December started out with a case of the allergies. And not pet allergies. Peanut allergies. I had received a box of cookies through a cookie exchange at work and thought nothing of it when I gave Harrison a bite. He is over 1 year, has not had a single bad reaction to the hundreds of things he'd eaten prior, what could it hurt? Well, it hurt a lot. It started out as Harrison clearing his throat (and having a cold to begin with, this wasn't out of the ordinary). It quickly developed into anaphylactic shock. 20 minutes after eating the cookie, Harrison was madly scratching his ears and his legs. Mommy decided to investigate and discovered his ears were bright read, inflamed and swelling shut. He was also developing splotches on his face. *Queue panic*
I have spent what seems like a decade reading textbook after textbook for nursing which should have prepared me to be the most logical thinking mother ever. Absolutely not the case. I experienced first-hand what it is like for what I call "Mommy panic" to completely trump "Nurse". I completely flipped out. A special thanks goes out to my mom who calmed me down on my way to the Emergency Room. We entered the ER check in area and I explained to the nurse what happened. I will never forget him saying: "It's okay, everything will be fine. If I'm not panicking there's no reason for you to panic." It was then that I realized I needed to pull myself together. I have said that exact phrase to my own patients. It just goes to show how different it is when the patient is your own child.
Epinephrine, benadryl, prednisone and 4 hours later we were sent home. Epi pens in hand. Harrison will have allergy testing done around the 2 year mark to determine if his body will have a life-long peanut allergy and if he is allergic to other nuts as well. Until then we are going to be extra careful about what is put in front of him.
A few weeks after his ER visit, Harrison developed pink eye. GROSS. I woke Harrison up on a Wednesday morning to leave for day care to find his left eye completely matted shut and swollen. After cleaning his eyes, he just stared at me with a little pout and his little pink eyes told me it was time to get some antibiotics. Fun fact: 90-some percent of pink eye cases are viral and do not respond to antibiotics. Another fun fact: doctors will prescribe them anyways so day cares will let you bring your kid back. Weird. Harrison's case of pink eye was very mild and was completely resolved with 48 hours. Thank goodness!
As if the anaphylaxis and pink eye weren't enough, Harrison developed a VERY bad cold the beginning of January. Aside from the nasal congestion and cough that everyone seems to have right now, Harrison was averaging a temperature of 102 and started wheezing. We have a cool mist humidifier--did nothing to help. We bought a Vicks vaporizer--waste of money. All that seemed to work was cranking the shower on and sitting with him in the steam. And even that only helped for about 10 minutes. Daniel stayed home with while he was sick (as I had just started my new job--wonderful timing right?) and took him to the doctor for the wheezing. I thought for sure he would be coming home with a nebulizer. After a chest xray was done they ruled out bronchitis and pneumonia but he was diagnosed with RSV and an ear infection. We are 7 days into our antibiotics now and Harrison seems to be feeling much better. The wheezing cough still shows up at night (and continues to cause me lack of sleep) but we seem to be on the mend. YAY!
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| Loungin' |
In regards to Harrison's development:
Weight: 24 lbs
Shoe size: 6
Clothes: 18-24 months (besides the pants of course. Harrison is a 12 month in the waist and 18 months in the length. What the heck. He is already expecting tailored clothes!)
Sleeping: 12-13 hours at night. Day care naps: 30 minutes. At-home naps: 2-2.5 hours
Favorite foods: Harrison's new favorite food is tortillas and cheese. He also loves carrots (yay!) and of course whatever we're eating. Harrison DOES NOT like mint ice cream.
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| Asking Nana for more cake. |
say ?" means and will try to say what you've asked. Harrison can also sign "all done".
Favorite toys: Harrison is obsessed with cows. He is also really into his Monster Truck and wearing sunglasses.
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| Someone is ready for spring! |
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| "Cool dude" |
New physical endeavors: Climbing on the couch. Somewhere Harrison learned how to get down off of the couch by sliding on his tummy. I'm not sure who taught him how to do it correctly, but whoever you are, thank you!
While the tantrums are still apart of toddler hood Harrison is still such a sweet little boy who loves to cuddle and give kisses. Thankfully, the tantrums that we are having right now are short and have lasted no more than a couple minutes. I'm hoping that Daniel and I ignoring his behavior he will soon realize it gets him no where with us.
Here is to a much more relaxed month that is free of major illness!
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