Spring Has Sprung

Our little girl has been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple of weeks. She came down with a yucky cold. She was running pretty high temperature (she topped out around 103 deg) and just felt awful. Kara wouldn't sleep unless it was with Mommy and Daddy in a recliner, so nobody really got much sleep. She also didn't eat or drink much and was starting to get pretty dehydrated until Mommy discovered the power of Popsicles (yes, we know they're pure sugar, but we were getting pretty desperate). We also started clapping for Kara every time she took a sip, so now she claps for herself whenever she drinks water. It's pretty funny. We were planning on going down to Alabama to visit Grandma and Grandpa H. and GiGi B, but we decided to reschedule. We figured it was better to suffer by ourselves than to involve a plane full of innocent people. She still has a nasty cough, but she's feeling much, much better.

The weather here has been warming up steadily for the last couple of weeks. It's supposed to be sunny and warm all next week. This was a fairly mild winter, but it's still good to see spring.

Kara has started to talk more in the last few weeks. She can kinda say 5-6 words (like ball and balloon sound the same) in addition to Mom and Dada. It's great to hear our little girl talk.

Link to pictures

The Miserable Patient

Kara does not like being sick. I mean, nobody likes being sick, but Kara particularly dislikes being sick. She has been absolutely miserable for the last week, though it didn't help that she's getting 3 molars at the same time!

Kara starting coughing and sounding pretty rough last Friday. She didn't nap too well that day and just cried when we tried to put her down to sleep that night. We hoped that she would eventually calm down and go to sleep, but after about 15 minutes, Mommy and Daddy went back into Kara's room to try and soothe her. Kara greeted each of us with a hug (and a couple more each for good measure), which was great; however, the unpleasantness was just about to begin. Mommy had talked to a nurse earlier in the day, and the nurse recommended that we put saline solution in Kara's nostrils to help with drainage. It seemed like a good idea, but Kara didn't agree. She started screaming and crying uncontrollably. The nurse had also mentioned that Kara might be able to sleep better in an inclined position (as in sleeping on someone sitting in a chair), so Mommy ended up "sleeping" with Kara in a recliner for half the night and Daddy took the other half.

Kara didn't sleep very well all weekend and just got crankier and crankier.  She refused to sleep without Mommy or Daddy holding her, which means they took shifts rocking her in a recliner for the whole night and naptimes. It was pretty miserable for everyone.

We took Kara to the doctor's office on Monday, thinking that she might have something more serious than just a cold (like croup or maybe an ear infection). There much be something going around because there were several kids at the doctor's office with the same cough as Kara. Fortunately, the doctor didn't see anything wrong with her ears or lungs and said it was just a nasty cold. Unfortunately, Kara didn't get any better in the next couple of days. In fact, she woke up on Tuesday and Wednesday with a temperature over 103! She also wasn't eating or drinking much and got pretty dehydrated.

We were supposed to go to Alabama to visit Grandma and Grandpa H. and Great Grandma B. (GiGi) on Wednesday, but we decided to reschedule for April. We figured it was much better to suffer at home than to share our misery with a plane full of innocent travelers. Hopefully Kara feels better by April!

Kara finally started to feel better on Wednesday.  She took two two-hour naps and slept by herself in her crib that night, but she was still pretty dehydrated. Mommy and Daddy started clapping and cheering (Yay Kara!) every time Kara took a sip of water to encourage her to drink more.  So now whenever Kara drinks, she claps for herself.  It's pretty funny.  Also, Mommy found that Kara likes popsicles. Yes, we know they're full of sugar, but we figured it was better than nothing.

Our little girl's fever was much lower this morning, so we think she's getting better. She's still super-cranky, but she's napping, sleeping through the night (more or less), and drinking lots of fluids. I think the worst is behind us.

No pictures this week. Hopefully we can get some good pictures of our healthy girl for the next post! Since we don't have any pictures of Kara, here's a link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scu9zzC5U3g&feature=feedf) to one of Mommy and Daddy's favorite clips from Sesame Street. This kid is hilarious!