Over-reacting parents

We picked up Bruno, our vizsla puppy, on a Thursday evening and took him to the vet the next day for a check-up to ensure he was healthy. He checked out and was officially welcomed into our family. But later Friday evening, I noticed that Bruno was messing with his ears. And then I saw a spot of white on his front right leg - and our vizsla breeder told us that white on vizslas' coats often correlated with blindness. So Saturday morning I called the vet to see about his ears and made Cas ask about his white spot. They assured us he was fine.

But that vet call made me concerned that I would one day be a pediatrician's worst nightmare. And yesterday we made our first of what I'm sure will be many false alarm trips to the doctor.

Poor Collin started showing signs of a cold on Sunday and had developed a low-grade fever yesterday. He was extra fussy and on several occasions was grabbing his ears. We called the pediatrician's office and they recommended bringing him in for a visit, so 10 minutes later we piled in the car. He was fine - no ear infection, just a cold. The doctor did reassure us that even with his own sons, he was only a little better than 50-50 in predicting whether or not they had an ear infection.

It will be nice when he can articulate that his ear hurts or that he just feels bad. Until then, I'm sure we'll be dropping many $20 co-pays for peace of mind.

Here are some shots of Collin last week. Grandma Libia had him grinning away.

And then he discovered his foot. I'm sure it won't be long until they're in his mouth.


And finally looking like a big boy in a newsboy hat from Amber.