At the previous hospital I worked at, we gave Amoxicillin and Gentamicin; whereas where I work now we give Benzylpenicillin (Penicillin G) and Gentamicin - (the BenPen/Amox are very effective against strep while the Gent is a good broad-spectrum antibiotic) just the doctors' preference really. Anyway, those (the BenPen and Amox) are penicillins. As they are given IV, they do not need to be given for very long (a few days). However, at both hospitals, we would test the Gentamicin (which is an aminoglycoside) levels, as it can build to toxicity if left unchecked (deafness is a side effect of the toxicity, if I remember correctly). I'm sure your hospital will have it's own protocol for keeping an eye on the levels to ensure this doesn't happen. I've never known a baby to have problems with it, as it is standard procedure to monitor the Gentamicin levels.
