[kzwief]

Kate had yet ANOTHER re-check on her ears today. :-\ No infection, but she does have fluid in BOTH ears. The doctor says she just wants to watch it, so she wanted to see Kate in another couple weeks. She explained that fluid in ears can cause ear infection because it is the perfect breeding ground for ear infections. Anyone have any more information on this? Or what the next step would be? The Ped mentioned ear tubes. She said she also will probably send Kate to an audiologist to check her hearing. She said that decongestants don't seem to help with the problem of fluid in the ears.

Also, Kate had lost 1 1/2 pounds since coming home, but grown 2 inches. The Pediatrician says if she keeps losing weight we will have to check some things out. All her labs came out fine. The Ped seems to think it is temporary, especially seeing Kate is becoming a VERY picky eater. We were told to offer high calorie, "good for her" food every couple hours instead of expecting her to sit and eat a full meal. Anyone have any ideas?

[mommytoEli]

my ds 5, had fluid like that when he was a baby/toddler/preschooler. his was so bad it actually effected his hearing, which is how he ended up with the first set of tubes. his hearing was noticeably better after they were put in. before hte tubes, i actually thought EVERYONE could take their infants to the movies and the babies would sleep through the whole film. lol. no...it is just when your infant CAN'T hear. lol. tubes were easy...he got them again later about 2 bc he was getting lots of infections, and it was easy again. the hardest part about tubes is both times ds's left ear didn't want to let go of the tube when it was time to come out, and he had to have it surgically removed. but even that was not too big of a deal.

[mcnay1]

We're dealing with this right now with our youngest son. I took him to the ENT yesterday because I wanted to rule out any hearing loss, but low and behold, he has fluid in both of his ears. Now, he is not our ear infection kid and still his ears are not infected now, but he does have some hearing loss from this fluid in his ears. We are in a 6 week waiting period to see if the fluid goes away on its own or if we will need to think about tubes. Our older son had tubes and it was the best thing for him because he did have a ton of ear infections. I kind of wish they would just go ahead and put them in yougest DS so we can start to get his attention again. But, I suppose the waiting is best.

The information on fluid in the ears that I received from our ped was that this fluid is like old water in a bird bath. If it just sits there it will breed the bacteria and that is what causes the ear infections. As people grow up their eustatian tubes begin to slope and be less flat so fluid drains much easier. That is why kids have so many ear infections and then tend grow out of them.

Good luck with this...tubes are not usually a big deal do tend to make things better for the most part.

[joanr]

Just something to try is chiropractic treatment. Sometimes if the tube is squeezed it does not allow for flow and having the neck aligned right can open the tube.


Just a thought to try. It involves no medicine and I have heard that it has worked for some of my friends kiddos who had similar concerns. I am all for trying less invasive options before drugs and surgery!
Good Luck!

[slmgonz]

DS came home a year ago and he's had at least 7 ear infections (most in both ears) and fluid that did not clear. He's had a different antibiotic for each infection.

After learning that the infections/fluid were likely affecting his hearing and speech acquisition (he's had 2 hearing tests and receives speech therapy) DS had tubes put in two weeks ago. BTW, he had 2 ear infections in the time it took to get an appointment with the ENT and schedule surgery.

DS has already had an ear infection since having the tubes put in, but the treatment is different after tubes (antibiotic ear drops instead of oral antibiotics).

Prior to having the tubes DS would lose his appetite and have difficulty sleeping. During his recent ear infection, his ears were visibly draining fluid but he did not have any other symptoms. We went to the ENT on Monday to check the infection/tubes and DS did not have any fluid in his ears. Tubes may not entirely eliminate ear infections, but they help to drain the fluid. The surgery takes about 15 minutes.

FYI, We were told by our doc that most kids have an average of one ear infection in their first year of life and fewer as they get older.

We live in Chicago and love our Peds ENT. PM me if you need her name.

[sheababy]

A friend's daughter had to have tubes because of recurring fluid in the ears-it was bothering her hearing. They said it was great-as they didn't have to keep going back to the doctor every few weeks with fluid/infections.

As for the height/weight thing-I am a new mom and our ped told us when DD was 12 months she was the same percentile on her weight chart but had not grown. She wanted to see her in 3 months to recheck her height. Talk about 3 months of worry!!!

My friends told me not to worry too much as kids have their spurts at different times and don't always line up with the doctor visits. At her 15 month check she had grown 3 inches and was on track.

Now at her 18 month check she gained an inch but lost 1.5 pounds and they wanted me to bring her back now at 21 months for a weight check. She is a healthy happy little girl with chubby legs and a big belly. She is starting to slim out now that she is on another growth spurt. She also hasn't eaten as much at home because she is teething on and off. This kid is always on the go-she will literally run and play for hours at a time. So it is no surprise to me that she has lost a little weight. I do try to feed her calorie dense meals but she doesn't always eat them. She loves to eat anything she watches or helps us prepare such as a ham in the oven we pull out and baste over a few hours etc. I give her yougurt, cheese, meats, Nutri grain bars, bagels, mac n cheese, chicken strips, hash browns, whole grain pasta and sauce etc. I usually take a little of whatever we have left over from dinner and put it in half cup portions to pull out when she tells me she's hungry. I wouldn't worry too much about the weight-she'll come around.

