The Couser Family: January 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009

11 days

That’s how long we were sick at our house. Sorry, no pictures for this post. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to see any pictures of us the last week and a half. It all started with Bryker’s croup, which turned into the worst cough and runny nose ever. Then Gary and I caught the virus. Even though it’s not really croup in adults, it’s a relentless virus that took us all down! On top of that, Gary got pink eye. The next day, I got pink eye. I’m surprised Bryker never got pink eye! In the past 11 days, we went through seven boxes of tissues and three boxes of popsicles. I lost track of how much medicine Gary downed but Bryker made it through 1.5 bottles of Motrin on his own. Being pregnant, I stuck to the all natural remedies (humidifier, saline spray and even a new one for me, the Neti Pot). However, after five days of no sleep due to cough and congestion, I went to the doctor and she thankfully prescribed me a safe antibiotic for pregnancy. We are all feeling much better now. I will never again take for granted breathing through my nose! We’re still wiping Bryker’s nose but it is now only about 30 times a day instead of 200! Now I just need to hide Peter Pan. I think we’ve watched that movie about 40 times in the last week. That’s enough to make anyone sick. And don’t worry friends in Chicago. We’ve stocked up on Lysol products and will be disinfecting this weekend so it will be safe for you all to come and hang out again!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The good news and the bad news

We'll start with the bad. Two days after we made it back to Chicago, Bryker came down with croup. After one night of wheezing and barking (that sounds really appealing, doesn't it?), we took him to the ER at Children's. He got steroids and a breathing treatment. (Why do they make kids wear a mask that is shooting out steam for FIVE minutes? The nurse said we could hold him down or tie him down with a sheet. Needless to say, we chose to hold him.) Four hours later we were back home. He is doing better but is still contagious so we have been quarantined. Hopefully it will be gone in the next day or two.

Now for the good news. Baby #2 is on the way! I am 15 weeks now and due on July 4 (yeah, we are patriotic around here). We're so excited, and come on, who wouldn't want this guy for a big brother?