The Common Cold

Sadly Simon had his first encounter with one of the 200 viruses that can cause the common cold. On Wednesday he started getting a little sniffly and coughy and threw up after his morning breakfast - all over me. But the rest of the day was okay. On Thursday we had a reoccurrence of the morning vomit all over mom, but the sniffles got worse throughout the day. Stuffy enough to pull out NoseFrida the SnotSucker.

Now, NoseFrida was on our baby registry because Alan found it as one of the highest rated baby things out there. It literally allows you to suck baby snot out of a baby nose (there is a filter between the sucker and the suck-y, but it's pretty much a tube). When this went on the registry I with no hesitation said that that was going to be the dad's job since it sounds gross. After a few days of snot sucking, I have learned a couple things: 1) Simon hates snot sucking more than anything else in this world. It's the only thing that will make him hold a grudge. 2) Snot sucking works miracles and allows Simon to breath through his nose and therefore nurse, eat and generally not be a mouth breather. 3) It is almost as gross as you think it is.

The poor kid just got worse and worse through Thursday and on Friday morning, after yet another big vomit on mom, he threw up again later in the day. Most worrisome was that he just didn't seem to have an appetite. That was our straw and we made our first sick baby visit. Simon has been to the doctor a lot, but for regularly scheduled 'well baby' trips. This last minute entry was surprisingly painless to schedule and we got our regular doctor. Jenn and Simon met me and Alan at the doctors office just before 5 and we went in to find that not only did he have a serious cold, but he had an ear infection and it looked like his little ducts were still clogged. So the doctor started Simon on his first round of antibiotics.

Jenn had super kindly offered me and Alan a night out that Friday. So she went home with us and we all hoped that it would be a quick bedtime and then a night out for the parents. Bedtime routine of nursing was underway - I cleverly had a blanket there just incase we had another vomit-on-mom session. Luckily. After eating and a dose of antibiotics it all promptly came up directly on the blanket. Jenn took the little guy into the bathroom and held him over the sink where he continued to heave. With Alan and I hovering, he heaved and heaved and threw up about a gallon of snot that must have been festering in his belly. When he had time to breath, he reached for me and I of course took him to comfort him. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite done and had one little heave left - with a sneeze to add some power to the bile/mucus. All over my face. That has to be an entry requirement into some club?

Thankfully that was pretty much the end of the throwing up. He kept down the next dose of antibiotics and Tylenol to help him sleep and passed out around 8 o'clock - three hours past his bed time. Alan and I went out for dinner and I had a glass of wine and Alan had a beer. Much deserved.

Saturday we kept the meals small and starchy. If possible his nose was running more, but maybe it was just the increase in drool since he couldn't close his little mouth. Thankfully the diet change prevented any more vomiting, or maybe he just got it out of his system. He looked awful though, Colleen said it best: He looks like we feel when we're sick. His eyes would run tears, his nose drip snot, cheeks red and slightly chapped, mouth open and drooly, a terrible raspy rattle when he breathed and worst of all this empty, exhausted look in his eye.

By Sunday he was definitely better. His eyes cleared up, nose stuffy but not drippy and no longer needing that torture device to clear it out. Best of all he was eating normal portions again.

We didn't take any pictures of him really sick. Just trust us. He was pretty miserable. Though for as awful as he looked and felt, he was still a fantastic baby. He was way more snuggly but not really grouchy - unless we were sucking snot.