I hate cold and flu season

Kathleen has a cold. It's her very first cold. She's stuffy, congested, and a bit fussy. And there's nothing we can do about it except let it run its course. And worry. I'm very good at that.

We took the baby girl to the ER early Saturday morning. Her cold has lodged itself firmly in her nose and upper chest. That's caused her to breathe more quickly than usual and sound as if she's wheezing. It was the wheezing part that had us concerned.

The whistling in her breath concerned us enough that we contacted the pediatrician after hours on Friday evening to find out what we should do. Her symptoms weren't so alarming that she needed to go to the ER immediately. She wasn't eating much, no, but that was to be expected. But she didn't seem distressed and she wasn't retracting (a pulling around the ribs and neck when struggling to breathe). He advised that we make her an appointment to bring her in on Saturday morning, but if she started breathing faster, had retractions, or developed a fever before then, we should take her to the ER.

We let her sleep in the swing again that night with the humidifier running beside her. She wasn't bad. At 5:00, however, she woke me up with a bout of coughing. When I checked on her, I heard the wheezing again. She was breathing about 60 breaths per minute. I also noticed her retracting with each breath. She didn't seemed bothered, but I was worried enough to wake my husband. Things happen so quickly when they're that young. Nothing to worry about could become a life threatening situation within minutes. We decided to go to the ER.

I won't go into details over our experience at the ER. It wasn't anything more or less than what we expected. After a brief exam and chest x-rays, the final verdict was a simple cold. Her x-rays were clear. She wasn't retracting. The wheezes we heard were in the upper airway, not her lungs. They sent us home with peace of mind and instructions to make a follow up appointment with the pediatrician in a day or two.

It was a long weekend. Although Kate never had another episode like that (for which I'm thankful), she wasn't eating much, maybe half of her usual amount. I know it's common not to feel like eating when you're not well, but for a baby, food is also hydration. They can become dehydrated quickly which can be dangerous. I spent Saturday and Sunday hovering over her, popping a bottle in her mouth whenever she was awake. She managed to get down an ounce or two here and there. Not much but enough.

Kate was looking and eating better come Monday. She has developed a nasty sounding cough that, while not frequent or long, sounds as if she were going to vomit at the end of it. Even so, it's a good thing. It means she's bringing up any crud trying to settle in her chest, and as the peditrician didn't bat an eye when she heard it, I assume it's not a matter for me to worry about.

Speaking of which, the appointment with the pediatrician went fairly well. She believes our little girl may have RSV. They've been seeing a lot of that lately. In adults, the virus causes nothing more than a cold, but in babies, the mucus production can overwhelm their airways causing breathing problems. That doesn't seem to be the case for Kate. She appears to be over the hump, the worst of the infection occuring over the first two days or so. It might take her another two weeks to fully fight it off, but she should continue to imrpove.

I knew Kate's first cold would be rough. No matter how mild or severe, I know myself well enough to expect to go into chronic worry mode at the first sniffle. And I did. Like I said, I'm very good at worrying.