Allergies, viruses & Colds

These are so hard to tell apart. It is amazing how fast allergies can turn into a head cold or a sinus infection. We all had been so lucky lately and I kept holding my breathe, I knew our time was coming. Friday into Saturday morning, Harper was snotty and stuffy. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the 6 + hours we spent outside on Friday.  We are back to her one hour a day in the yard right now. Saturday into Sunday, no better. Saturday evening, I started to get the sniffles and HG as well. Fast forward to Monday, Harper cried her little heart out from 4-6 this morning. It wasn't a belly ache, she was so stuffy and just holding her poor teeth. It worried me that her ears might be infected even though I take every precaution possible for those bad boys. Tubes aren't cheap and I don't want them to fall out just yet. So after two swim lessons and  HG's dermatologist appointment, we headed to the Pedi. It is a virus, or a cold virus, or the croup or Roseola. Nice huh? Sometimes they are SO hard to pin point. Well, she had a killer case of Roseola last year. Doubt it is that. Talk about a freaky rash after her fever died down, you will know if your kid has that. Possibly a cold? sure, I think a lot of people are sick right now. Croup? Yes, possibly, two people (a dr and a nurse) commented that it sounded like the croup. We have breathing treatments in just about every room of our house so we're safe there.  She just started the coughing.  But what about a plain ole sinus infection? I'm banking it is that with just a teething or freak fever. With the fever, they always think virus and that teething doesn't cause fever. In my girls, teething causes fever, terrible diapers, oh my word terrible diapers massive fits, snotty noses, sleepless nights, etc. I'm sure the red hair has absolutely nothing to do with it either. Either way, Harper is feeling crummy and I had resorted to learning how to use nose spray on myself. I can master daily shots in the belly and blood all over the face from falling babies but nose spray? Yep, so foreign to me. Once I got the hang of it, I learned you don't use half the bottle like a neti pot. Ouch! I'm hoping my nose isn't bleeding for the rest of the month.

We headed to swim Monday morning even though I debated it. Chlorine kills off a lot of germs and the babies never really touch each other. I honestly think it helped her nose. It was clear the entire time. Harper is such a ham in her class and has everyone laughing the entire 30 minutes. I know that isn't surprising that she has everyone laughing. All the little kids are so precious and the mommas, just as precious. Harper is really doing well and held her breathe for 5-6 seconds today. The class is just a basic class, kind of building her confidence for the next level. We practice various things and have fun. I don't want my children to be scared of the water but I want them to be able to swim correctly. We began lessons very early in my family, stuck with them for a long time and began learning to swim a mile at age 9. The husband's family was just as strong in their swimming.  I would love for HG to be on the swim team if she enjoys it in a few years. She is a natural as I and the husband are. Harper, she is like a bull frog in the water. She can hold her breathe, close her eyes and still comes up yelling for the duck or baby doll. HG was total opposite. She did not like putting her face in at first, still swims with eyes open (thank you goggles!) and can gracefully master the length of a pool. Her splash is tiny compared to Harper love. We are working on side breaths right now rather than sticking your head up and dog paddling for a breath. HG did great today and this is something we will work on for the next two levels.

HG had her long awaited dermatologist appointment today. I spent a lot of time with the Nurse Practitioner and I must say that I loved her. She was super sweet and answered everything I asked. HG had a rash around her ankle develop in December and it is still present. The bumps were fully dried out today and cracking. They believe it is a form of Eczema. The husband gets bad dry spots on his back, my hands peel and crack, and Harper's face has Eczema. They also told us being red heads with fair freckled skin that we are more prone to it.

Tuesday was school for HG, lunch date for the husband and I where Harper slept through it. She was up many times through out the night with trouble breathing. We're holding our breath and hoping for a better night. If not, we're off to a different doctor in the morning. I dread any travel into Grapevine right now as roads are shut down. We're already mapping out our beatable route for the morning to avoid most traffic issues.

The girls and I are sitting at our favorite oil change place waiting on my tires to be rotated. Is it bad that we have a favorite place? The guys are awesome here and the girls love coming. Win win situation for me.