A fun thing I was looking forward to on her 2nd birthday was finding out how tall she will be as an adult. When a child is 2-years old, you take their height and double it. This is how tall they will be as an adult. So, Reese will be 65 1/2" tall, or 5'5 1/2"! She's going to be short! I guess it's not that short, but I'm 5'8" and Patrick is 5'9", so it seems odd to have a child shorter than us. I guess she got the petite Johnson genes! Either way, she's a still a cutie.
Also on Wednesday, she got her flu shot. I was going back and forth about it, but I figured since she hasn't been sick yet, it would be a good thing to get the shot, and hope we keep her good health going. Boy, was I wrong!
A few hours after the shot, she came down with a fever, which is normal with vaccines - she always gets a fever after her shots. Well, Thursday, she woke up with a little cough and a runny nose. This can be common too, even though the vaccine is a "dead" virus. So, I just kept giving her Tylenol for the fever, and figured it would clear up within the next day or so.
Well, Friday rolled around, and her cough had now turned into a bronchitis-sounding cough. I started to get a little worried because she had a slight touch of pneumonia last year. Then, later Friday night, she was sitting on Patrick's lap watching TV, and all of a sudden, let out the most horrible cough I've ever heard. So, immediately I think, "Wow, that sounds like Croup." Don't ask me how I knew this, but I just had the feeling.
After researching online for a few minutes, I came to the conclusion that it did indeed sound like Reese had croup. We ran to Wal-green's at 1am to get some cough syrup, not knowing that it would do no good! Let's just say we had a very long night with Reese in our bed, coughing the most horrid barking cough you've ever heard. I knew then that I would be calling the doctor in the morning, and thank goodness my pediatrician is open on Saturdays! They got her in immediately, and confirmed my suspicions - it was indeed Croup.
The doctor said there wasn't much they could do since it was a virus, but she did check her lungs, and everything sounded perfect. She said to put her in the bathroom with the shower running if she had any coughing fits, and if that didn't work, to take her outside for a few minutes. With Croup, the vocal cords get inflamed, and the cold air can calm them down (odd, right?!). She also mentioned that Reese could possibly lose her voice.
For the rest of the day Saturday, Reese seemed okay. Sick, but okay. We went to dinner for Grandma's birthday, and she was her cheery old self, and even ate some Chinese food. We went to bed Saturday night, not expecting another long night ahead of us. She was up all night coughing, most of the time choking and gagging herself. She woke up in the morning, and I found her asleep in her bed after a few minutes. I let her sleep, and about an hour later, she came out to the livingroom, where she curled up on my chest and slept for the next two hours. I finally moved her into our bed with Patrick so she could sleep, and she slept there for another hour.
She finally got up and we took her to the Santa parade in town. We thought the cool air might do her some good. She enjoyed it for awhile, but ended up curled up on my lap, half-asleep. After the parade, we went to the store, where she pleaded, "Bye-bye, Mommy." The minute we left the parking lot, she was asleep. I transferred her to the bed when we got home and she slept for another hour. She woke up asking for juice, and I asked if she would like some soup. She went into the other room, and I thought she was getting her chair to eat. I went to take her the juice, and, no Reese. I went to my room, and there lies Reese, fast asleep in my bed again. At this point, I got a little worried. Anyone who knows Reese knows what I go through to get her to go to bed, so the fact that she's literally slept all day and went to bed by herself makes me a little concerned.
After lying with her for a few minutes, I realized she was wheezing pretty badly. She didn't look too well, either, with red, watery eyes, and purple circles under them. So, I paged her doctor, and she informed me that I should take Reese to the ER to have her checked out. The fact that she hadn't eaten or drank much all day was enough of a concern for her doctor. So, off to the ER we go! Before we left, I put Reese in her PJs. As I was doing this, she had a coughing fit so bad, I had to pound her back just to get her to breathe. She literally turned blue right in front of me! It was terrifying.
At the ER, they gave her Motrin for the fever and a popsicle for some fluids. She had a coughing fit so bad, she ended up throwing up the popsicle she had just eaten. After the Motrin kicked in, she tried to eat a goldfish. The first bite she took sent her into a coughing fit, and she threw up again. This poor kid - she couldn't even swallow! We took her for a chest X-ray which is the most torturous thing ever, and that came back perfect. They then decided to give her a steroid shot to calm the cords in hopes that she would be able to breathe better and actually eat something!
She was put through so much at the hospital, on top of being sick. There were thermometers stuck where nothing should ever be stuck ("Diaper, Grandma! All Done! Bye-bye!") and shots that no kid likes. The X-ray was probably the worst - with the torture contraption and me holding her arms above her head while she screams, "No, Mommy! All done! All done!", while she looks to Grandma to be saved. It's horrible to put your kid through that and have no way of explaining it to them....
But, after filling her antiobiotics and spoiling her with some new toys (a doctor's kit!) she fell right to sleep in the car again. I moved her into my bed where she has slept soundly for the past 3 hours. Let's hope I can get some sleep tonight too!!
Naturally, I postponed my surgery that was scheduled for tomorrow. I know that I can't take care of her like she needs to be if I've just had surgery. So, I will reschedule once she is healthy again and can stay with Grandma, so I can recuperate!
So, keep Reesey in your thoughts and hope that she gets better soon. She is one miserable little baby right now, and I wish I could trade places with her. It's horrible to see her so sick. And, I think Grandma and Davie are having just as big of a worry-fit as I am! Don't worry, Davie - Reese will be back to normal and playing ball with you in no time. Oh, and sorry that you had to spend your birthday at the ER, Mom!
Anyway, on a happy note - Reese really enjoys her new bassinet (for her babies!) from Grandma Johnson. And, at least we know it's made sturdy ;)
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