Sick Baby

Help! I'm sick, and they are drugging me through this crazy machine...

Brenna was so sick the past couple of days, but she's feeling better and probably even headed back to daycare tomorrow.

Last week she had a mild cough. Nothing alarming. But, then on Sunday night, Jamie and I both could have cried. We never heard our poor baby so sick. She coughed so much I worried that she wouldn't be able to catch her next breath. She was up all night coughing and crying, and when she did take short little naps out of pure exhaustion, they were all while laying in my arms. Any time I tried to lay her back in her crib, she screamed.

Monday morning Brenna and I were both coughing and physically drained. I called myself out of work, and Jamie called Brenna out of daycare. I took her to the doctor at 3:00 after speaking with a nurse about her symptoms. He said there was a definite wheeze in her lungs, and he diagnosed her with RSV (http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/rsv.html). He said he was glad I brought her in and didn't just brush off the cough (which I considered because there is not much to do anymore since all the infant cold and cough medicines were pulled from the market recently).

He told us that RSV is only contagious in the beginning, and the cough might linger, but she should feel healthy again soon.

I was told to put Brenna on a nebulizer and give her albuterol, and I had to bring her back the following day for her regular 6-month-appt. (without immunizations because she was too sick) and to check her lungs again.

Brenna hated the nebulizer, and it was hard to give to her, but she fell sound asleep on Monday night and slept straight through for 12 hours. I thought she was getting better.

Jamie stayed home from work with her on Tuesday, and she was cranky all day but not coughing as much. Jamie and I both took her back to the doctor (it was his first doctor visit with us), and the doctor said that her lungs sounded good, which was great news and meant the albuterol was working.

Her six-month stats were:

Length: 28" in the 95th + percentile
At six months, I was 24" and her giant father was 30"

Weight: 16 lbs. 15 oz. in the 75th percentile
At six months, I was 16 lbs. 1 oz. and my porker husband was 22 lbs.

Head: I forget, but 25th-50th percentile

Brenna has consistently had a small head for her body.

Because it was her six-month-appt., the nurse asked if Brenna could sit supported and roll along with many other questions on her list, and I said yes to all of them. I had to defend myself when I explained how we actually put her on her belly to sleep (Brenna would flip that way within 2 seconds anyway), but I felt the nurse wasn't buying it.

When she left to get the doctor, Jamie said to me, "Why didn't you tell her she can sit unsupported and has been rolling forever!" (Tummy to back for 5 months/back to tummy for 2.5 months). I told him that they weren't impressed by that, they just wanted to make sure she was doing the minimal developmental milestones a six-month-old should be doing.

Brenna must have overheard him because then she decided to show off for them even though she wasn't feeling her best.

The nurse put her chart on the table, and Brenna flipped over immediately. Her eyes became like Beethoven the dog from the movies when he knew food was nearby. She wanted that chart and she wanted it then, and she went from one end of the table to the other in a blink of an eye to get it. The nurse was like, "Whoa!!!! Someone can move! Looks like she is going to be walking early." Brenna then physically fought with the doctor who was trying to check out her eyes and ears, and I had to hold her down to get it done. The doctor commented that she knew what she wanted.

We were given a prescription for more albuterol and flouride (which is not in our water), and we were told it was up to us when we wanted to send her back to daycare. She had been out for over a week, and we needed to work, so we considered sending her back today.

After the appointment, I was talking to my mom on the phone when she heard Brenna coughing through the phone and through her monitor. She said there was no way Brenna could go to daycare yet, and she immediately decided to take off herself to take care of her today. Which worked out great because Brenna was up all night long again on Tuesday night (I slept for 3 hours total). Thanks for helping us, Gram!!

Brenna had a good day, and she seems much better tonight. We are continuing with the nebulizer for another week, but she has not coughed once tonight since going to bed!

Like my nebulizer? It's mine. You can't have it.

Yuck.

I seriously hate this thing. I even like food more!

Mom, I took it for the full five minutes. I'm done now, right?

I'm not even sick.
I'm so strong, I'm going to stand in my pack-n-play to show you!

Thanks for the early Christmas present/pity gift, Mom and Dad!
It tastes like lead.

Hi, Giraffe. I'm Brenna.
We will be seeing lots of each other in the months to come.
Actually, I hope you won't be seeing as much of me and they dress me next time we play.

I'm headed off to bed to pray for a night of sleep and no more coughing - from her room anyway. I've probably coughed 100 times while writing this post. But, I would take it from her in a second, and so would Jamie. It was very hard to watch our baby be sick for the first time, and this is just the beginning!