Okay readers, next time you read in a mommy blog entry something to the effect of, “you know it is really strange…breastfeeding was going along really well for X number of months and now my nipples feel like we are back to the first days of breastfeeding,” I want you to immediately post the comment, “Hmmm, do you think you and your baby could have thrush?”  Seriously, with the amount of mommy blog entries I have read, I would have thought I would have known the signs.  It took me until I was waiting in the doctor’s “well baby room” today playing with Belén when I saw a sore on her tongue to get that something was wrong.  The nurse showed us to our room and I showed him the sore and asked him to add it to the list of things to discuss with the doctor.  Then, after he left and I was waiting for Dr. B, I tried to get Belén to smile big (not hard to do) so I could look in her mouth.  At this point, I noticed that the inside of her mouth was white and then I really started to think something was not right.  It was very convenient that we were already at the doctor so my suspicions were confirmed about five minutes later when Dr. B prodded into Belén’s mouth and said, “oh ya, she has thrush all right.”

She asked if my nipples had been itchy and I said ya, but I just thought they were dry because of Boise’s ridiculously dry weather and that earlier I had thought the problem was from biting.

In a sense, I am relieved because now this breastfeeding problem has a name and it is treatable.  Belén just had her first dose of antibiotic and I just put Monistat 7 on my nipples…lovely, eh?  Do I need to reintroduce the TMI section or what?

Reason Number 456,972 why my husband is the absolute best…he called me from the Save-On Pharmacy asking me which Monistat he should buy for my nipples.  I am new to the anti-yeast cream market so I didn’t know the difference between Monistat 3 and Monistat 7.  I said that probably any of them would work but to ask the pharmacist which anti-yeast cream is for nipples with thrush.

Quick side note, there are certain things that even before I ask Andy to do them, I know for an almost absolute fact that he will not do them…like certain grocery items I know he will forget or things I ask him to tell daycare that I know he won’t.  It is funny but I knew even before I asked him to ask the pharmacist that he wouldn’t do it, but for some reason I still asked.  Can you blame the guy for not asking the pharmacist about vaginal cream for nipples?

He soon brought home Belén’s antibiotic and a box of Monistat 7.  I read the box and said, “honey, this says that it is vaginal cream…did you ask the pharmacist if this is the right one with thrush-ridden nipples? (knowing full well he didn’t.)” He said that he did not and that he could go back to the store and look again but that he had looked through all of the Monistats and they all said vaginal cream.

I said, “lets look online and see if Monistat works for nipples with thrush.”

He replied, “I am just going to call the doctor and ask.”

Reason Number 456,973 why my husband is the absolute best…he called the male nurse to ask if Monistat was okay for my nipples.  Turns out it is.

So now Belén and I are on the mend although from everything I have read, thrush is nasty to get rid of because we basically just keep passing it back and fourth to each other.  We need to be extra careful and sanitize everything her mouth touches (which is EVERYTHING she can get her hands on.)  We also can no longer have a bottle carry over for two feedings which I know they do at daycare.  So in short, this is not going to be the most simple bacteria to kick to the curb.

Where did she get the thrush?  My bet is on daycare.  On at least one occasion I have seen a pacifier that was not hers in her mouth.  Supposedly they keep everything really sanitary and it does smell like bleach water in there, but honestly on the days when there are five little babies, I think some things fall through the crack like a pacifier swapping or two.

Believe it or not, this was the easiest of the three difficult parts of  her six-month appointment today.  We discussed food and that was educational.  Of course the appointment ended with a semi-dramatic shot session.  Poor thing must have been pricked five times, it broke my heart.  BUT, the thing that has me a wreck is the other agenda item.

Measuring the baby’s length, weight and head size at each appointment seems like a harmless thing to do.  It is fun to talk about percentiles that little Johnny was when he was a baby, etc.  It turns out that if the numbers don’t add up, they can be concerning to the doctor which quickly becomes concerning to the parents.

This is the situation we find ourselves in as I type this.  Belén’s head size has gone from the 43rd percentile when she is born to the 97th percentile today.  This rapid growth of head size can be caused by something bad happening inside her head.  I am refusing to go an research this on the Internet because I don’t want to freak myself out even more, but I do know that this can be caused from something called hydrocephalus.

So, tomorrow at 7:30am, we have a CT-scan to determine if and what that potential bad thing is.  I say this matter-of-factly right now, but believe you me, I have been a wreck this afternoon.  So has Andy.  He couldn’t join me for her appointment but when he called to find out how it went, I could tell by his response on the phone that he felt like someone punched him in the gut.

If there is a problem, it is likely to be hydrocephalus, but it could be a host of other things.  My dad came by the house briefly when we were home from the appointment to do his own well baby check and to feel if the soft spot on her head was bulging at all which is apparently a symptom of hydrocephalus.  In my dad’s stint in pediatrics, he said he had ordered this test six times and it was always negative, which is slightly comforting, but honestly nothing is very comforting until we know if our baby is okay.

Andy reminds me that it is what it is and we will deal with it, whatever it is.  But I do hate this period of waiting and not knowing.  I can deal with information, but I cannot deal with not knowing.  As a new parent, you quickly realize that you would give anything for your child to grow up and be healthy and happy.  This situation is a good reminder of that.

So, wish us luck tomorrow…keep us in your thoughts/prayers, whatever it is you do. Hopefully she just has her dad’s big noggin genes to make room for lots of smart brains.

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