Yes, 'tis the season to be jolly, but 'tis also the season for runny noses, coughs that don't stop, fevers, and sleepless nights. At least in our house right now.
Rachel started coughing Friday night. Saturday we left in the morning to drive two hours north to Granny and Papa's house (my husband's parents') to celebrate an early Christmas with his side of the family. Rachel coughed the entire trip. We stopped when we got there and bought some cough medicine, but it didn't do much. I'm sure she coughed her wonderful germs all over her cousins, aunts, and grandparents. On the way home that night it kept Rebecca from sleeping in the car. She'd wake up screaming every 10 or 15 minutes because Rachel was coughing in the seat next to her. It was not a fun drive. Both girls were exhausted and whiny. Rachel had a fever.
I gave Rachel cough medicine with codeine that night, along with advil, and those helped a lot in helping her sleep. She slept pretty well but woke up with a fever and coughed all day (and night), and she was all congested. Monday was more of the same. Her eyes were so watery and puffy that she didn't even look like herself. She spent much of the day on the couch, which is not her AT ALL! Today she seems to be a little better. She hasn't needed advil today, so that's an improvement, and she's been playing like normal, but she gets coughing jags now and then, and is still pretty stuffed up. But I'm so glad she seems to be on the mend.
However, yesterday Rebecca started a runny nose and sneezing. Today she's been coughing now and then. She's been pretty happy, so I'm thankful it's not affecting her mood too much (yet). I'm afraid it's only a matter of time for her....and for my husband and me as well. I hope I'm wrong.
In other health related news, I made my first trip to a dermatologist yesterday. I've managed to avoid one for 36 years, but I have a monstrous cyst on the side of my face and need to get it removed. I decided I'd rather have a dermatologist tackle it instead of my regular doctor (who I saw about it a week ago), since it's on my face and I didn't want just anyone cutting up my face. So I go back just after new years and will have it removed. He said it would involve a couple of stitches and will take a year for the scar to completely go away. A year????? But like he said, at least it's on a part of my face that is easily hidden (it's on the side of my jaw and my hair often covers it).
And in case you didn't know enough about our family's health, here's an update on Rebecca. She's been going to physical therapy once a month. She's sitting up really well now, but still not rolling or putting much weight on her legs. We're working on it. The pediatrician mentioned the possibility of a connective tissue disorder, which she said isn't anything big or scary, but just means she could be more flexible and "floppy" than the average person. She said a diagnosis involves genetic testing, which we wouldn't do until she is older, and the only thing they do for it anyway is physical therapy, so we're doing the right things, even if we don't know what it is. Despite her being behind with her motor skills, she is a complete delight! She's much more social now, giving lots of drooly smiles, and she's learning to interact with her toys. She shakes them and smiles, very proud of herself. She bends over and grabs what she wants and can sit back up again without losing her balance now. She has started eating Gerber puffs--she LOVES them. She grunts and grunts, reaching for them, until you give her more. She gets frustrated because she wants to grab them and put them in her mouth, but she's just learning to pick up something so small, and when she's successful and picking one up, she's not usually successful at getting it to stay in her mouth. I think she'd eat the entire container in one sitting if we'd let her! She can't get enough of them. But then she's always been a big eater.... I shouldn't be surprised.
At her 6 month appointment she was in the 90th% for weight, 50th% for height, and 75th% for head circumference. So she's a big girl. She's almost outgrown her infant carrier (about 4 pounds to go) and we'll have to give her Rachel's car seat. Consequently, we bought Rachel's booster seat the other day when we saw it on clearance. Rachel had her choice of black/silver or pink/purple with fairies on it. You can take one guess at which one she chose! We figured since we have two girls, pink/purple would be fine. We haven't put Rachel in it yet, but she's very excited to have a "big girl seat."
That's about all of the news from here. We've been busy getting things ready for Christmas. Rachel can't wait and was so excited to find out today that it's only 4 more days!
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