What's up Doc?

Friday, Bug woke up with the bark. The cough that hurts just to hear it, the one that means you'll be spending you weekend in steamy bathrooms, if you don't get directly to the doctor's office. Little Man was also starting to cough, though not nearly as bad. So off we went, one mommy and two boys in the doctor's office.

Once we did the usual dance (Bug, put the chair back. No, you can't wash your hands. Turn the lights back on. Don't jump off the table. I asked you to put the chair back. Bug, leave the stirrups alone. SIT DOWN. Hey, you want to watch a show on Mommy's phone and eat some fruit snacks... here ya go.) while trying to answer the nurse's questions. The doctor comes in, the boys' transform into well behaved children and we get the diagnosis - parainfluenza. This is the viral precursor to croup. It can also cause bronchitis and, in severe cases, pneumonia. For Bug it's not such a big deal, 3-4 days on steroids and he's doing great. Little Man isn't so lucky.

Little Man at 10 days old in an oxygen tent at Children's Hospital.

He was hospitalized for RSV when he was 10 days old, so anything that attacks his respiratory system, hits hard and is difficult to kick. So when the doctor asked if he had ever been diagnosed with asthma, I wasn't caught completely off guard. We spent the weekend on meds that make him hyper. Coughing, overtired and hyper is not a good combination.

Today we went back to the doctor, because the cough had gotten worse. We came home with a nebulizer and breathing treatments for the next week. We'll go back for another follow-up and see if his breathing has cleared.

I'm hopeful that his chest will be clear and we can chalk this one up to a virus. Otherwise, we'll take the next step and be grateful that it isn't something more serious.

ps. i read this blog today and am feeling especially grateful for my two boys.