First Illness

How lucky are we! The first time I take my daughter into a situation where there are other kids around and they are touching the same things, she gets sick! Don't get me wrong, I think that is is a good thing that she has finally contracted something because her immune system needs to start building up a resistance to the more than 100 cold and flu strains that are out there. That being said, it still sucks and has resulted in a few very rough days and nights.

We attended the class on Monday and by Wednesday afternoon, she started to show symptoms. First, she threw up her lunch which I didn't think much of because it has happened before after she gags on a bit of food that is a little bigger than she is used to (I am trying to slowly feed her more textured foods). By that evening, she was very noticeably congested and her nose was running like a faucet. Poor girl! If you have ever tried to wipe an infants nose, you will understand how challenging and unpleasant it is for both you and baby. She was also getting increasingly fussy and tired. At that point, my husband and I knew it was going to be a rough night.

I don't actually think any of us got any sleep that first night. Lilah was miserable and understandably so. Her nose was running all over the place and she couldn't breathe very well. She wasn't interested in nursing at all at bedtime (I usually feed her lying down at bedtime). The only way I could get her to nurse was to stand and rock her in my arms while letting her nurse. A challenge, yes, but definitely do-able. She slept for a short time and then was awake again and very upset. She threw up once again, but this time judging by the look of the vomit, it was because of all of the mucus she had been swallowing. Our first experience cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night! Yahoo, what fun!

After that episode, we decided to prop her mattress at one end to help her breathe. I simply placed two thick books under the head of her mattress and we made sure she was good and asleep when we lied her down so that she stayed in the propped position rather than upside down with the blood rushing to her head (no worries, the mattress was not that angled)! This seemed to help quite a bit because she slept a little better after that (but still woke very frequently). Of course, her typical nursing schedule was thrown off, but I did manage to get her to nurse around midnight. I really wanted to get some fluid into her given that she had recently vomited.

The next day was a rough, sad day. Lilah would play happily for a short time and then realize she was sick and start crying. We had to torture her by wiping her nose all day, but I tried to ease the uncomfortableness of it all by switching between tissue and a warm cloth. I also mostly dabbed because I didn't want her to end up with a raw, sore nose on top of everything else. She wasn't interested in nursing in the morning so we ended up giving her a bottle. Due to her congestion, it was just easier for her to drink from a bottle. Later that day, I was able to get her to nurse. We managed to get some solid food into her, but she puked up her dinner which probably contributed to the need to nurse more than usual in the night. It was another rough night. Lilah woke very frequently once again (even more than the night before).

Today has been a much better day. Her symptoms seemed to have almost disappeared. She is no longer congested and her nose isn't running at all. At this point, she has yet to develop a cough which I am thankful for (and I hope it stays that way).

We went to music class again this morning so just my luck, she will be sick again in a couple of days! They say that once children start interacting with one another, they are always sick! It does make sense when you think about the fact that there are more than 100 different strains of the cold and flu out there and they have yet to be exposed to any of them.

We can't isolate them forever and they need to get sick once in awhile to build up their immunity. I am not one of those crazy parents who won't allow my child to put anything in her mouth that hasn't been sanitized (although I will wipe toys down after Lilah has played with them, especially if she is sick). I really don't think we do our children any justice by being too freaky when it comes to germs. In fact, there are studies now showing that germs help children. It has been suggested that the rise in things like allergies are a result of growing up in too clean of an environment. Of course, we need to use common sense when it comes to what we will let our children touch and put into their mouths, but there is no need to be a freak about germs. Regular hand washing and basic hygiene can go a long way!

Just to note, I didn't give Lilah any kind of medication. I did buy some saline spray for her nose, but didn't end up using it. I did apply a small amount of Vaseline under her nose at one point because it was looking a little raw and sore. It is important to check with your doctor before giving any kind of medication at this age as cough medicines and decongestants are not generally recommended.