[mevertin]

Hi Kim,
My oldest had his first set of tubes at 9 months and his second set at 21/2. He had fluid in his ears and was constantly shaking his head back and forth like he was trying to clear the fluid. Back in the day (11 years ago) the treatment for fluid was a long-term course of antibiotics. We decided against that because he had been on almost every antiobiotic on the market for the ear infections. After his first set of tubes he had one ear infection right away, then went 15 months without a single infection. It was heaven. He got his second set and only had 2 or 3 before they were removed at 41/2. My third got hers at 12 months. We are getting close to the end of winter so it's possible that Kate will not have as many colds as the weather improves and there is not so much yucky stuff going around. If you decide to go for tubes, it is a very quick procedure. I think it was 5 or 6 minutes from the time they were put under to the time the doctor came out and said he was done. I know anytime you put a child under it is scary but it was pretty quick and easy. Good luck.
Mary
mom to Bobby 11, Bridget 10, Angela 8, Eddie 4 (home from Guatemala in 2005) and Naldo 20 months (home since Feb. 08)

[kellum5]

Kim,
This can be tricky.
DS always had fluid in the ears. You might want to ask for an ENT appointment and get a second opinion.
When last DS came home he had fluid in his ears. It was July and he spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sun. The fluid went away.
Maybe if we EVER get any warm weather in this part of the country Kate's ears will feel better.
She might be just one of those kids who needs tubes.
As far as the weight loss, DS had so many ear infections I am not sure if he lost weight. He did though gain quite a bit when the tubes were in, his color looked better and he was all around a happier child.

[krafmatic]

My guys had repeated ear infections and near constant fluid in their ears for the fours months before they got tubes. Both our ped and ENT said that fluid in the ear does not always turn into ear infections depending on the child's immune system...some kids can just fight off the inevitable bacteria that grow in there.

FYI - neither of my guys had hearing loss from their fluid...unfortunate in a way since we were hoping that was the cause for some of their issues like speech and language delays.

As for the weight, keep an eye on it, but don't get upset. Do your best to get her to eat well and just wait and see what happens. One of my guys had trouble keeping weight on due to the constant ear infections and antibiotics. His digestive system got a bit messed up and he wasn't absorbing the nutrients as well. Once he got tubes, this improved a bit.

[Hopingsoon]

My son also had constant fluid even when he didn't have ear infections - tubes took care of it, and while I thought he was on track with his speech (in terms of a 1.5 year old) and hearing, I noticed an almost immediate difference once the tubes were in; so did his day care workers.

[RGirl]

Like others here, we have been down the ear-tube route. My daughter got repeated ear infections after starting daycare. She was put on an antibiotic each time (something I prefer to keep to a minimum). I got so tired of taking her to the doctor for an ear check literally every time she got a cold that I eventually took her over to a friend who is an audiologist. She determined that she had significant fluid in her ears and gave me a print-out with the results. I took that to my child's doctor (who was already starting to lean toward ear tubes); after he saw the print-out, he referred us immediately to the ENT/surgeon.

My daughter was, I believe, about 21 months old - this was October 2008. At that time, her speech development was within normal range according to her pedi, but she definitely was not saying a lot. She had the surgery on a Thursday morning; by Friday morning, she had said 10 new words. She is now talking in sentences and cracking me up with her new words and phrases every day.

I think the result for us showed that she was having trouble hearing - she could clearly hear what I told her as her receptive language was great, but my audiologist friend explained to me that, with that fluid there, her own voice sounded like she was underwater to her. I was so glad that we went ahead with the tubes!

Good luck in your decisions.

[MamaS]

Spiderman had 12 ear infections in twelve months. After tubes were put in, he had one ear infection in two years. One tube came out on its own, the other was "ingrown" and will be surgically removed next week.
One thing my pediatrician said is that Hispanic children tend to have more earwax than average, which leads to fluid retention. My granddaughter has to use cleansing drops and has her ears irrigated about every six months. Her mother was the same. You might want to ask your doctor about that too.

[tyleredwardsMOM]

Tyler has been having trouble the past 4 weeks and has been on every antibiotic ever....our ped reffered us to our ENT because the fluid was not going any where. ENT said there was no infecton but TONS of fluid in both ears. That was yesterday and we're getting tubes next FRI. ENT said we could wait until spring and see what happened....but that would cause further damage to his ears. She said the odds of the fluid going away on its own is very slim. BTW, this was only his 3rd infection since coming home 1/08.

[KMatthews]

Kim when Zack first came home he had fluid in his ears also, his Dr put him on meds for it. When I went back for another round of shots I had her check his ears because he had been pulling/playing with them. She said everything was OK and looked really good and clear. She said he must have just discovered he had ears...LOL
I hope Kate is feeling better soon, I feel so bad she has been sick off and on....I hope they figure out what is causeing all her ear problems.
I know my brother had alot of trouble with this when he was younger and they ended up putting tubes in his ears and it helped him so much.

[Chinook]

My daughter is a peanut - at 27 months she weighs 23 pounds. She's petite, but we worrry a lot about her weight. Whole milk yogurt or greek yogurt (which is high in fat and calories). Works for us. Ally will only eat one flavor, so you might have a to try a few until you find one Kate likes.

We also do a lot of small meals and snacks thru out the day and never limit what she eats. Basically if she says she is hungry she can eat. Ally loves fruit, but its not very high in calories so we give her lots of crackers and even cookies if she asks for them (which she does not do very often).

My daughter loves french fries, so we get those Alexia ones in the organic section of the store, they make sweet potato and waffle fries, they are a bit healthier than the regular kind.

Good Luck with the eating thing and the ears.