy and had no temperature, he appeared to be fighting it off successfully himself. So no need for antibiotics (something we’d rather avoid for as long as possible anyway). I was advised to make a new appointment in a week’s time to have Conrad looked at again. Only a couple of days after the doctor saw Conrad, it looked as if the green discharge had pretty much cleared and I haven’t seen any of it since then. Hopefully that means all is well. Another concern of mine and Ian’s was whether the infection could have affected Conrad’s hearing – hopefully they can check that for us if I make another appointment.
With regards to the weaning, I guess we haven’t got very far, but then it’s not been long since we started. I’ve given Conrad a little bit of pureed carrot for a few days and then parsnip, after he’s had about 2/3 of his mid-morning bottle (there are no regular times for these yet, as his day naps vary a lot still, both in length and when he has them). Not much has stayed in – his little tongue automatically pushes against both spoon and food – but he seems very interested, which always is a good start. The (vague) plan at the moment is to try a few new flavours, and then introduce a little baby rice part-way through his first bottle of the day. Don’t want to rush things – there’s no need to.
Gabriella