Stuffed up

My baby girl has finally succumbed to the big bad bugs out there and caught herself a cold. It started out with a rash. Then a blocked nose and runny nose. I didn't understand it the first time my helper told me about it because she kept saying " Jordan cannot breadth". Anyway, the morning was spent ringing a paediatrician. After an hour of having the phone go unanswered, we drive by the clinic to confirm what we already suspected. The clinic is closed on Fridays. This meant trying to find another clinic while inexplicable anxiety was growing inside me.

Our second stop was far more successful and Baby J got herself checked out. You know the guy's a good doctor when the child is so at ease with him that she starts chattering to him while he feels her nodes and checks out her rash. He declares not much is wrong with her except for the bit of runny nose. He signs off on her weight even though I express concern that she hasn't grown much. Apparently, our daughter is quite comfortable creeping along the 3rd percentile range for her age group but since she can chatter, pick up things, hold her own bickit while gnawing on it and is itching to walk, he doesn't think it's a cause for concern. Neither was the cold.

For most of the day, it didn't seem to bother her but she did get increasingly annoyed that she couldn't breathe through her nose and cried angrily and helplessly. In a bid to stop her crying and clear her congestion, I ran a hot shower at full blast and got Aunty D to stand in there with her, hoping the steam would ease her nasal passages. I'd like to think I helped a little bit there.

Daddy's got her now and she's sleeping on his chest. We found that elevating her helped her breathe and sleep so I suspect we're both going to be sleeping sitting up tonight. I could have left her to Aunty D to care for tonight but I felt this was something Packrat and I should handle. We are, after all her parents and no matter how heartbreaking it is for us to see her in this condition, it's worse for her because she can't even tell us how miserable she feels.

Now, I just have to keep my fingers crossed that Evan doesn't catch it from her.

Update:

Evan's caught the cold and has surpassed his sister in drippy whininess. He couldn't sleep, kept sticking his fingers into his mouth, leading us to think that his throat was itching and coughed a whole lot. I'm going to pray that the cough goes away because I worry that coughs develop into something more.

Packrat didn't get to bed till 2 am and I didn't get to bed till about 3 am or so when we passed His Wakefulness to his grandmother. I suspect child care leave is going to come in useful this week.

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