#sickliness

Judah is sick again. We took him to the Dr and they said it's probably just a cold. They weighed him and he weighed 13 lbs and 7 oz. That kinda worries me because he weighed 12 lbs 4 oz in March. So he has only gained 1 lb 3 oz in 2 months...that doesn't seem normal. The Dr. didn't say anything about it though so I guess I have nothing to worry about. We have been giving him Tylenol around the clock. His ears and nose were so stuffed up that he was having to sleep sitting up in order to breath. His sleeping arrangements were either my chest or in his car seat. He has always fallen asleep with his pacifier but because he is stuffed up he hasn't been able to use it. Last night, however, he was able to sleep propped up in his crib and slept all night long. That meant that I was able to sleep all night long. It's amazing what a good nights sleep can do for you. Judah has been pretty cheery all day and I have had the energy to play with him. The Dr said that infants colds usually run in 5 day cycles so hopefully he will be all better soon. Either way, I think we have seen the worst this time around. I'm glad it's the weekend and Dadda will be home with us. It's nice to have a helper when your head feels like it's full of cement.

Judah is beginning to turn the corner and I believe he will be feeling right as the mail very soon. Last night he didn't sleep great, but he did sleep. Matthew was my knight in shining armor as he got up at 4 am with Judah so I could get a bit of sleep. I had been up with him just about all night so sleeping 3 hrs felt pretty darn good. I woke this morning with a thick fog over my brain. Not sure if its the cold medicine or the 700 cubic feet of mucus that has taken up residence in my head. Trying to think is impossibly hard and takes longer than it should. It's like the lights have been dimmed so that all I can see is a shadow of my thoughts. Isn't that how it goes though? One gets sick when the other gets better. Though Matthew rarely gets sick (see sweetie, I didn't say never) so I'm sure he will be spared. I'll post more when the lights come back on. For now, enjoy this video:

So we went to the Dr at 2:45 today to see what was going. They got us back pretty fast and the nurse was awfully sweet with Judah. She could tell Judah was feeling pretty off. She asked the run of the mill questions about his symptoms and took his temperature. When the Dr came in, he looked Judah over and noticed some red splotches on his back and upper chest. He asked me if they had always been there and I told him that I knew he had a spotty birth mark on his back but that I wasn't sure about all the other spots. I felt like an idiot. What kind of mom isn't observant enough to know what splotches her child has and doesn't have??? The Dr decided to do a blood test and mucus test to narrow down what he actually had. When he came back, he said the blood test was positive for a virus called RSV. He also said that he has seen some 10 cases of RSV in the past week. I told him that I was pretty sure he got it in the nursery at my bible study. He asked me where I went to bible study and when I told him, he said, my wife goes to that bible study and our 3 yr old started showing symptoms this past weekend. I told him about the kid with the runny nose and wheezy chest. He just sighed. I guess he feels the same way i do about taking sick kids out in public. Oh well. So he said that RSV can cause vomiting, high fever, and chest and nose congestion. Judah hasn't vomited yet, but the Dr said he might not have the strongest strain of the virus so he might not get the vomiting part. He sent me home with a nebulizer and told me to do it 3 times a day for a week. He also suggested Tylenol before bed. He said the life is 7-10 days. I certainly hope it doesn't last that long. It's so sad looking into his sweet eyes. He's so sick. Anyone have any experience with this?

Drippy, stuffed up nose, congested chest, low grade fever, and perpetual grumpiness are his symptoms. We are going to the Dr. today and hopefully he will be able to give him something that will provide one ounce of relief. Have you ever tried taking a good long drink when you have a cold? Impossible. Can't breath so the drinks have to be short in order to keep your oxygen supply at a normal level. Well Judah is having the same problem with breast feeding. He can't latch on and really eat cause he can't breath through his nose. It's so sad! Same goes for his pacifier. And he loves his pacifier. But he can't use it cause it too occupies his mouth and stop his ability to breath. 2:45 is a long way away. We are going to try and take a steamy bath to help his little nose run so I can get some of that stuff out of there. We've tried using the nose sucker thingy, but it doesn't seem to work very well. I hate that he is sick at such a young age. It breaks my heart. I'm pretty sure he got it at the nursery Friday when I went to my Mom's Bible Study. The reason I think this is because there was one kid in particular with an extremely runny stuffy nose. UGH! Why bring a sick kid to the nursery and get all the other kids sick?

Last night, Matthew, Judah, and I met my parents for dinner as they were in finishing up some dreaded Christmas shopping in Knoxville. We went to one of my favorite places, Copper Cellar. Judah did great. He fussed a bit at first but then settled in and fell quickly to sleep on his Mumzy's lap. We ordered wine and oysters to enjoy together. When the Oysters came out, we passed then around and each enjoyed some. Now, let me preface the rest of this story with this explanation. I have always loved oysters and until recently, have always been able to enjoy them. However, the last time I ate them, I got extremely sick. I didn't necessarily think it was the oysters so I had no qualms about eating some last night. After eating just 2, our salads arrived but I already knew something was wrong. I began to feel really hot and nauseated. I drank water and ate bread hoping that the feeling would pass. It didn't. As soon as our food arrived, which I had been looking forward to all night, I had to run to the bathroom. I didn't lose my stomach at the restaurant, but we had to leave immediately and barely made it home, stopping along the way as rushes of nausea came on. When we got home, it took about an hour for me to feel better. And let me just say that I really hate throwing up! It is possibly the worst feeling in the world. Feeling a bit better, I fed Judah and went to bed. Thankfully, Judah was pretty good and I didn't have to get up too much and he didn't take too long to fall back to sleep. OYSTERS ARE NOT MY FRIEND!