Awesome parenting

BeYoYo was sick for a month. A month. We first went to the doctor on February 2, with a virus and pink eye, and a cough that was so strong it would make him throw up. She gave us some pink eye meds but said the virus would need to run its course. We love and trust our pediatrician, so we went on with life. We went back on February 9th for a 6 month well-check, and she said to give the virus a few more days.

I guess she meant 2 or 3 days. We gave it 2 or 3 weeks. Awesome parenting. I am not overly anxious about my kids' health, and The Boy brings preschool germs home, so they are bound to get sick, right? Every day I thought this will be the day! But his cough continued. March 1 I ended up taking him to urgent care because he hadn't improved. They said it had developed into an earache in addition to the coughy virus. Oops. I felt bad that he'd gotten worse. Maybe we should've gone back in sooner.  Awesome parenting. So we started on antibiotics and a steroid and more eye drops.

Here we are waiting for urgent care to open

Then on March 3, I took him back in to the pediatrician because he wasn't improving and he was coughing so much he wasn't keeping his meds down. I asked if we could get a steroid shot instead. She checked his oxygen, gave him a breathing treatment, checked his oxygen again, and sent us to be admitted to the hospital. She said his oxygen was low and he was having trouble breathing. I had no idea. I just thought it was a preschool-germ-causing-coughy-virus and poor guy couldn't even breathe. Awesome parenting.

We registered at the hospital, and even though our ped had called ahead and had everything prepared for us in advance, it was not a short process. We were finally ushered into one of those cubicles with a receptionist and a glass window and door behind us where all the world can see you. The receptionist needed a lot of information, and The Boy was getting antsy. He was even getting tired of the two toy dinosaurs that we'd stolen (okay, we told them we were taking them) from the pediatrician's waiting room. Awesome parenting. I had only planned on going straight to the ped's office and back home. Both boys had on their pajamas, and we didn't pack a bag for being gone any longer. As I was talking with the receptionist The Boy casually pulled his pajamas bottoms down, and looked at me in confusion with his pants around his knees before he said "Hey Mommy! I'm not wearing any underwear?" AWESOME PARENTING. I encouraged him to pull his pants up, and the receptionist laughed so hard The Boy got embarrassed and hid under the chair.

We finally got to a room and got both boys settled. My mom came to get The Boy and save the day in the casual way that she always does when I need her. Did I mention The Husband was out of town? I stayed with BeYoYo who got a chest x-ray and IV fluids and more antibiotics and steroids and breathing treatments. And oxygen. My poor baby needed oxygen and I hadn't even known how sick he was.

I stayed with him overnight and he was pitiful. He didn't smile or laugh or play, just slept and cried and laid against me. I felt so bad for him. Fifteen years ago that very day The Husband asked me to be his girlfriend. I'd not imagined when I said yes that 15 years into the future I would lie in a hospital bed with one of our two children while he was lying in a hotel bed in another town. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that this was not our everyday existence. He would leave early the next morning to make it back to us.

The next morning BeYoYo was feeling a little better, and improved significantly when he got to see his daddy.

These might be some of my favorite pictures ever

The Husband relieved me at the hospital, where the poor sick kid who we didn't think was that sick would spend another night. I went home to be with The Boy, who was missing his mommy and brother very much, "but mostly BeYoYo" he told my mom.  As I walked out of the hospital, I felt like the main character at the end of an action movie as they walk into the future hopefully but you can see explosions in the background. It was going to be okay, but it had been a helluva 24 hours.

The next morning I got The Boy ready for school. When I dropped him off and walked him in to his class there was snow falling down. And he had on no coat. Awesome parenting.

PS- I'm happy to report BeYoYo is back to his old self. I think he has largely forgiven us.