Doctors: Lots, Maud: Nil

When the nurse comments on your new haircut, it's probably a sign that you've been to the doctor's office too often recently.

A quick summary

• Weeks in question: Two
• Office visits: Four
• Co-pays paid*: Five
• Actual illnesses: Two
• Shots: Three
• Prescriptions issued: Three
• Prescriptions filled: Two
• Pain and anguish: A certain amount

Monday of last week, we went to the doctor because I was afraid Mabel had an ear infection. As she's had a cold For Ever, can't yet blow her nose (she thinks she's doing it, but she's just putting her lips together and blowing out between them to make a noise; she's so pleased with herself at this achievement I hardly have the heart to tell her it's not working), and has a history of symptomless ear infections, I'm always alert to this possibility; and she had said her ear hurt. It turned out there was some fluid and a little redness, but no infection. The doctor gave me a scrip in case it got worse, but I never filled it.

The following day was her scheduled two-year checkup. So we went, she's fine, her ears were perfectly healthy, she got two shots, she looked betrayed, that was that.

Monday of this week, as I may have mentioned, we were there again, this time for both kids to be diagnosed with some very obvious pinkeye. Prescription issued, filled, about 3% actually used. Flu shot for Monkey. More betrayal. Recovery enused. So far so good.

Yesterday - Thursday - Mabel woke early from her nap and, after some standard 'I shouldn't be awake' nursing and moping, suddenly started some serious crying, pulling on her ear, and totally unprompted complaining that her ear hurt. Something about her tone, or her face, or the fact that she'd woken up with a Brand New Iteration of the cold, made me call the doctor's office straight away rather than doing my usual "Let's sit on it and see how she feels in the morning." She was clearly in pain, and I couldn't imagine letting that continue overnight.

Luckily, the pediatrician said that they had a cancellation at 5pm - and with our regular doctor, even. I dosed Mabel up with Motrin (infant ibuprofen) and by the time we got there the kids were in fine fettle, chasing each other up the corridors and happy as clams. I felt a bit silly. Then the doctor found a red and raging infection in both ears. I felt less silly. Poor Mabel.

The Motrin wore off at exactly the six-hour mark each time, and I redosed her twice more last night with happy, not to say miraculous, effects. This morning she didn't need another dose and hasn't yet complained of pain. I have filled her prescription but not yet given her any, since it's every 12 hours so I want to wait till bedtime. (So really I didn't save any time by going to the doctor yesterday, except to give myself peace of mind about what was up and license to dose her to the gills with pain reliever.)

We shall not discuss why Monkey felt it necessary to wake up for the day at 3am and sentence his recently returned, even more recently gone to bed, father to be up with him, playing Go Fish at 4 in the morning. He is now sleeping.

*For my Irish or other non-American readers, I should explain that co-pay is what you pay at each doctor's visit. Your insurance pays the rest. Thus, I am in the happy position of only having to pay $15 every time we go, which means I willingly take them along if I suspect something, for my own peace of mind. If we were in Ireland, where your health insurance covers a trip to hospital but not basics like office visits, I'd be seeing the nice people a lot less often. While everyone agrees that the health system in America is broken, it's not exactly fixed in other places, and this is one of the things I'm very grateful for while I have small children.