Sick Babies!

Elliot and Noah are STILL battling this respiratory virus going on 17 days now! It began with a very simple runny nose, which then led to a cough. Noah would struggle with the cough alot at night, in the morning and after naps. I made several calls to the pediatrician explaining that I thought they should be getting better and describing their symptoms. I kept getting the same thing, "it's just a virus", "it will run its course", "most viruses last up to two weeks", "no fever means no infection", "try a nasal mist" etc, etc. I was doubling up on Noah's breathing tx and that was about all I could do. It really isn't keeping Noah down at all, he is still running around, getting into everything, despite the cough and congestion. Finally on Tuesday I called the Pedi again letting her know they STILL aren't improving and need to be seen. The best they could do was give me an appt for Wed afternoon. During this time I even tried calling another pediatrician to switch practices and was told I would need to submit a letter for review of why I wanted my children to be seen there. Good grief! I just wanted someone to look at them! By the time we got to the pedi on Wed Noah was wheezing so badly that she said she hardly heard any air moving through. She still didn't suspect infection but started him on oral steroids immediately and increased his dosage of Xopenex and told me to give him tx every 4 hours. Elliot was in far better shape, but he too was wheezing. No steroids for him, but he is sharing Noah's breathing tx's. We took Noah in for a chest x-ray that came back negative for pneumonia.
I don't think I can stress enough the value of a good pediatrician, of which I have learned a great deal about it the past two years. Especially with a kid that has chronic lung problems, but in general, just one that will truly listen to your concerns. So, here I have been second guessing myself each time I get off the phone with her, and finally when she does see them, I feel terrible for not pressing the issue much harder in the first place. This is not the first time this has happened, so once again, I think we are making the switch to a different doctor. I feel that we are going a thousand different directions trying to manage his care and we really need someone to be following all of it! Someone committed to following him regularly and not just when he is sick. We have explained this to both of the pedi's was have had, and even have a great letter from the U of M outlining what they need to be followed for in the years to come. The biggest thing is that they need to be proactive, not reactive!
Anyway, this was not intended to be a vent session for me! I have a million pictures of the kids from the last month that I promise to put together and post, soon. Can you believe that our Noah is about to celebrate his 2nd birthday? That's right! 2 years old! I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it! The Happy Birthday song has a whole new meaning for me now! Brian and I were just saying last night how two years ago at this time we were sitting at the RMD house waiting for the big day, meeting our dear CDH friends for the first time, and being terrified of what was coming. What an amazing support system we had, and still have today.
I promise to put up pictures soon!