Warren & I have reached a new parent milestone that we're anxious to leave in the past. We have a sick baby.
I've heard all my mom friends talk and write about the times their kids have been sick, and I knew it would be miserable. But it's hard to imagine what it will really be like, until it happens to your baby.
Rhys' cold started off as a somewhat 'cute' stuffy nose. A few sniffles that we chalked up to teething. But tiny little sniffles didn't last long. They quickly developed into a full on head cold, and four days in he's now sporting a wicked smokers cough on top of it all.
Just imagine all the symptoms we as adults have when we have a head cold & cough. Tired, red, droopy, watery eyes. Eyes that look like they've been crying for hours. A clear stream of snot running out of both nostrils, some crusties lingering on the tip of your nose that dried there while you slept. A forceful, hoarse cough that sounds like something scraping at your lungs from the inside out. Now imagine all those full-size, grown up symptoms packed into a tiny little 18 pound body. It's PAINFUL to watch. Painful to listen to. Painful to know we are doing every thing we can to make him comfortable, and it's barely enough. Saline spray, nasal aspirator, baby Tylenol, humidifier at full blast (his room is like a tropical rain forest), pillow under his mattress to elevate his head ever so slightly, nighttime bottles of warm milk as Rhys tries desperately to keep his eyes open long enough for us to soothe him. He has even dozed off on the change table, out of pure exhaustion.
I know people say sick babies are more 'snuggly', but I wouldn't call it a 'good' snuggly. It's a restless snuggle, mixed with cries of anxiety, booger bubbles and sneezes. It's a snuggle that says 'I want so desperately to sleep...to BREATHE...and even mommy can't help me". WOW. Just writing that makes me tear up.
A trip to the Public Health Nurse 'drop-in' this morning, and we now figure he's mostly likely got a really nasty viral infection that's going around (probably what Warren had when we left on holiday). The nurse said it can last weeks and weeks. So, if I have plans with you in the near future, I may need to bail.
Sweet baby Rhys, get better soon. Mom and Dad love you...
3 comments:
Sorry to hear Rhys is not feeling well. It is hard on everyone in the house. I hope he feels better soon. Let me know if you need anything.
Ohhhh, that picture!! Poor Rhys. It sucks being sick when you're that little because you have no idea what's wrong and have even less of an idea of how to make it better.
Hope he's better soon -- for his sake and for yours. And I second Shawna's offer to bring you stuff -- let us know!!
OMG I want to cry looking at that picture! So sad when your baby is sick. For everyone involved. But, I guess it had to happen some time. Sounds like you guys are doing EVERYTHING to make him comfortable. I'm sure he will get better very soon.
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