Sick Baby = Tired Mommy

August 28, 2008 at 11:15 am (Baby, Colds, Family, Sleep) (asthma, Baby, Sick, Sleep)

I realize I haven’t posted in a long time, but I haven’t been up to it.  A recap of the last several days in our lives.

Friday – I finally felt a tooth coming through the bottom gums after Alexis had clearly been teething for a few days.  I also noticed that she had a stuffy nose which I attributed to the tooth.  She slept a bit restlessly but again – tooth.

Saturday – She was more stuffy and congested and sneezing so I was still thinking tooth but I also began to think maybe it was a cold.  She wasn’t napping well all day and I had a very hard time getting her to sleep.  She was so congested that she kept waking herself up.  I used saline drops and the nasal aspirator several times and she finally fell asleep but only for a few hours then woke up and I did it again.  She didn’t sleep very long so I went and got her and brought her into bed and she fell asleep but was restless and I don’t sleep well b/c I’m so conscious of her being there.

Sunday – we drop Marc off at the airport for his trip to Dallas and head to my mom’s house.  I was hoping Alexis would nap in the car b/c she hadn’t slept well but no such luck.  At this point it’s clear that she has a cold.  I had managed to avoid her getting a cold for 6 months but it finally happened.  So she was in good spirits and smiling and laughing and acting happy but sneezing and sniffling and not really being able to breathe.  She went on some errands with my mom and I and we all went to lunch to celebrate my grandparents 58th wedding anniversary.   She napped for a little in the afternoon but I could tell she just wasn’t herself.  Then nighttime came.  I had a feeling it would be a bad night b/c the night before was pretty bad and she had gotten worse so I was prepared.  She drank her bottle and then fell asleep while I was holding her.  I went and put her in her crib as usual and left.  A few minutes later she starts crying.  I go in and clear out her nose and she falls asleep.  Not for long.  15 minutes later she’s awake again.  I can hear that she is so stuffed up she just can’t breathe through her nose at all and she just doesn’t know what to do.  I pick her up and bring her downstairs.  She is miserable.  She keeps closing her eyes and putting her head on my shoulder but then she starts crying b/c she can’t breathe.  It was awful.  By this point she has also developed a cough.  My parents are both downstairs with me and we’re taking turns trying to soothe her and walk around with her but nothing is helping and she is just getting more hysterical b/c she wants to sleep so badly.  I decided to call the Dr after hours line to see if there is anything at all I can give her to help.  They call me back and they said to get a humidifier but that’s all that we can do.  So it’s after 11 by now my mom and I put her in the car and go to the 24 hour walgreens.  After a few minutes of driving she falls asleep – I think the heat and humidity of being outside helped clear her out enough to fall asleep.  I get the humidifier and some soft kleenex and we head back home.  I take the car seat out of the car and set up the humidifier in the room and we put the entire car seat in the crib.  She sleeps like that until about 3am.  I did not sleep b/c I hear every sniffle and cough and I keep checking on her.  So she starts crying and then she ends up in bed with my mom and I taking turns holding her.  Obviously no one got very much sleep.

Monday – I had her 6mo well visit appt that day which I was happy about.  My grandmother comes with me.  Good news.  She’s doing very well.  She’s exactly where she should be developmentally Dr says she’s strong and will probably start crawling soon.  18lbs (75%) and 26in (50%).  Bad news in addition to the cold she has an ear infection.  Lovely.  So we get antibiotics.  We head home and she naps on and off.  Dr says we can use a little bit of Vicks on her chest at night and to buy  Vapor Bath from Johnson’s that will help clear her out a bit.  I do all of those things but she is still miserable and I think she had gotten worse.  Same thing at night she was so so tired but could not fall asleep.  We put the Vicks on her chest and it cleared her up enough to fall asleep.  We decided to keep her elevated and I put her in the swing and I slept on the couch.  I again was barely able to sleep b/c of her sniffling and coughing and moving and making noises.  I dozed on and off until 3 when she started crying and wanted out of the swing.  I picked her and she fell asleep on me and we “slept” like that until 6:30 when my mom came and got her and let me sleep for an hour in bed.

Tuesday – More of the same except now the cough is getting worse and she has a low grade fever and her tummy is bothering her a little from the antibiotics.  Napping is sporadic and she’s not drinking all her milk b/c it’s hard to swallow when you can’t breathe through your nose.  Towards the end of the day I start hearing a wheezing when she breathes.  At first I think it’s from the congestion but the more I hear it the more it’s definitely a wheeze.  Growing up with a father with asthma I’m familiar with that sound and just hoping its not what I think it is.   My dad gets home from work and listens and he hears it too same with my mom.  My aunt comes by to visit and she hears the wheezing as well.  She’s not short of breath so I’m not thinking of going to the hospital but I call the after hours # for her Dr.  They said as long as she’s not short of breath to take her to the Dr the next morning, otherwise she needs to go to the ER.  And to keep her upright.  Ok, so sleeping was more of the same.  She finally fell asleep and my mom says she will take the first shift since she’s not working the next day.  Neither of us wants to put her down b/c we were so nervous about her breathing.  My mom sleeps with her on the couch while I go up to bed.  I was able to sleep for 4 hours then it was my turn and I held Alexis the rest of the night.

Wednesday – I still hear her wheezing so I call the Dr and they said to bring her in.  My mom and I go to the Dr and she hears the wheeze also.  She says asthma is genetic and in addition to my dad having it, my mom did when she was little.  Great.  So the Dr says some babies wheeze like that one time and never again but this could be asthma and we need to watch her.  They give her a nebulizer treatment in the office and send us home with a prescription and to do it 3 times a day.  Alexis is able to take almost a 2 hour nap thankfully b/c she needed it.  The rest of the day is about the same – congestion, coughing, sniffling, whimpering, wheezing.  She is still smiling and in a generally good mood most of the time though which is good but I just feel so bad for her.  So she is still wheezing at night and had some of the same issues getting to sleep.  Once she does, I put her in her swing and lie down on the couch.  She was restless so I knew she wouldn’t last.  She woke up after a couple hours around midnight.  I held her until she was asleep again and then I decided to try and put her in her new bouncy that I just bought (newborn to toddler rocker b/c she outgrew the other one) I recline it back to the newborn position and she seems comfy.  I put it right next to the couch.  She was able to sleep there fairly well.  She woke up a few times and I was able to soothe her back to sleep.  My mom switched with me at 4am and i went up to bed until 7am when she needed to get ready for work.

Thursday – no news to report yet.  She’s napping. 2 hours and counting.  She is obviously tired I am just keeping my fingers crossed that she improves.  She was coughing a lot when she woke up and still very stuffy.  Marc comes home tonight and we go home.  In case you’re counting I have now not slept for 5 nights in a row.  I am exhausted.  My eyes are bloodshot.  This is why I haven’t had the energy for the internet in days.

I will update again on her progress but having a sick baby sucks.