Lazy day... at the hospital.

(Please ignore spelling & grammar errors below. It has been a long day & my mind can't bring itself to make complete sentences.)

Today started slow. Jason & I debated going to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Metairie, but decided to enjoy his last day off by staying home & having a relaxing day doing nothing. The plan was to lay around & work on some wedding stuff & get together details for the cabbage ball tournament next weekend. Now I am so glad we decided that because the day got crazy really quickly.

First thing this morning, I went to Walgreen's because Conner's cold kept seeming to get worse even though we have been using the humidifier and baby vapor rub. I talked to the pharmacist & he suggested I purchase some infant vitamins to help Conner's immune system fight the cold. Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Jason noticed that Conner was wheezing even when he wasn't coughing. I spoke to the Nurse Practitioner on call at Conner's pediatrician's office & she suggested we take Conner to the After Hours Clinic because it sounded like RSV, and didn't think we should wait until tomorrow for an appointment.

The doctor at the After Hours Clinic examined Conner and decided his lungs sounded "tight" and he may have asthma. His respiratory rate was a little high and the wheezing made the doctor a little nervous. He called the hospital & notified them that he was sending us over for a breathing treatment. When we got to North Oaks the nurses were waiting for us, but the room they had held for him was accidentally given to someone else. After a while of waiting, they set us up in the hallway so a doctor could see Conner quickly without us having to wait for another room to open up. Of course all of the nurses just loved Conner & one even commented that she wouldn't think anything was wrong with him had we not seen the doctor at the walk-in clinic because he's such a happy & handsome baby.

At our make shift emergency room/chair, Conner was given a breathing treatment & tested for RSV. After the doctor listened to his lungs for a little while he ordered a chest x-ray and Conner took a little nap. Poor baby was disturbed from his nap for his x-ray. Both Conner and I cried during the x-ray. Thank goodness Jason was there to hold him because I was a mess. They strapped him into the weird contraption that sat him up and held his arms straight up. I know he wasn't hurting, but it was so hard to watch him screaming while they took the x-rays. In hindsight, I should have waited at our room/chair and let Jason go by himself with Conner because he is so much better with those things.

After looking at the chest x-ray, the doctor said there was a small spot of fluid in his lungs & diagnosed Conner with pneumonitis. Pneumonitis (as explained to us) is a small inflammation of the lungs and the early stages of pneumonia. We were give prescriptions for Azithromycin (an antibiotic) & Albuterol (a bronchodilator) and instructions to see his primary care physician in a few days to make sure it was clearing up.

It seems I am more upset by all of this than Conner because he enjoyed his day of flirting with the nurses and only cried because he didn't like being held still. he is now playing on his mat in the living room with Jason and laughing like nothing is wrong.