no end in sight

So on Thursday Jason was a cranky mess. Wouldn't sleep, even when I'd try to lay down with him, put him in the car seat, etc. The ONLY "nap" he had was when he'd fall asleep for a few minutes in the front pack (that thing has been a lifesaver). By evening (of course AFTER the doctor's office closed) he was getting worse and worse. He was having trouble eating, still wasn't sleeping, and was crying non-stop even when we held him. So after consulting with the pediatrician, I took off for the ER with him. Everyone was concerned about his trouble breathing, inability to sleep, non-stop crying, and the possibility that the fluid in his ear might have turned into an infection. Meanwhile Al stayed home with a sleeping Tyler.

They took us almost immediately. They said his temperature was a little low and he was obviously congested and had screamed throughout his exam in triage. After reviewing the notes from triage, the doctor immediately ordered a nurse to suction him through a tube down his nose and then test for RSV and influenza. They also did a check x-ray on my poor little guy. After having had the suctioning though he seemed much more comfortable and was able to eat. Basically, after all the tests had been run, it was determined that he's RSV, flu, and ear infection free. He just has a cold and is "very congested" but luckily it's not in his lungs.

We were discharged with the orders to use saline and suction his nose (which we had been doing), keep him upright, and nurse him as much as possible (as she said, "sorry to say it, but you're going to need to be a human pacifier").

Thankfully Jason slept that night and did better on Friday. Not great, but a definite improvement.



Jason did give us a little scare again on Friday afternoon when he spit up blood. I freaked out initially but quickly realized it was likely due to the suctioning the night before. I called the pediatrician (yet again) who confirmed that this was likely the case. Thankfully we did have SOME good news. They let me know that they got the results and Tyler's chest x-ray was clear as well. Thankfully he seems to be "on the mend".

Today Jason seems crankier again, but he's still eating (constantly) and is okay as long as he's being held (Al has Jason-holding duty now).

It can only get better from here, right?