The antibiotics seem to be working.  Eve is doing much better.  Thursday afternoon and night were still rough.  Lots of coughing and gagging, and she threw up in bed shortly after bedtime.  But by the time I went to bed she had settled down and only gagged a few times the rest of the night. 

Yesterday was much better.  She was still coughing, but not nearly as much.  She was also gagging a lot less.  Last night she settled down to bed right away and only made noises for about 5 minutes.  I didn't hear her coughing until about 6am.  She's not coughing too much this morning and hasn't gagged at all.  Her nose is still running and she sounds more stuffy,  but I am so relieved at the progress she's making. 

lullaby and antibiotics

Every night for 7 years, we have been singing the same song to Eve at bedtime.  Here is the original version:
http://youtu.be/56SOgdbljeU

We replace "baby" with "Evie."  For 18 months, Seamus has heard it, too.  We use his name for him.
It's our own special routine.


In other news, Eve's cold seems to have gotten worse again.  Last night was particularly rough.  She was coughing continuously and eventually vomited twice in trying to clear her airway.  A bunch of clear liquid came out - which was either excessive saliva or the 2oz  water we mixed with her miralax 6 hours earlier.  So, we changed her sheets and pj's (twice) and eventually, she rested comfortably.  Me?  Not so much.  This morning I got her out of bed and as I was putting her in her wheelchair she vomited a handful of mucous.  Green and thick and enough to fill my hand.  Gross and TMI, sorry.

Anyhow, I was positively vibrating with stress and worry.  I kept telling myself some advice that my friend, Ellen, gave me: Don't borrow trouble.  I repeated it like a mantra.  Stop worrying about things that might be and just deal with the here and now.  I can't even begin to tell you where my mind was trying to go.

I decided to stay home with her today and cancel my classes and the babysitter (this is Eve's school break).  I emailed her pediatrician, who called me.  Dr. A told me that because Eve has been sick for nearly a month, it is time to try her on Amoxicillan.  We went off it when Eve was at Baystate because they told us this was viral.  However, because it has been so long, there is a good chance of bacterial involvement by now.  I started to cry because so often I feel very helpless with Eve's symptoms.  It was so nice to be given something to try that will hopefully make her feel better.  So, I'll pick up the Rx by lunch and get two doses in her today.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend she will be feeling better in time for school next week.  I've also given her a decongestant and some Tylenol (in case of sore throat from post nasal drip or headache).  She seems to be doing better now than first thing this morning.  I'm hoping a nap also helps her feel better. I'm planning on napping, too.  Or at least trying to.    

Potty pooper

Today Seamus pooped on the potty at daycare.  I'm sure it was a total fluke, but I think it's wonderful for him to get positive reinforcement and start to connect the potty with what it is there for.  I just can't even imagine having a child that can use a toilet.  I've been changing diapers for 7 years - with double diaper duty for the last year and a half.  It will be wonderful when Seamus is potty trained in the future. 

Seamus *finally* is getting more teeth. I was making him laugh yesterday and when he had his head tilted back I could see that a molar on each side of the top of his mouth has cut through a little bit. One of my challenges with being a parent this time around is not freaking out over missed milestones. Fortunately, the tooth department is the only one in which Seamus has been behind his peers. I really work to not freak out that at 18 months he still only has 4 teeth. I think the two flanking his bottom teeth are also about to cut through any day. He has been a little extra low on patience lately, so that might explain it. Anyhow, here is a few pictures (mostly of Seamus). He seems to be picking up a new word every day. Yesterday, he said "Eeewwww" when I was changing Eve's diaper. Totally appropriate. I was doing an internal "ew" as well.

Eve is doing MUCH better.  She is still coughing, but not as much.  Also, it's not as difficult for her to clear the junk and so she's not retching and gagging as much (if at all). 
She got many adorable Valentines from her classmates (and teachers).  The girl is love.  My little sweetheart.

little helper

When I picked Seamus up from daycare, Katey told me that he had been bringing toys to the 6 month old baby and putting them in her hands.  I told her I was not surprised.  This is something he does for Eve.  He brings her toys, puts them in her hands, and helps her play with them.  He was probably "helping" the baby play, too.  He is a very very sweet boy.