So This Is What All the Fuss Is About
How About Two? | May 28For those of you who are regular readers of How About Two?, you know that The Squeaker has been something of an easy baby.
Much like believing that you have the most beautiful baby in the world, I imagine many folks consider their baby the best behaved… even when said baby is screaming, red-faced, at home and/or in public.
But if you’ve spent any time with The Squeaker, then you know that she doesn’t do that. Honestly.
She rarely complains, except to tell us she’s hungry or her diaper’s full. She switches easily between breast and bottle, never met a pair of arms she didn’t like, and she’s as happy sleeping in her room as she is sleeping in ours.
So, in my eyes, my claim of an easy infant has some validity.
Until, that is, this weekend.
By nature, kids are a breeding ground for coughs, sniffles, colds, and other flu-like bugs as their bodies develop the anti-bodies they need to survive as adults. If the Center for Disease Control made regular stops at places where kids congregate – daycares, schools, parks, etc. – they’d shut them down and encase them in concrete like the reactors at Chernobyl.
So it is no real surprise that The Squeaker came home Friday with the onset of a cold. Of course, it is only in retrospect that her symptoms were clues to cold.
Friday, she started having sneezing fits. The Squeaker has always been an occasional sneezer, so when the frequency of the nasal explosions increased, we didn’t think much of it. That night, she became stuffy and congested which we chocked up to laying flat while getting some tummy time in the living room.
[ed. note:she often gets congested laying flat; we normally place bricks under the feet of the crib at one end to elevate her head]
Saturday, we realized she had the crud.
Sneezing, coughing, lung gurgling and all around miserable-ness were the order for the day. She would only sleep in 10 minute increments, and then only while she was being held. The Squeaker felt awful; we felt worse for being unable fix her hurt.
Saturday night was tough for everyone.
P.Pie and I took turns getting up and consoling her in her room. By 2am Sunday, The Squeaker was in our room. By 5am, Squeaker and I were up pacing the house.
Finally, using the vibrating bouncy chair and my own special brand of off key singing, she fell into a fitful slumber at 8am.
[ed. note: I would be remiss in failing to tell you that my motorcycle club had a run Sunday morning. And I went. Let’s just say P.Pie wasn’t happy. In my defense, I was home by 3pm.]
During my absence, P.Pie said The Squeaker slept better, but was still snotty. We (P.Pie, really) kept her comfortable by feeding on demand. Sunday night she spent the entire night sleeping in our room.
Memorial Day saw our Squeaker feeling more like herself. Upon waking, she gave us a her patent-pending gummy smile. She was still a little croupy, but her usual perfect behavior was back.
We’ve known people with babies who have had colic for weeks at a time. I can’t even imagine.
our little one has the signs of her fourth cold ! and shes only 7 months … its hard when they’re sick - unfortunately theres not a lot you can do. spare a though for my cousin and his wife - their 3 month old has had colic since 3 weeks and cries herself to sleep every night
My son Campbell has had a cold for about 12 of his 16 weeks thanks to his older brother Spencer. Make sure you run the humidifier ALL THE TIME. It seems like a little thing, but when it isn’t there, you suddenly realize what a big difference it is making. Also, Take Jorja in the bathroom when you shower and don’t turn on the fan… it’s a surefire way to get her an hour or so of easy breathing.
As a mom of a baby who had reflux and another who had food allergies (who knew a baby could be allergic to lactose), consider yourself lucky to have such an angelic baby. I bet she is saving up the orneryness for her teenage years (:
Good luck!
Heidi from Seattle
Ours slept in their vibrating bouncy seats all night for weeks when they had colds the first year. Use that wonderful piece of machinery until your child no longer fits.
Really? Motorcycle run? Really? Um, you’re no longer allowed to have a life. I think it’s in the fine print on the birth certificate.
If our kid was even the slightest bit sick my wife and I would either panic and run to the doctor, call our mommies, debate, visit Web MD, or eat ice cream until the kid started acting normal again. Why are we parents?