Week 22, Part 1

Monday was Labor Day, and while Tuan played golf with Philip and some friends, Turner and I went to the pool with Ashley. I was really hesitant to go because I have not worked at all to lose the many pounds I gained while pregnant and I only had one bathing suit that I could even squeeze into, but I knew Turner would love the water so much and wanted more than anything for her to be able to enjoy the pool this summer! I am so glad we went! Ashley is such a great person and so fun to be with and she loves Turner so much, she is having a baby in February and will be such a great mom! Turner did indeed love the water! What a nice day!

The only drama related to the trip to the pool was that I had tried to go out quickly on Sunday evening to pick up a bathing suit and some swim diapers for Turner. Well, apparently summer had already ended and this stuff at all been packed up! So, I finally found ONE package of blue swim diapers that was close to her size (after going to 4 stores), and decided she could just swim in those. Well, we added a size too small t-shirt that the church had given her when she was born and a hat that was a bit too big and very wrinkly to complete the look! It was a rough ensemble, but she pulled it off very well and was still the cutest kid there! It was a bit funny though that as I was recounting the trouble I had had finding the diapers to Ashley, the lifeguards told me that they always keep some on hand and had a ton left over if I needed more!

All day Sunday and Monday, Turner was still snotty, but we didn't really think much of it, she's a baby, their noses run, well that was until Monday evening. That night mom and dad came over for dinner and to play with Turner, right before they got there around 4pm, Turner started making some crazy rumbling sounds that sounded like they were coming from her chest. She didn't have a fever and was still in a good mood, but the more we all talked about it and what it could me, the more nervous I got. That night we call the after hours doctor on call and Ask A Nurse to see if we should take her to the emergency room or something. She was coughing some and sounded horrific, but again was in a fine mood. They both assured us that since she wasn't acting like she was struggling to breath and since she had no fever, she was probably just fine and we should just elevate the head of her bed and run a humidifier in her room. She slept okay, but was a bit restless and had some barking sounding coughing that night. They had recommended that we try to get a doctor's appointment on Tuesday just to be on the safe side.

On Tuesday, she woke up sounding worse than the night before and luckily we could see her doctor first thing that morning. I was afraid she wouldn't be sounding the same when we got there, but she did and he at least got to hear it. After listening to her chest and back for a long time, he was convinced that the sound wasn't coming from her lungs (Thank Goodness), but from her throat. He said if it were us, we would know to cough it up or swallow it, but she doesn't know how to do that so it just sits in her throat and rumbles. He also said that since she was happy and the sound would go away sometimes when she was sleeping or relax that was a sign that it wasn't something bad, if it were the sound would always be there. He said it was just a cold and she was probably 3 or 4 days into it. This would explain some of the problems sleeping she was having and the increased snot! He affirmed that we should elevate the head of her bed and run the humidifier! She slept much better Tuesday night, and even when she would cough it didn't sound so much like a bark.

She had quite a bit of mucous for us to suck out this morning, but she is much quieter today! Looks like we are on the upswing! After work and after her evening nap today we did some Mommy and Me yoga and baby massage, that was fun!

Just a little tip for new moms that might be reading this...baby's DO NOT LIKE that nose sucking bulb or having their noses touched in general and trying to get the snot out can be a huge wrestling match. Tuan discovered a long time ago that doing it while she is in her car seat makes things much easier. He actually keeps the bulb and some saline in his car and suctions her every morning before taking her to daycare, and we have been bringing it upstairs while she has been sick to use it in the house. Makes a huge difference!