Tuesday afternoon the daycare called to let me know that Hannah’s cold was getting worse. She was fussy in the morning, wouldn’t tolerate lying flat, was having trouble with her bottles, and belly breathing. The director said it wasn’t an emergency, they just wanted to let me know. I called the pediatrician’s nurse line and left a message asking if Hannah needed to be seen. Like me, the nurse was concerned by the belly breathing and made us an appointment for 4:15.

I spent the next 2 hours doubting myself. Had I let the cold go too long without medical intervention? Did I miss a sign of something more serious? Was I wrong to shrug it off as a typical daycare kid’s cold? I know I only met her 6 ½ months ago but I think I know Hanah pretty well and she seemed OK to me. I was preparing myself to spend the night in the hospital with her connected to IVs and oxygen. Then Grandma texted – Hannah was fine. Seriously, have you ever seen a kid so miserable in your life?

We kept the appointment to make sure there weren’t any issues. Lungs and ears clear. Oxygen levels at 100%. Can’t get much better than that! I asked a few questions about how to ease the cold symptoms and what would warrant an impromptu visit next time. She assured me that when post-surgery Hannah gets a cold it’s just like any other kid’s cold…except that Hannah’s nasal passages are smaller so she will sound worse, be sicker longer, and has a higher risk for ear infections than the typical kid. And that’s where I struggle. In certain aspects of her life, Hannah will be typical with an asterisk.

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Yesterday afternoon we had Hannah’s late 6 month check up. Her weight is up to 6 lbs 14 oz and her length is somewhere between 26 and 27 inches (their measurements are not very accurate). I gave Banana a bottle while I asked the doctor questions about baby food, Hannah sleeping on her belly, and the flat spot on her head. Hannah fell asleep in my lap and managed to stay asleep for part of her exam. Homegirl must have been tired if she was able to ignore a cold stethoscope.

After the exam we talked about the questionnaire I completed in the waiting room. At the 4 month appointment, most of the questions were answered with ‘sometimes’ and ‘no’. This time around most of the answers were ‘yes’. Hannah has developed quite a few new skills in the last two months and I’ve even noticed a big change in her over the last two weeks. She’s so much more observant and wants to touch everything. I sat in the backseat with her coming home from the Buddy Walk and watched her look out the window, get surprised by the changing shadows and light on the backseat, and reach out for anything I dangled in her sight.  

Once we got home we had about 45 minutes before our Birth to Three appointment so Hannah finished her bottle and took another nap. Maureen and I completed the Hawaii Early Learning Profile, which is pretty simple when evaluating a 7 month old. Hannah woke up fussy and in no mood to socialize or exercise. Instead of making her work, Maureen taught me some facial massages to do before feeding to help stimulate her muscles and I asked for tips on teaching her sign language.  When the visit ended Hannah took a long bath, had a small bottle, and it was a very easy bedtime.

Today could possibly be a rough day for the little one and the daycare teachers. She’s still a little stuffy and might be cranky from the vaccines she received yesterday. Fingers crossed for a happy day!