Well, THIS is new!

I'm keeping this short, sweet, and picture-free because I'd really, REALLY like to get more than five hours of sleep tonight.... ;o)

Ava might have RSV...we're currently hoping, praying, and crossing our fingers, but it doesn't look pretty. Ava's buddy Will--her baby-sitter's little boy--came down with it last week and naturally Ava was exposed (RSV is basically a bad cold that can get REALLY bad in toddlers and babies--like, hospitalization bad) and sure enough, she started some terrible coughing on Monday. Thus far it's been a lot of heavy coughing but no real fever, tonight she had a temperature of 99.1 but I don't think something that low even counts. She did sound like she was breathing heavier but I could just be paranoid...at any rate, I'm going to just listen carefully and monitor her temperature and hope for the best! Poor little Will was very fevery and looked so miserable last time I saw him, so I'd say Ava is very lucky thus far not to be that sick! I have come to the conclusion that there is just no way to win--you either keep your kids in solitary confinement and then when they HAVE to go out in public they spend the next year very sick, or you expose them to the real world as babies and build their immune system up, but have to watch them be miserable in the meantime. UGH!!!
The doctor did listen to her lungs when we went for her follow-up ear appointment on Monday and said they sounded clear....and the right ear was infection-free but there was fluid in the left one, which may or may not turn into another infection. I'm hoping for NOT.

I feel so bad for her--Ava is such a solid sleeper when coughing, congestion, and painful ear infections aren't keeping her awake, it's just heartbreaking listening to her pitiful cry when she wants so badly to sleep but she just can't. Luckily the last few nights she's woken up at a not too horrible time (9:30-ish) and a warm bottle and some rocking have soothed her and seemed to alleviate the coughing a bit. I've always said I'd let my babies cry it out and thought it was silly to pick a baby up the first time they made a noise (plus I did read that a lot of babies cry to let off some steam before they fall asleep, or they cry out when they're falling into a deeper state of sleep) but really, we've been VERY lucky to rarely have to test our willpower on the issue: Ava either goes right to sleep for me, or does some fussy noises and playing in her crib for about 15-20 minutes before falling asleep. Occasionally she'll cry out in her sleep but by the time I'm fully awake, she's quiet again. The times she has really cried, it's either been because she had a dirty diaper or she's sick and in pain/unable to sleep. Which, of course, I consider definite exceptions to the crying-it-out rule. ;o)

Okay, I'm babbling. Lack of sleep and frantically trying to keep things together the last week before Christmas break will do that to ya....just pray for less illness and more sleep around the Haynor house! :)