The poor boy has an ear infection, and has wheezing in his chest (again). The last time he was wheezing (when the doctor diagnosed him as having "RSV") the doctor prescribed albuterol, which quickly and very clearly helped stop his coughing and make his breathing easier. However, it was like having a baby on speed - Blake was completely wired during the day, he wouldn't nap and it was very difficult to put down to sleep for the night the whole time he was taking the med, so I dreaded ever putting him on albuterol again. When I described this to his pediatric allergist she told me that if we administered albuterol through a nebulizer (not in liquid/oral form) it wouldn't have the same crazy side effects. So when our ped prescribed albuterol again this time I requested the nebulizer. Great, right?
But...using the nebulizer requires that Blake sit still, mask on his face, breathing in a strange vapor, for about 10 minutes. Now, getting him to sit still for 10 minutes at time is hard enough, and I will say I wasn't very hopeful this would work out. But, to my surprise and gratitude, Blake is taking it very well! Last night he sat still the whole time while Dada gave him the nebulizer (and Blake watched The Wiggles), and this was only the second time we had given it to him. It is almost as if he can tell that it is helpful - I can see Blake taking deep breaths, inhaling the mist in through his nose and mouth. Tonight he was even excited when we told him it was time to do the "air machine." (I think he likes the noise it makes.)
It sure breaks my heart to see him like that, but really I think it looks worse than it is, as Blake is a happy, energetic toddler the rest of the time.
I want to make a little note about the fact that Blake is watching The Wiggles.... Up to this point we have been pretty determined NOT to let Blake watch TV/videos etc. The American Association of Pediatrics is firm in their profession that exposure to television is harmful to the development of children under 2 yrs. (See link.) And having studied child development in undergrad I definitely understand the concern. Perhaps I will adjust my philosophy after I have more than one baby and I am less available to personally entertain the kids all the time. However, Mike and I are going to be taking a 5 1/2 hour plane ride soon, and in the interest of our peace, and the peace of the other people in the plane with us, we thought we would try to show Blake some videos during the flight. So I picked up a couple videos at the library, and The Wiggles was really the only one that captured his attention. Hopefully we won't fry his brain too badly with this limited TV exposure!
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