I had sort of been dreading Christmas since our first visit to a pediatricians office. We went to several open houses before picking a pediatrician. At the first of these meetings the doctor pointed out that our babies would be very much at risk of catching a cold or flu during Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings. Her suggestion was to use a front carrier and that way people would have a harder time touching the baby. Well...that might be a nice thought but Reese is the first grandchild on both sides and you’d think that she was the Princess of Sheeba the way all the relatives carry on. So...keeping people from touching her was not really an option.

We dodged a bullet at Thanksgiving. We were around some relatives with a stomach virus but didn’t catch it. We weren’t so lucky at Christmas. Lots of people were sick with colds. By Wednesday after Christmas she started showing cold symptoms. We were going out of town that Thursday for a week in the mountains so I called our pediatrician to see what we should do. She said to look out for a high fever, fussiness, or labored breathing. We had none of the above so we packed up and headed out. (by the way, packing up took 8 and a half hours but that’s a story for another time) Friday morning Reese vomited but I didn’t think too much of it. Saturday night after I fed her at 6 she vomited. I had fed her again around 9pm and 9 of us were about to sit down to a fantastic New Year’s Eve dinner and she really erupted again. So, now I was worried. After a call to the pediatrician he still said not to worry too much but I decided on Sunday we would go home and take her in to the doctor’s office on Monday morning. When she woke up at 4am on Monday morning she was so congested she could hardly breathe and was turning grey. The doctor said to take her to the emergency room. The diagnosis there was RSV.
It’s a virus that shows up as a cold in adults but can cause breathing difficulty in infants. She got a chest x ray which for babies is like some form of barbaric torture. She had to sit on a little saddle and hold her arms over her head while hard plastic was strapped around her body. I had to hold her arms up and this obviously was no fun. The other most traumatic experience for moms of course is to watch their baby get a shot. We added that to the list as they gave her a shot of steroids. To my surprise they wanted to admit us so they could watch her and give her oxygen if neccessary. About a half hour after we settled in to our room she needed oxygen. The nurse put the oxygen tubes in her nose and that didn’t go over very well either. We resorted to holding an oxygen mask just above her face. That seemed to work well even though it gave our arms a workout. The next evening the doctors said we could go home.
It’s amazing how small a hospital room can feel after a little more than 24 hours and I was thrilled to get to go home. The next afternoon Reese starting screaming which is something she never does. So...once again I called the pediatricians. (thank goodness for insurance) We went in and she had an ear infection. She has to take what seems like an enormous amount of pink liquid for 10 days. About an hour after I gave it
to her that night she threw it all up again. I have the peditricians on speed dial at this point and another call confirmed that I should give her another dose. That night she slept 8 hours straight which is the longest she’s ever slept.

In the meantime the gift keeps on giving. Both my husband and I now have a nasty cold. Reese is still coughing too so we’re quite a gang. The doctor assured me that we can’t give it back to her so I hope she will continue to improve quickly. He said she most likely won’t get it again until next winter. I’m looking forward to Christmas already. HA.