Saturday, February 11, 2006

Vacation fun... (Part 1)

We are currently on a short vacation. K (21 months) now has the cold N (4) had. Unfortunately, it's turned into the croup for her. Croup sounds awful. She's a sick girl. She's not as sick as N was when N got croup. N was 11 months old when she got sick and turned into a seal. It was really scary as N had really labored breathing. K is a seal, but she's a little older and bigger and can breathe okay. She won't take any medicine (ibuprofen or sudafed). I may try and get her some cough syrup and see if she'll take it. She's really not interested in eating or doing much of anything.

I noticed a couple of croupy cough sounds from K as we were eating lunch yesterday (Thursday, 2/9) (just after we flew down for our vacation). I cringed, but I thought, maybe it's just a bad cough. I think as soon as I heard the first bark, I knew, but I wanted to pretend that it wasn't happening because I really didn't want it to happen. Later that night (Thursday, 2/9), K was really tired. She didn't "seal cough" again until the middle of the night. She wanted to nurse after she coughed, and of course I let her. She went right back to bed (by 4) afterwards, but I was awake and thinking of all the possible horrible scenarios and what we could do. At 5 am, after pondering everything, I had decided we'd fly back today (Friday), but when we all got up at 9, we decided flying might actually be harder on K than just hanging out here.

We brought one of our nannies with us, so K's been taking it easy and hanging out with her. Right now, T is taking a nap so she's hanging out with the nanny and K. N, her dad and I got to go have lunch together. That was fun and yummy too! N and her daddy are in the pool right now. When T wakes I'll either take her out for a walk or a swim. T went swimming for the first time this morning and liked it. That was fun. The pool is warm and the sun is nice.

When N got sick on Sunday (2/5), I had thought about canceling the trip. So far the trip has been okay for us, and N is doing okay, but K probably won't get to go swimming and that makes me sad. I'm just hoping T doesn't get this cold and doesn't get croup. I don't think that our trip increases the chances (too much) that T will get it.

I am hopeful that the breastfeeding thing works in preventing illness this time in T. I don't know if it prevents illness if I don't get sick. Obviously I've been exposed to N and K's illness, but I might or might not get sick. If I don't get sick, say because I've had the cold before, does my immune system still create antibodies that are passed in the breastmilk? I'm guessing that the breastfeeding thing works even if I don't get sick if I have an immune system reaction and am producing the antibodies as a secondary response. Given how many times I have been sneezed and coughed on, I have to be having a secondary response.

Okay, must go to the pool now.

Friday night and Saturday happenings to be continued....

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