Beach Baby (it's been a long time)

I know it has been a long time since I was on here. I had intentions of blogging about every adventure while we were at the beach last week, but ended up just not wanting to spend my time on the computer. This week, I've been busy with all the post-vacation stuff and enjoying my last few days before I go back to work.

We had a great week, despite Lily and I both having a cold. We didn't let it slow us down too much. We went to the beach every day and even took Lily Kayaking! She did great. She wasn't a huge fan of the big waves or of the sand, but she liked being on the beach with us. Luckily, because she didn't like the feel of the sand, she would stay on her blanket or in the pool. The inflatable pool which we filled with a bucket of sea water, was a huge hit. She would spend hours splashing in it. We ended up not even taking a pack n play to the beach for her.

The cabana we purchased got a bit of mixed reviews. It was really good to have the added shade, but it wasn't easy to put up, especially if it was windy. It took at least two people and at least five minutes. It was mostly too hot to actually be inside of it, but it was nice to put her pool and blanket in the shade of it for her to play. We used it several days, but also opted to leave it behind a few, especially since we mostly went to the beach late in the afternoon.

Other than the beach (where Josh caught lots of fish), a few trips around the village, and laying around the house, Kayaking was our only adventure. It was quite fun. We got a double Kayak and Josh did most of the paddling from the back seat. I sat in the front with Lily in the floor in front of me. She started out excited and talking, and ended up falling asleep. Adorable!

Overall it was a very fun and relaxing trip. I can't wait to do it again, but something tells me that, like most things, it will be very different as she gets older!

A Scary Night

Anyone out there had a baby with croup? That is some scary s#*t! Pardon my language, but it is!

Last night I put my seemingly normally healthy baby to bed. At 1am I awoke to her crying and gasping in the monitor. Her breathing was really ragged and she had a cough that sounded like a barking seal. I woke Josh and we called the 24 hour nurse advice hot line.

After listening to her breath over the phone and determining that she was struggling to breath both in and out, she advised us to take her to the Emergency Room. At around 2am we were on our way.

The ER was surprisingly efficient. Apparently that is the norm when a baby is having trouble breathing. We signed in and in a few minutes they took us back to a room (well, a curtained off section of a room) where the respiratory specialist came to give her an epinephrine breathing treatment to help open her airway. Then they gave her a long acting oral steroid to help keep it open.

Then the waiting began. Because she had that epinephrine, we had to wait a minimum of three hours for them to monitor her breathing. By 4am, she was already doing much better. She fell asleep in my arms, despite the interesting conversation going on in the curtain next to ours, and slept for a quite a while.

At around 5am, a nurse came in and said he had to take her temperature, rectally. Seriously...this poor baby is finally calmly resting and you want to take her temperature. Yes. So that woke her up and made her a bit upset, but I calmed her down and fed her. She then proceeded to play, happily sitting with me on the bed for a while. She was quite cute and the nurses were taken with her. One brought her a "hospitality" bag with a cute blue and white stuffed dog and a rattle. We waited (and listened to the guy next door).

As the magic 6:15 drew near we weren't sure if anyone would come, but the awesome Pediatric resident (who just happened to finish at William and Mary the same year we did) showed up with our paperwork just a little after. We headed out and I was surprised to see the sun up as we got in the car. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind for my Tuesday night, but at least Lily seems to be doing fine now. She (and we) have been sleepy all day, but her breathing is much improved.

Lily's Sick! :(

I know I posted a few weeks ago about Lily's first cold, but I think I was wrong. I don't think that was a cold at all. NOW Lily really does have a cold, and so do I. It is no fun for either of us, but I honestly think it's good that I have it at the same time because I can understand and sympathize with how she feels.

I was thinking this morning how disconcerting that sore throat, achy head, stuffy nose feeling must be when you've never had it before. When you don't understand what is going on. When you can't blow your nose to get some relief. When you feel like your parents are torturing you to boot with nasal bulbs and thermometers. When you don't know if it will ever go away. My poor baby!

Bed Time

I'm conducting a little bedtime research. Please give me your feedback in the polls on the right or leave a comment below. For all of the questions, imagine a six month old baby. Thanks!

The First Cold

Well, it had to happen sometime...Lily has a cold. She is, however, an amazingly happy sick baby. Aside from being slightly less inclined to nurse and making some strange sounds, she doesn't even act sick at all. In fact, if her pediatrician hadn't told me babies don't get seasonal allergies, I would have sworn that is what is going on.

Her symptoms have been classic allergy. She has had a stuffy nose and irritated eyes. I did end up taking her to the pediatrician because her eyes have been red and gooky, and I was afraid she had some sort of eye infection. The doctor, however, thinks that the eye stuff is just related to the cold. I just hope it doesn't get worse and doesn't last long.