Thanksgiving "Vacation"

I knew going into Thanksgiving this year that things would be different. We had a kid now, which meant no more lounging by the TV watching the Lions lose another Thanksgiving day game, less time to enjoy the feast, and no time to fall asleep on the couch in the traditional post-dinner coma. Wow, did I underestimate the "fun" we'd have on Thanksgiving.

Owen still manages to smile through the pain

Don't get me wrong. It was great to see everyone, especially my nieces who change so much in a year and Sam, my newest niece, who I was meeting for the very first time. What I wasn't prepared for was Owen being sick the ENTIRE TIME.

We got in a little past Owen's bedtime on Tuesday night and so we attributed his foul mood that evening to him being overly tired. On Wednesday he was still a bit out of sorts, but we figured he was adjusting to a new environment and was a little off of his schedule. However, by Thursday, something was definitely wrong. Our little guy, who is usually very pleasant and thoroughly enjoys life, was crying all the time, sleeping way more than normal during his naps, and not eating his normal amounts.

Fortunately for us, Ali, our sister-in-law and our hostess for the weekend, is a pediatrician. Talk about being lucky when you finally decide your kid is sick and it's Thanksgiving Day. Ali took a look at his ears and said he had an ear infection in his right ear. First ear infection. Great.

Needless to say, we spent Thursday through Sunday dealing with a baby who had an ear infection, a runny nose that wouldn't stop, and a developing cough. Throw all that together with him being in a new house, sleeping in a Pack 'n Play instead of his normal crib, and meeting 30-40 new people and it was definitely a Thanksgiving to remember.

On Sunday evening, after we arrived back home, Owen seemed to be getting much better. But he wasn't done yet as we found out on Monday when at 4:30 he started shrieking in pain. We ended up at the pediatrician 90 minutes later where we were told that the ear infection had moved to his left ear and was more inflamed than the right one ever was.

Finally, today, Thursday, after 7+ days of being sick, Owen returned to daycare and seems to be feeling much better. Bridget and I were able to have a normal day at our jobs, which was also quite welcome after the last week.

Funny thing is it that after all everything that happened I still had a great time at Thanksgiving with Owen. Even when he's sick, he's still on hell of a kid and I'm already looking forward to next year (of course if he decides to be healthy next Thanksgiving that is fine with me).