Y is for You're Kidding, Right?

Because this week could not possibly end tidily or with very little stress, Saturday afternoon saw us at the pediatric emergency room. We had been told to keep an eye on E's breathing and suddenly he was hyperventilating and then coughing and then choking and then unable to catch his breath and just as suddenly we were in the car on our way to the ER.

Gotta say, the ER on the day before Easter? Quite the cross section of humanity. We were one of five babies under one, one of three under two months. There was a young white mother with tatoos, a mother who was VERY pregnant there with her two year old, a very young Latino couple who spoke no English, a black mother with her two small children, and lots and lots of babies from all walks of life. The room was also, I have to say, one of the few places I've been in Charleston where everyone was nice to everyone else, regardless of race or class, because of the great equalizer: children in distress.

Eventually, we were seen, and E's temp was normal, as were his lungs, but he was extremely congested, hence the not breathing normally. They suctioned out his nose with this medieval but crazily effective electric device (who knew how much stuff could be one small baby's head?) and he was instantly MUCH better, though angry as sin at us for sticking this thing up his nose. The husband liked the device so much he asked them if he could use it on me for my impacted sinuses, but, sadly, though they let us, it did little good, being designed for tiny baby nostrils and all. So, I continued to be in immense pain but the baby was much better. J got a free book out of the deal, so it wasn't a total loss of a visit, right?

Sunday we did have an Easter of sorts, though the bunny wasn't really doing things in a timely manner (something about a sick kid), so we didn't hunt for eggs until after J's nap and we didn't dye them until right before lunch. And his Easter basket just appeared on the porch while he was hunting, after being thrown together in the office while he was trying to figure out where all the eggs might have gone. Our Easter feast was also very low-key; we were all just too tired and sick for any fanfare. J is now having at least twice daily nebulizer treatments and is in the saddest of moods most of the rest of the time, so all that combined with new baby worries made for a less than festive day. We were supposed to be watching our church's general conference all day long, but I doubt either of us saw more than two complete talks. Thank goodness it comes out in print next month!

Monday has been less traumatic, though J is still emotionally fragile and coughing up a storm and E seems to have recovered most of his congestion. I've lost my voice and sound worse than I feel, finally. La la la. Don't you wish you could have some fun like this??