Tube Out, Infection In

Magnolia developed a cold a few weeks ago, but it didn't seem to be bothering her too much. Once during our trip to Boise she really started to act irritable and I thought she felt a little warm, but within an hour or so she was busy playing at Grandma Amoo's house and acting fine. Then Saturday evening after all the crazy events were over, she started to really look like she didn't feel well. Zac took her temperature, and sure enough a fever of 1o1. Almost everyone we know is sick, so I didn't think too much of it (and that's a fairly low fever for Maggie, who's fevers usually run around 103). On Monday morning though, she told me that her right ear and throat hurt. I had remembered that Dr. Ally said we'd be lucky if Maggie's right tube stayed in place through the winter (the tubes usually fall out on their own), so I decided to take her in to get checked out. Sure enough, her FIRST ear infection since tubes! And that little tube in her right ear has popped out, and is just hanging out in her ear canal. Her tube in her left ear is still tightly in place. I called Dr. Beck (Pediatric ENT) and her nurse said we won't be concerned until she's had 3-4 ear infections in that ear after the tube has come out, and the tube will eventually just fall out on it's own. We'll be travelling to Boise for her three year well-baby with Dr. Ally in August, and her yearly appointment with Dr. Beck on the same day. Maggie's on her first round of antibiotics to treat an ear infection since she was 17 months old! She's fairly happy one minute, and fairly irritable the next---no real in between. I'm REALLY hoping we don't have to deal with 3-4 more ear infections soon!