Pnemonia

We had our first experience with a sick baby and it was so sad. Reese seemed fine when we put him to bed, he had coughed a few times that evening but we didn't think much of it. Then in the middle of the night he woke up screaming. Edward and I tried to calm him down but he was inconsolable. I've never seen him like that before so I panicked and we rushed him to the ER. Just as they were calling him back he puked (a lot) several times in a row (filled his car-seat with a giant puddle of ick) and seemed to feel a little better after that. After being swabbed and x-rayed they determined he had a pneumonia and double ear infection. Poor little guy. They put him on antibiotics and we alternated Ibuprofen and Tylenol for several days. His pediatrician also put him on Albuterol breathing treatments which really seemed to help.

We normally don't let him watch TV, but since he was feeling so crummy we figured anything to take his mind off it, plus it helped distract him during his breathing treatments so he'd keep the thing in his mouth. We found he loves anything cultural (like this video clip on the Kyiv Ukraine Temple youth celebration, or this Sesame Street clip on China) and of course YoGabbaGabba (semi-weird show sweeping the nation one kid at a time :).

I just have to give a shout out for nursing, it truly is amazing. Reese has top and bottom teeth now so I had cut way back and was just nursing him during the night when he was too sleepy to bite me ; ) I had really mixed feelings about weaning him off, on one hand it is such an amazing bonding experience, but on the other hand sometime in the near future we would like the option of being able to get pregnant again. Anyway, while he was sick I started trying to pump/produce more. After he'd been sick for about 5 days with not much improvement, I got sick also with similar symptoms (Who knew I could catch baby germs?). I was only really crummy for a day or two, but as soon as I started getting better, Reese did too. Maybe it was just coincidence but I felt like my body was passing it's newly formed antibodies to Reese and giving him that extra little boost he needed to fight it off. Plus nursing is cheaper (formula is expensive +less dirty diapers), healthier for baby and Mom (reduces chances of Breast cancer, helps you lose weight) etc. When my fertility treatments didn't seem to be working and we were considering adopting, I thought a lot about the mothering experiences I would miss out on, and so I think I treasure the experience of nursing more than I might have otherwise. Reese seems to be back to normal now and we are so relieved!