Sick

I'm on blogger using my iPad. Theo is napping across my lap. We are in rough shape in this house.

I'm sick y'all. Like, one of the worst colds I've had in my adult life. Or maybe it feels like the worst because i can't curl up on the couch all day and drink hot drinks and watch tv and eventually knock myself out with some extra strength something OTC and callit a day! I know I had a cold and was all congested and sick right before I found out I was pregnant with Theo, I wrote about it back in Sept 2012.  But this is different. I'm not getting the rest I need to recover. It's been about 5 or 6 days for me, and Theo has been battling this thing for a good 7 days now. Sunday night his runny nose and crunchy breathing turned into lots of coughing and choking. Poor guy, I can't stand it. :(

But back to me. Gawd. It's been horrible. Friday and Saturday night I took neocitron to help me sleep, and I would wake mid-night and pump and leave my milk for Theo as he still gets up to eat at least once a night. During that time, I was so stuffed up with thick mucus and would blow my nose to have the biggest, stickiest boogers I've ever seen come out on the tissue. (sorry for the tmi) The neocitron was drying me up so much that all this crap that needed exiting had no chance. (neocitron is also advised not to take if breastfeeding, but I think it's because it dries up your supply. If there are any harmful things that can happen to the baby due to feeding while the stuff is in your system, don't tell me.  It's already been done).

Because I'd wake with chest pain - and overall feelings of first class shittiness - I decided my once OTC go to med wasn't kicking this cold. So Sunday night and last night I decided to just cough it out. No meds. Just me and my exhaustion. And see if I could get some rest. Well, my cough wouldnt settle. I felt like I was 10 years old again when I had asthma, and even my puffers wouldn't work. Where I would cough so hard I'd almost throw up. Yep. That's been me these past 2 nights.

I have a netty pot. I rinsed my sinuses when I first came Down with this cold, and I think I messed up my ear. The mucus was so thick at first, the rinse wouldn't move through my nose...and when blowing it out thereafter, my ear popped and I had to take Tylenol for 3 days because it was THAT painful. I'm rinsing again now, and it's helping.

But I'm on 2 nights of coughing/broken sleep. And prior to that, 2 nights on neocitron. And prior to that, 2 nights of zero sleep being up with a very sick Theo babe. I'm in rough shape.

How does one ever recover when REALLY sick when caring for an infant?  How does one care for an infant when so sick?!?  Does it ever end??

The 2 nights I took NC Daniels mother was over to help. And she got sick. So Daniel is the only one left standing. He told me his throat felt tight yesterday, and I told him it was not allowed. He's already doing half days at work this week to help me with Theo. I've moved myself into Theodore's room across the hall so my coughing doesn't keep anyone up. Theo is still in our room in the crib. And he's up every 1-2 hours, coughing, choking on his snot and coughing some more. Prior to the cold, we had a bit of a success story to report of Theo doing 4-5 hours uninterrupted, then would nurse and go downfor 2-4 additional hours uninterrupted. Daniel was getting full nights of sleep, and I was doing much better with my 3 down, 1 half asleep while nursing, then 3 more down.  but this cold ruined EVERYTHING!!

We've been doing saline drops for theo...sucking the heck out of his poor nose...and these past 2 night we've done baby Vicks on his chest and feet at night now that he's coughing. His spirits are good, still plays and he's started laughing and smiling again in the past 3 days. He's just having a tough time with sleep and congestion. no fevers to report.

I'm sure everyone has been sick with their babes. How did you survive?  Did you too feel like you might die if you had to do another day so sick and so exhausted?

My mommy adrenalin kicks in when I know Theo needs me. He's sick and helpless and at times so miserable. And he needs me, and I'm there 100%. When he coughs and cries at night and I'm down the hall...my body aches. I never sleep through it. Daniel tells me he's there with him, and for me to get my rest...but I can't turn this off. It's superhuman. But I need to recover...