breathing treatments, oh how i loathe thee

are we noticing a trend here?

i am so sick of kids being sick, i just want them to feel better!

it has been a whirlwind of a week and i'm not even sure where to begin! we left off with me hating amoxicillin...well right now that is old news because i am seriously hating that i have to give peanut albuterol nebulizer treatments every 4 hours. well, scratch that. i am suppose to be giving him treatments every 4 hours but often times he physically needs one before the 4 hour mark.

he was sick on tuesday. took him in, he had an ear infection and was given amoxicillin. by thursday he was much worse. he literally didn't want to do anything.he was super congested, tired but too uncomfortable to actually sleep. i called the dr and they recommended all the things i was already doing: vapor baths, Vicks on the feet, elevating his crib mattress, tylenol for comfort, humidifier/vaporizer in his room, sitting in a steamy bathroom, etc. did that and he wasn't any better. i was having to suction out his nose every hour. and if you are/have been a parent you know that this isn't just suctioning it's an Olympic feat. this involves pinning him down, keeping his arms at his sides, keeping his legs from kicking out, holding his head, closing one nostil and suctioning with your one free-hand. by bedtime he had been pinned down to give tylenol, amox, and suction...by the time he had a bottle he was out like a light.

until 3am when he woke having difficulty breathing. i mean his breathes were super short, i could see his chest caving in, he was wheezing. i knew it wasn't an emergency (he wasn't lethargic, he wasn't blue, his neck wasn't looking tightened, etc) but i knew he'd need to be seen as soon as the doctor's office opened.

i immediately took him into the bathroom, shut the door and ran the hottest water in the shower to build up steam. this calmed him down for about 10 minutes but he couldn't fall asleep. between the hours of 3am and 7am neither of us slept. i tried a vapor bath, suctioning, vicks, everything. i was 95% sure he needed a nebulizer breathing treatment, and while we have a nebulizer I didn't know for sure, nor did i know the doseage. the plan was to wait until 8:30 when the dr office opened and if they couldn't get him in asap, i would take him to the ER.

well to make a long story shorter, they got him in right away. his O2 level was 90, this virus/infection has definitly settled in his chest. they did back to back albuterol treatments, which my tired little guy actually slept through. this was so odd to me because when we had to do them with bubba last winter for the first time, he was crying and miserable. peanut didn't even fight. she put the mask on him and he didn't even try to touch it! our instructions were to continue the antibiotic and do albuterol treatments every 4 hours.

first treatment at home, watching backyardigans

all day friday he was miserable but still better than he had been on thursday. he didn't seem to mind the breathing treatments...we'd turn on backyardigan's and start the treatment and he wasn't even phased. but by 4pm he was needing the albuterol every 2 hours...the on call doc said that we could do 2 treatments close together but if he needed another one before 11pm (it was 7pm at this time) we were to take him to the ER. i was so nervous, he sounded and looked horrible.

luckily, he slept and he slept hard...he didn't wake until almost 3am! so no ER visit but we still needed to watch him closely. today he's doing better and it's obvious by the way he now tries to rip the mask off.

today we had to hold him while giving the treatments

if we really distract him (having to use the TV or the laptop) then he doesn't mind near as much but it's so hard to do and watch. after a treatment, when he's feeling on the top of his game, he is his usual self. climbing on everything and tonight he even took 4 steps! he actually did it more than once...i give it less than a week before he's walking regularly. he also stood up by himself, not pulling himself up but literally just standing up! today he's like my little peanut again but man was i scared for him last night!we have to continue the treatments all day tomorrow and then he has to go back to the doctor on monday. wish us luck! i'm heading to bed now, hopefully tonight will be the first night in 3 nights, that i do not start my day at 3am!