MIA

This is why I haven't been blogging about Sam's birthday celebrations over the weekend.



Julia woke up Sunday morning making a wheezing sound. We watched her closely and were definitely concerned, but when you don't have insurance you don't just take them to the ER on a whim. It once took us 6 months to pay off an ER visit that would have been avoided if I'd only taken a couple Tylenol first. Don't get me wrong - we want what's best for the kids, but I know the signs of respiratory distress because of Sam's breathing trouble as a baby/toddler. We monitored her closely at home until 6:45pm when things started going downhill. After sitting in a steamy bathroom with the shower running her breathing became very labored. I knew this was something that needed treatment right away. A quick call to the pediatrician confirmed this and off to the ER we went (right at bedtime). From the time we walked into the ER, to the time she was receiving treatment was only a matter of minutes. The nurses and doctors were wonderful and our sweet baby girl was showing signs of improving within 2 hours of the first dose of medicine. She tolerated a chest X-ray like a champ. I would have freaked out if someone made me straddle something, dangle my feet, put my arms over my head, let a stranger envelop me in hard plastic and make me sit there for a bit. I'll never forget seeing her tiny little X-rays up on the light board next to full size shots of adult chests, feet, and legs.
Poor Julia is suffering from the croup. A nasty childhood illness that is going around these parts. Her breathing was still labored enough that they wanted her to stay for a second dose of meds before letting us go home. By this time it's 9:30 and we've been entertaining ourselves on the same tiny triage bed for 2 hours with only a pacifier, a washcloth, and whatever gizmo this is they use to light up her big toe like ET's finger.

There was still stridor at 9 so we needed to stay for a second round of meds. At 9:30 my exhausted baby finally conked out and didn't wake up until I took her out in the cold night air.
It was after midnight before she was able to curl up in her own bed. She slept until 6 when she woke up to nurse. At 6:30 we had to wake her in order to drive Brian to work (his ride wasn't available today of all days). We had a busy day filled with grocery store runs, Sam's school, a showing, a trip to the chiropractor, and finally home for a much needed nap....until the woodpecker woke her and Sam up. We're praying this clears up soon and doesn't require anymore expensive trips to the doctor. She appears comfortable and shows no sign of struggling to breathe. So far we've been able to avoid the steroids at home and used homeopathic remedies. For anyone who's interested in those details:

Croup Remedy (Taken from the book called Nutritional Healing):

children 6-12 months:

Vit C (with bioflavinoids): 60mg 4 times daily

zinc: 5mg once daily for 3 days

cod liver oil: 1 tbsp. twice daily, in juice

children 1-3 years:

Vit C : 100mg 4 times daily

zinc: 5mg twice daily for 3 days

cod liver oil: 1 tbsp. twice daily, in juice