Long night with the JB

We were up half the night, or so it seemed, with a crying, tossing and turning in pain, Joel. We assumed it was another ear infection, since that's what usually happens with him--no fever, no ear complaints, just crying and thrashing. When you ask him where he hurts, he points to his stomach, his knee and various other body parts, doesn't seem to know where he hurts, just feels miserable. We were correct in our assumption. Early this morning he came in and said, "Mommy, my ear feels better!" His eardrum had burst. Yuck! At least he felt better, though, and at least I didn't have to take him in--pretty obvious what his problem was. I talked the doctor, and they called in some meds for us. We were hoping to make it through the fall/winter season without any Joel ear infections. Our ENT specialist told us if Joel could make it through, he'd most likely be in the clear and wouldn't need another set of tubes. We'll see! We're so glad Aubrey hasn't followed in her brother's footsteps. By the time he was her age, he'd already had at least 5 ear infections and got tubes put in shortly thereafter. I'm feeling very thankful this morning, even with my lack of sleep, for our wonderful doctors (we have some good ones!), for our three healthy children, and for the fact that we're not dealing with anything more complicated than a simple ear infection and the occasional sinus infection.