One of those weeks...

So, I don't think I would be exaggerating to say that last week was the week from, well, um...not Heaven.

It started with Monroe coming down with a cold and me soon following.  Her cough and congestion seemed to get worse and worse and I decided to stay home on Tuesday so we both could rest and hopefully start feeling better.  I started getting worried about her and ended up calling the pediatrician.  I described her symptoms and they didn't seem too worried, but they said they would see her, if I thought her cough sounded deep.  I took her in and right away they did an RSV and H1N1 test.  They came back negative for both, which was a relief, but her symptoms were so similar to RSV, that they decided it was a virus almost identical.  They sent me home with a nebulizer and I was instructed to give her breathing treatments every 4-6 hours.  They also wanted to see her back the next afternoon.

I decided to keep her home on Wednesday as well.  She didn't improve and at her appointment the doctor decided to admit her to the hospital.  I guess the highest an infants breaths per minute should be is 40, and she was at 70!  This of course brought back all the memories of her in the NICU and I went to pieces.  I hated the thought of going back, but we packed up and headed to Florida Hospital South.

They didn't have any Ped's beds available, so they had us go to the Emergency room.  The pediatric ER is brand new and pretty snazzy, to say the least.  While she was there, she got a chest x-ray and the respiratory therapist administered a breathing treatment and suctioned her nose (which she HATES).  Finally after a few hours of waiting we were wheeled up (Yes, I had to be taken up in a wheel chair!  They gave me the option of being wheeled up with Monroe in a bed or in a wheel chair...I went with the latter.)  to the Ped's Unit on the 14th floor.  The 14th floor is actually not the Ped's permanent floor, but only until the Disney Children's Hospital is finished.  The 14th floor is actually for VIP's so the rooms are huge and the TV's are VERY big:)  They told us that we both could stay and we had a little couch that made out into a bed.  I'd love to say that this little bed was super comfy, but I would be lying.  It was horrible, but it didn't really matter, because Monroe woke up every 10 to 15 minutes anyway, so we didn't get to sleep until 4 ish:)   Poor little thing.  Mark ended up going to work and I hung out at the hospital all day. Throughout the day her breathing seemed to improve, but she seemed to get more and more listless.  They said it was normal.  I did get to watch the Hannah Montana Movie, which I had been dying to see, while Monroe slept:)   They discharged her around 5 pm.

Since then, I hadn't seen much improvement, until yesterday.  She had another Dr.'s appt and the Dr. said she felt the congestion was mainly in her nose now, instead of her lungs.  She was starting to get an ear infection, so she prescribed her an antibiotic (the pink medicine...my favorite as a child).  She is supposed to continue with her breathing treatments for awhile. 

The best part is that Monroe is starting to smile again!  I am so happy.  I would try and try to get her to smile during this whole ordeal and she would just stare at me blankly.  Before she got sick she would smile constantly, so to see it starting back, makes me joyous! Especially since my family is arriving today!

Stephen, Michelle, Mom, Dad and Mumsie are all flying in for Christmas.  what a treat!  I can't wait.

So anyway, that's been our last few days.  Our bosses, have allowed us to work from home half days this week, so that we can keep Monroe at home.  I work the morning shift and Mark works the afternoon.  That has been such a blessing.

Through this whole thing, I really started to realize how blessed we are.  It is so easy to get down on your life when things like this happen, especially when they affect you financially.  I mean we already paid (a non-refundable) $1,050 for Monroe's daycare this month which she hasn't attended two weeks of, I stayed home and wasn't getting paid because I used up all of my PDO on maternity leave, and we had to pay for a hospital ER trip and Dr's visits.  For a second there, I started to get overwhelmed, especially with the Christmas presents to buy!  I took a step back and realized that there are so many others that have it soooo much worse and are as up beat and happy as can be.  I have a wonderful, loving amazing husband, a beautiful little baby, a roof over my head, food to eat and family that love and support us!  Can it get any better than that?  I think not.  Merry Christmas!  I love you all.

p.s. I finally sent out Christmas Cards today.  I guess I should call them Holiday cards, because they will not be arriving before Christmas:)