Monday, September 5, 2016

Week 159: Laborious

Lemon started 3 year old nursery school on Friday. After all the thought and preparation that went into it, the day itself was about as non-dramatic as you could imagine.  I loaded Lemon into the car, we went to school, we got there 15 minutes early because I got the start time for the early morning session wrong, we played in the playground for 15 minutes, and then I dropped him off at the room for the early drop-off, with a teacher he'd never really met before.  She told him it was time to wash his hands, he stuck them under the water like it was no big deal (what??????) and hustled off to play with all the exciting toys in the classroom.  I said, "Good bye, have fun, be good!" to his receding back.  And that was it.  He had a great day, lots of his little pals from last year are in his class this year, he took his enzymes from his new teacher without a fuss, and collapsed on the kitchen floor from exhaustion when we got home.  Success!

I would say that it was an unqualified success, were it not for the fact that by Saturday he had a cold.  At least, at first we thought it was a cold.  Now we think there's a possibility that it might be allergies again (ragweed is pretty bad in our area right now).  But, whatever it is, it is distinctly unfriendly.  It's been our usual cycle, with the runny nose and sneezing rapidly progressing into a bad cough.  We've had to cut the nightly tube feeds down to one can a night, delivered very slowly, so that the feed stays in despite the coughing.  We're doing all the things we can do: the vest 3 times a day, doubling up on Flonase and Zyrtec, running the air purifier at night.  Hoping.  Hoping that we don't have to go on antibiotics in SEPTEMBER. 

Lime has been affected by whatever this is as well--I don't think that really helps us figure out whether this is a cold or allergies though, since last time Lemon had allergies, Lime had them too, and last time Lemon had a cold, Lime had it also.  What I do know is that between one kid crying intermittently all night, and the other kid coughing intermittently all night, there isn't much night left before morning comes around! Complicating the picture further, I discovered today that Lime decided to get another tooth. I've been watching for his lower lateral incisors to finish coming in, or maybe the upper canine teeth. But no, that would be too easy.  He opted for the upper molar instead.  No wonder he's been sad!

Anyhow, it seems like with Labor Day here, summer and its relative healthy and carefree days are already slipping behind us.  Winter isn't here yet, but every cough I hear reminds me that it is coming.  I don't mean to be bleak.  I'm looking forward to cooler weather and fewer mosquitoes, to running a few more races, and even to shoveling the driveway.  I just wish I could look forward to these things without wondering what will accompany them.  At least we have many weeks of fall to prepare ourselves.