Another trip to the ER for J-Bear

Yesterday was SR's birthday.  I was really determined to give her a memorable day...and it was.  She had a great day....but J-Bear ended the day with a trip to the ER.  His second trip in his first 6 months.

Since last Saturday, J-Bear has been hoarse.  I even thought he was developing croup last Saturday, but it went away.  But the hoarseness didn't.  I was at a fellow choice mom's for a playdate on Tuesday and she is a doctor, so I asked her to listen to J-Bear's chest.  She said it was clear.  But the hoarseness didn't clear up.  I called Friday to go see the pediatrician but I didn't get an appointment until Monday (tomorrow).

In the meantime, I've been freaking out a little b/c SR has been coughing in her sleep a lot.  And I have a problem where my new next door neighbour (moved in just after J-Bear was born) is a smoker.  He rents his condo, and I was under the impression that the owners didn't want a smoker in there, but I guess he pays his rent on time.  I've complained and complained to the property manager here, and she had weatherstripping installed on my front door - it helps keep out the smoke, but not completely.  There was one night I left her a message saying "I may as well have my friends over smoking inside my place, the smell is so bad."

Could it be that J-Bear's hoarseness and SR's coughing are b/c of the second hand smoke seeping through?

Another reason to sell my place....I hope no potential buyers come by while he is home smoking....not just cigarettes either.

My mom and some friends who had smoking parents said that they probably wouldn't be affected this quickly....

So anyway, for SR's birthday, we went out for dinner with friends.  It was a much later night than we usually have, but SR napped late....I guess I wasn't thinking about J-Bear, b/c he was a mess, crying and not settling.  My friend's husband walked him outside the restaurant in the mall for a bit so I could eat something and J-Bear didn't sleep or settle down.  I should have realized something was up.  He went to sleep around 10pm but woke me at 1am with that terrible "I can't breathe in or out" croupy sound.  I picked him up and took him to the bathroom, ran the shower and called Telehealth Ontario - a free service with registered nurses to talk to.  She listened to J-Bear breathing and to what I was saying and she told me to take him to the ER.

I called my parents and my mom and dad came over - my mom stayed to watch S and my dad and I headed to the hospital at 2:11am - just saying b/c we were on our way home at 3:06am so it was a very quick ER visit.  We drove to the hospital where I delivered both kids - it tends to have a bad rep, but I think there are people who find fault at any hospital.  I felt we were taken care of quickly and efficiently and I was very pleased...especially with the nurse who squeezed my "he's almost six months but he looks like he's a year" baby in ahead of many other people.

J-Bear had croup pretty bad and was given the one dose steroid.  We came home and he was still very congested sounding and ended up in my bed to sleep.  This morning, when he woke up my mom wanted me to take him back to the ER but I held off, it was morning and everyone is worse in the morning and at night.  I ended up taking both kids out for a walk to get J-Bear breathing the cool air.  He's not doing great tonight, but he's not gasping for air.  He's sleeping (finally) but I'm sure I'll be woken up soon but hopefully not with the terrifying sound I heard last night.  Our pediatrician visit is set for 9:45am.

In other news, tonight was SR's family party with just my parents and us.  She has had a great weekend, including my mom taking her to the library this afternoon where she had a great time.  Here are just a couple pictures from our family party:

Are you one?  Noooo!  Are you two?  Noooo!  Are you three?  YEAH!!!!!

Yay, we blew out the candles!

Annual photo with candle!

My favourite picture.  SR in all her dramatic personality shining through, while J-Bear looks at the back of SR's head!