November already

November was a month that scared the living daylights out of me and it's already here. November 1 is the start of the cold and flu season, though we are all aware that the colds and flus have been around for the last month already! But November is officially the start of it all. Dr. C told us he even dreads seeing November come for Rylee's sake.

November 1st, we went to a hockey game for my niece's birthday and made a quick stop at my brother- and sister-in-laws house since we were in the area. Other than a little bit of a runny nose, Rylee was fine!

November 2nd, Rylee woke up with a temp of 99.3°F, runny nose and red, watery eyes. I had to take her to the doctor anyway for a weight check and talk a little about her new medicine she is on so she would be looked at then. I checked her temp right before we left and it was 99.7°F. When we got to the doctors office I took her out of her carseat and once in the exam room, undressed her for a weight check. That girl hardly opened her eyes the entire time. I told the nurse about her low grade temp and she ran to get a thermometer. A half hour after I got the 99.7°F, she was 103.3°F. The nurse did it twice. I had taken her temp over 3 times while at home that morning. It was always in the 99's. I got a dose of tylenol in her right away. The nurse went and got Dr. C. While he checked her ears, her eyes started rolling and we had to stimulate her to bring her out of it. He wanted to swab her nose for H1N1. He was almost sure that was what it was. It ticked her off so bad! Her strong cry was a good, reassuring thing to hear. As he left the room to get it tested, I soothed her to calm her down. Then bloody tears were flowing out of her eye. He swabbed her right nostril and it was the left eye bleeding. I was freaking out. I ran out to show her to a nurse or someone. There was a PA standing at the desk that looked at her and Dr. C came walking down the hallway. He looked in there and said it was fine, it was from the swabbing he just did. That WAY freaked me out. UGH! To both of our surprise, the test came back negative. He diagnosed her with the common cold and put her on antibiotics. He wants to recheck her on Thursday and told me to call anytime, he would make himself available if we needed him. Now, not every doctor is like this, that is why this man holds a special spot in my heart. So November 2nd, my daughter turned from a happy baby one evening to alathargic, sick baby the following morning. This is how fast and how bad just the common cold affects her. Her breathing was extremely labored so oxygen was used to help her along. This is the reason why everyone who wants to touch her has to wash their hands before touching hers. This is also why no one but our family of 4 and medical personnal are able to be in our home until May 1. This is another reason why we will be staying home during the holidays and why Rylee's 1st and Troy's 2nd birthday party won't be until the summer. We are avoiding germs like the plague.

She woke up this morning with a temp back down to 99. She even sat and watched us this morning. **SIGH** Hopefully, the worst has passed.

On a much happier note, she rolled over from tummy to back on Saturday and tried like the dickens to get from back to belly. Kris and I were clapping and making a big deal about her rolling over. So the rest of saturday and most of sunday, every time we laid her down, she tried to roll over. Therapy starts back up this Friday after being off for 2 months. They'll be so so happy to see her.

Another mommy's blog that I read puts up a photo of her daughter and tidbits of what she is doing at that point in time when she has her month birthdays so stay tuned for Troy and Rylee's. I have the cutest video of them on their 9th and 22nd month birthdays! Rylee loves her brother and he sure loves her! We're so so blessed.

By the way, remember Stellan, the baby with the heart that beats too fast? He was in the hospital last week and was very very ill. He came out of it. During his stay, he turned 1 year old. He got to go home yesterday but will be going to Boston on Thursday. On the 10th of November, he is tentatively scheduled for another ablation of his heart. This, from his mom's past posts, means that he will more than likely end up with a pace maker. It's sad that the little 1 year old boy has to suffer that much. It shouldn't be. Hopefully, though not likely, he will get a new cocktail of drugs that will help him stay out of SVT until his 40 lb. That was the goal and still is I think but rather unlikely. Keep Stellan and his family in your thoughts and prayers on the 10th.

Also, if you have a blog of your own, don't forget to publish a post about a preemie that is close to your heart for November 17, Fight for Preemies for Prematurity Awareness Month through Bloggers Unite. I have my extremely long post started. So watch for that to come November 17th!!

Enjoy the sun today!