Everybody's a Comedian

Benjamin got his foot and ankle braces today. They're basically just little plastic boots, with padding inside, that slide into his shoes and go on over his socks. So far, he is not thrilled. I will go shopping later for shoes to fit over the braces. We will attempt to have him wear them one hour today, two tomorrow, and gradually work up from there until he is wearing them whenever he is awake. I am also supposed to be on the look-out for "red spots"-- anywhere the braces might need to be adjusted so they are not rubbing.

I also took Elisabeth to the doctor today. As suspected, her cough is just a cold (maybe a couple colds back-to-back) and she has now infected the rest of us. The pediatrician also said Benjamin's recent fever was most likely a reaction to his MMR vaccine. We had a nice chat about cold medicines and fever medicines... and why the doctor is not a big fan of either. She said even medicating for a fever is really more for the comfort of the child-- or the mom-- and is unnecessary unless the fever is significant (at least 102.5.) I asked about my medicine-puking kids, and she suggested asking at the pharmacy for Tylenol suppositories. She said just to keep some on hand in the event of a high fever, but, otherwise, to let the bug just work itself out, because fevers are beneficial and actually help kids get better faster.

I also told her about last week's visit to the ophthalmologist. She was glad to hear all went well. I had to tell her the eye doctor's little "FLK" line... Of course, she already knew it, because it is common medical terminology. She pointed out that most parents are unaware there is actually a hereditary cause of FLK-- It's called FLP. I'll let you figure it out.