Omnicef.

I hate the word. I hate to think if it. Omnicef is the antibiotic given to Brooke for her ear infection, and it has been tough on my little girl.

Before we went to the pediatrician on Wednesday, Brooke was sleeping great and seemed to be feeling great. I got the prescription filled immediately after leaving the office and gave her the first dose that night.

Wednesday night, she seemed to be in more pain, and it seemed like she was teething on top of everything, so I gave her some generic Tylenol. She did not sleep well - she was up several times overnight.

Each night has continued to be the same thing. She falls asleep about 8:15 pm (earlier than her normal bedtime) and sleeps until about 10 - then she starts waking up every 10 minutes or so until midnight (last night, until 2 am!). Then, she'll sleep for an hour or two stretch at a time.

Last night was night #5 of this....so dreadful.

When she's awake during the day, she's cranky and clingy (OK, so maybe she likes to cling to Mommy just a little, but I can normally get her play...and she is ALWAYS smiling and laughing). Her appetite is pretty much non-existent (she used to eat 3 stage 2 jars of food for lunch, now she's only eating 1). Her eyes are puffy and pink from being so tired and crying so much. She's been hitting the side of her head, which she's never done before.

What caused this? I'm pretty sure it's the antibiotic. On Sunday, after 4 nights of no sleeping, I put a call in to the pedi's office. The after hours nurse said that Omnicef can cause diarrhea (we've had some of this too), upset stomach, headaches (I don't know if Brooke has a headache - I'm guessing this is why she's been patting her head, as the patting goes away with Tylenol), restlessness, lack of appetite, and irratibility. She advised that I should call the pedi this morning (which I did, and I'm waiting for a call back - if I don't hear anything by the time they get back from lunch at 2:30, I'm calling again).

I know all antibiotics have side effects, but I really do not like that my girl is not sleeping - how's that going to help her feel better? I'm insistent that they need to change the antibiotic so she can rest and get feeling better.

On another note, Jacqui, Brooke's godmother, was released from the hospital on Thursday, exactly 3 weeks after her bone marrow transplant on 8/5/10!! Please say a quick prayer that she continues to do well and recover from her transplant as well as she has so far - we cannot wait until she's well enough to travel and see us!