Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Updates

Sickness update:

David had his first cold when he was just weeks old, and he has tended to have lots of respiratory infections these first 10 months. He has also been somewhat wheezy several times during these colds, but I've always hesitated to take him to the doctor, not confident that it truly was wheezing. But over the weekend, I encountered wheezing that I was certain constituted a trip to the office. He was concerned, and gave him a breathing treatment and sent him home with a nebulizer. I know that this is not uncommon, but I feel like this is unchartered territory for me. The most concerning thing is that the pediatrician said that we will keep an eye on it over the next year, and that if he continues in this pattern, he may have asthma. We don't have any family history of asthma, and hopefully that will not be the case, but I am completely unfamiliar with the condition. What does it mean if he has it? I know I can google it, but we all know where that leads: unnecessary freak-out. So any personal experience to share?


Katy quote update:

*She just realized what it means to say, "My name is Katy. Jack's name is Jack. Aunt Mel's name is Aunt Mel." So Brian asked her, "What is Mommy's name?" and she said, "Mommy." So he asked, "Yes, but what does Daddy call her?" She replied, "On the phone."

*She's also getting in touch with her emotions. One of her most frequent uses is to say, "I'm sad." Sometimes she really is sad (crying that she has to take a nap, etc), and sometimes she is saying it because she recognizes that it grabs our attention: "I want cookies, Mommy, because I'm sad!" The other night she woke up crying as if she had had a bad dream, and I was trying to calm her down. After a few minutes, she was still crying, and she told me, "Mommy, I'm still sad."

Cuteness update:

David has learned to give kisses. It is absolutely the sweetest thing in my life right now. If I need a pick me up, I put my baby boy up to my face and pucker up, and he leans in with big open mouth and lots of drool. It's perfect.

The other day he was sitting across the room from me and Brian put him on the floor, he started saying, "Mamamama" and crawled right to me and wanted picked up. That's the first time I've thought maybe he was meaning me. He also waves bye-bye and says "dye".

Big Girl bed update:

Katy's doing pretty well in her bed at night. She falls asleep fairly quickly and doesn't get up except to run and get a doll and climb right back into bed. Naps have been a little more of a struggle. She gets up more easily, and then she keeps waking up after a short period screaming and cranky, obviously not getting the sleep that she needs. I'm really hoping that this is an adjustment period that will work itself out. I need her to nap so I can do my job (let alone maintain my sanity).

7 comments:

Kelsey said...

Hey Em -

I know this is easier said than done, but you can call me in the next couple of days if you want to talk asthma stuff. Harper seems to have it - I'd be happy to discuss, but won't dump it all in your comments section!

Giselle said...

Sorry I never e-mailed you the other day about the nebulizer.

Michael was very very wheezy and couldn't sleep because of his cough. The doctor gave us a nebulizer...I heard him give 2 other people nebulizers while we were there too. And 3 of my friends have acquired one in the last 2 weeks. So I don't know if instead of stickers, the doctor's around here are giving out nebulizers, or if there is just a virus out there that is making everyone wheezy. Sounds like David may have a pre-existing thing as well.

The nebulizer seems to help Michael sleep, but that's about it. He continued to cough and wheeze for about 10 days after we started the nebulizer (I didn't get it until he'd been coughing for a week...so that's more than 2 weeks of coughing all together). I think it was just perscribed to help him get through the course of the virus.

Good luck! If he does have asthma, as least they have at home nebulizers now! My sister had/has asthma (you can ask her at the library), and they used to have to take her to the hospital to get nebulizer treatments. Ugh.

Erin said...

Sorry about the wheezing. That must be scary.

I would feel the same as you, but I can tell you that my Dad grew up with asthma, and it defined his life as a child. That was BEFORE inhalers. When those were released in the U.S. in 1984, he'll tell you it completely changed his life. We have great drugs these days that keep asthma under control with practically no real side effects.

Still, as a parent, I can imagine your worried.

JD Long said...

Its awesome that you recognize the need for sleep. I am of the general impression that LOTS of kids don't get enough sleep. Next time you are second guessing your parenting, be sure and remind yourself that at least your kids get enough sleep. At least that's how I rationalize things to myself. Your millage may vary.

Pam said...

Em, Do you have a humidifier in his room? I think it helps. The air quality around here is terrible too, which doesn't help (there's even a soot warning for tomorrow!) I'm hoping he's okay.
Katy is a hoot! I showed her singing video to Jack and then spent the next hour watching it ("again, again, again!"). Naps are always a struggle for us but he can't get out of his room (yet) so eventually he falls asleep. Once he masters the door knob I think it'll all be over ..

bluedaisy said...

Hopefully you don't have to worry about asthma but it's good that you are tuned into David & are getting him the care he needs. That may be a small reassurance but it's important! All the cuteness in your post- where to begin? I love Katy's comments and I must say that this will be the ONLY time in David's life when an opened-mouthed, drooley kiss is the key to someone's heart. I love those first kisses!

Anonymous said...

EM!
My mom has had asthma her whole life. It's completely controlled with an inhaler.

Will's dad has exercise induced asthma, but it is also easily controlled with an OTC. He was on the track team in highschool and adventure races now, so it definitely isn't holding him back.

My friend's 3 yr old was on a nebulizer twice when he was 2, but is fine now.

That's the extent of my contact with asthma. Hope it helps!
Love, Jen