i knew something wasn't right on thursday night. he woke up crying. not really woke up, just crying in his sleep. a "i'm too weak to do anything else" kind of cry. i thought he'd go back to sleep but he didn't.
we spent the night in the rocking chair because he clearly didn't want to lay down. as he half slept on my shoulder, i googled. ear infection. croup. rsv. whooping cough. teething. if it was something that would keep a 7 month old up crying at night, i googled it.
when it was time to get up, i fixed everything just like we were going to school, even though i knew we weren't. i had even sent out the emails already taking care of work appointments and rescheduling meetings.
by 8am we were at the doctors. low grade fever, pink ear, wheezy breathing, coughing, yuck. definitely an ear infection. but we also want to take care of the wheezy breathing which happens to all infants. let's hook him up to a nebulizer and see what happens.
so we did. and for 10 minutes i held a mask up to my first born's face as it blew medicine into his face. at first he was confused. then he was fed up. but it worked. and then we were off to the pharmacy for pink antibiotics and albuterol to gas him up twice a day.
there is no torture like standing for 10 minutes and forcing your first born child to inhale vapors while he screams. it's a long 10 minutes. especially without sleep.
but here we are a few days later and things are getting better. he's sleeping. he still hates the nebulizer. he's not allergic to antibiotics. the fever is gone. his appetite is returning. things are definitely looking up.
my favor part of this particular event was the doctor's office after the nebulizer. our doctor informed me that this would really loosen things up in his chest and it would begin coming out. at which point, as if on cue, he sneezed and coughed. on me. thick nasty yellow snot. on. me.
which i proudly wore the rest of the day on my shirt. i wore it to the pharmacy. i wore it to wal mart. i wore it around the house and walking the dogs. that snot on my shirt was a badge of honor. it said, "i'm a mother. my kid is sick. don't mess with me. i ain't got time. outta my way."
people saw that snot and my bedhead, and literally moved out of my way. it was liberating.
josiah stay attached to me like a little monkey for the better part of 2 days.
and today when he woke up grinning, i knew that we were headed to the other side of it. i haven't been out of the house in 3 days. today i'm going to wal mart. i'm so excited. mainly because it means i have to take a bath. but also because....people....civilization!
josiah spent today on the floor. he was very busy. in fact it was hard to keep up with him. he was crawling like a madman. it started as an army crawl. but then he got confident. he likes to go straight for cords, outlets, and other death traps and choking hazards. all the toys in the world but not at all interested.
he was especially fascinated with an empty diaper box. it's a car. it's a box. it's got holes to look through. it's amazing. you can hide and peep out. it's hilarious. it also made me second guess the items on the Christmas list.
after 5 hours of nonstop on the go, he finally looked at me with sleepy eyes. i took him upstairs and rocked him. he held onto his pacifier with both hands at his chest. like it was very very valuable. we must have sat there for a minute before he was completely asleep. i mean limp. passed out. snoring.
i looked at him. and just like that he was a little boy. his clothes were covered with dog hair and dirt from the floor. his nose was crusty with dried snot. he had lint stuck to the side of his face. and his sweet precious breath smelled like blueberry yogurt.
blueberry yogurt and dirt. that's what little boys are made of.
and before you go calling someone and telling them i have a nasty little boy that i don't keep clean - i totally plan on cleaning him up before we go to wal mart. i'm just not going to wake him up to do it. because i need a shower too and i can only do that when he's asleep. because he's mobile now.
we spent the night in the rocking chair because he clearly didn't want to lay down. as he half slept on my shoulder, i googled. ear infection. croup. rsv. whooping cough. teething. if it was something that would keep a 7 month old up crying at night, i googled it.
when it was time to get up, i fixed everything just like we were going to school, even though i knew we weren't. i had even sent out the emails already taking care of work appointments and rescheduling meetings.
by 8am we were at the doctors. low grade fever, pink ear, wheezy breathing, coughing, yuck. definitely an ear infection. but we also want to take care of the wheezy breathing which happens to all infants. let's hook him up to a nebulizer and see what happens.
so we did. and for 10 minutes i held a mask up to my first born's face as it blew medicine into his face. at first he was confused. then he was fed up. but it worked. and then we were off to the pharmacy for pink antibiotics and albuterol to gas him up twice a day.
there is no torture like standing for 10 minutes and forcing your first born child to inhale vapors while he screams. it's a long 10 minutes. especially without sleep.
but here we are a few days later and things are getting better. he's sleeping. he still hates the nebulizer. he's not allergic to antibiotics. the fever is gone. his appetite is returning. things are definitely looking up.
my favor part of this particular event was the doctor's office after the nebulizer. our doctor informed me that this would really loosen things up in his chest and it would begin coming out. at which point, as if on cue, he sneezed and coughed. on me. thick nasty yellow snot. on. me.
which i proudly wore the rest of the day on my shirt. i wore it to the pharmacy. i wore it to wal mart. i wore it around the house and walking the dogs. that snot on my shirt was a badge of honor. it said, "i'm a mother. my kid is sick. don't mess with me. i ain't got time. outta my way."
people saw that snot and my bedhead, and literally moved out of my way. it was liberating.
josiah stay attached to me like a little monkey for the better part of 2 days.
and today when he woke up grinning, i knew that we were headed to the other side of it. i haven't been out of the house in 3 days. today i'm going to wal mart. i'm so excited. mainly because it means i have to take a bath. but also because....people....civilization!
josiah spent today on the floor. he was very busy. in fact it was hard to keep up with him. he was crawling like a madman. it started as an army crawl. but then he got confident. he likes to go straight for cords, outlets, and other death traps and choking hazards. all the toys in the world but not at all interested.
he was especially fascinated with an empty diaper box. it's a car. it's a box. it's got holes to look through. it's amazing. you can hide and peep out. it's hilarious. it also made me second guess the items on the Christmas list.
after 5 hours of nonstop on the go, he finally looked at me with sleepy eyes. i took him upstairs and rocked him. he held onto his pacifier with both hands at his chest. like it was very very valuable. we must have sat there for a minute before he was completely asleep. i mean limp. passed out. snoring.
i looked at him. and just like that he was a little boy. his clothes were covered with dog hair and dirt from the floor. his nose was crusty with dried snot. he had lint stuck to the side of his face. and his sweet precious breath smelled like blueberry yogurt.
blueberry yogurt and dirt. that's what little boys are made of.
and before you go calling someone and telling them i have a nasty little boy that i don't keep clean - i totally plan on cleaning him up before we go to wal mart. i'm just not going to wake him up to do it. because i need a shower too and i can only do that when he's asleep. because he's mobile now.
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