It all started with a runny nose on our baby that popped up a couple of days after hanging out with three other children with colds. Not surprising. But it's come and gone and come and gone. Turned into a cough, then throw in some teething action - without producing any teeth - make the runny nose go away, the cough get a little better, then a fever for three days, then the cough get worse, and worse yet, then the runny nose and snot all over the place come back with a vengeance, and on, and on, and on. That's Sebastian's story. And that's where we are with him now. Humidifier. Nasal saline (he LOVES this). Tissues. Burp clothes. Vaseline. Tylenol. Motrin. And more of all of the above. Oh yeah, there were some homeopathic teething drops in there somewhere, too. It seems like it will never end. Last night seemed like the worst. Poor little Seb kept waking up because he couldn't breath. He seemed so helpless, sad and pathetic. It broke my heart. And there I was trying to mother him as best I could, all the while polishing off an entire box of tissues. Geez. It was tough to have a bad night. We were both very tired, and I was feeling total blah. We had had three nights of awesome-ness just before the regression last night. Check this out: our little boy slept from 8pm til 6am three - count it, three - nights in a row! Ahhh... such bliss! And such a blessing. We were thankful for the break, because the three nights prior to that, he had been up every few hours. It almost felt like the first few weeks of his life all over again! And then there was the breakthrough. Ahhh...so good while it lasted.
Timmy - fortunately - seems to be on the mend. We hope. He had been coughing since December 23rd, and it finally started to sound deeper in his chest and more wet. He was coughing all night long. For weeks. He would wake me up, and occasionally wake Seb up, despite multiple attempts at curtailing the cough with a variety of medicinals and home remedies. I asked one of my partners and friends to call in a prescription for a Z-pak on Tuesday. After a month, I guess he finally felt worn down enough to consider it. Nothing else had worked. Tim started taking the antibiotics the next day. He doesn't recall ever taking antibiotics before. Ever. Yowsers! Forty years and no antibiotics? At least that he remembers... He did have his appendix out at one point, so I'm pretty sure he got some in the OR. And maybe when he got his wisdom teeth out? Who knows! Point is, he's almost done with them, and he's been seeming so. much. better. Not 100%. But better. He's not up all night long coughing, which is huge. Huge.
And then there's me. I feel like I take one step forward and two steps back. I've had the hacking and congestion that everyone else has had. It was a dry cough with a sore throat. Then one day it was total body aches, fatigue, a headache, chills, then a fever, which broke in the middle of the night, and I woke up drenched. Then the light at the end of the tunnel. Slowly, but surely, I was starting to feel better. Until four days ago. When it all started again. This time with a leaky faucet, i.e. my nose, that wouldn't stop running, congestion, and a bit of a cough (still lingering). The trash can is overflowing with tissues, and I've put vaseline on my raw little nose. And my options for what I can take are a bit limited because I'm nursing. I'm probably more strict about it than I really need to be. But everything that goes into my body has the potential to be passed on to Sebastian, and I take that really seriously. So I've been sticking with the box of tissues and some Ricola lozenges.
We took Seb to the doctor's yesterday. His first "sick visit." I needed another set of eyes. Objective eyes. And we love Dr. Donna, so it was nice to have a visit anyways. We were given the option of getting a chest X-ray, treating him with antibiotics, or waiting it out a little while longer. We decided to continue watching him to see if he improves or worsens. Of course, last night he came up with a whole new list of symptoms. Perfect timing - wait til after the doctor's appointment to spice up the story a little bit more. But, he hasn't had more fever since two weekends ago. His lungs sound clear, he's eating well, and gaining wait. Yesterday he was a whopping 19lbs, 1oz! He continues to laugh and smile and be the same happy baby he always is. What an excellent reminder he is for us! In the midst of feeling lousy, he's capable of finding and expressing JOY. It would be an amazing world if everyone had the ability to laugh and smile like my precious little baby, even in the midst of illness. Simply amazing.
So, I'm pretty sure this is all probably viral - one virus after another with many faces, shapes and sizes, being passed from one of us to another and back again. But it's getting old. So please, Mr. Germs. Please, please, please go away. We've tolerated you long enough. And we're ready to bid you farewell. Goodbye. Oh, and you can leave the rest of my family alone, too. Every last member of my family - with the exception of my M-I-L and F-I-L - has been sick in some way or another over the past month. So go away. Thanks. PS. We need you to go away before we go away. Seb + sick on his first plane ride = disaster.
Oh, and just so you don't think you're gonna get a post without a picture, here's Seb loving his new car seat. I'll have tell you the new car seat story some day. Good times. :) 
