The "Emergency" Sniffle

Well, never in a million years did I imagine I'd be sitting in the ER with my own baby on the opening night of the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children (the BRAND new Children's Hospital of Alabama). I've been anticipating the opening of this state of the art hospital for the past 3 years because that's ALL people have talked about at work. William came down with a little cold on Friday but didn't seem phased by it at all. By Saturday afternoon/evening he was a little more congested, had a little bit of wheezing and had a strong odor coming from his right ear. We started his bedtime routine around 7pm and at 11pm he was still awake and pretty fussy. This is not the norm for William. Around 10pm we decided to go ahead and call the pediatrician. After answering about 15 questions, the nurse said because he's just over 3 months and having some wheezing take him to the ER to be evaluated.

We debated whether to follow the nurse's order because we knew he was fine, but I knew I wouldn't sleep a wink if we didn't get him checked out. We arrived at the brand new ER at 11pm. By this point William was sleeping soundly in his carseat and dreaming of milkshakes, so we felt really crazy for having a sleeping, happy baby in an ER. Since we were already there, we decided we may as well see a doctor and get them to check his ear. I was convinced he had an ear infection. While we were waiting in the ER waiting room, one of my cancer patients arrived, which was an instant reminder of how thankful I am for a healthy happy baby. Anyway...we finally got to a room at midnight and the doctor showed up about 45 minutes later. She checked his ears (full of wax, no infection), listened to his chest, and diagnosed him with mild bronchiolitis, which is a big medical term for a cold. There is nothing you can do but ride it out, and the virus usually lasts 3-5 days. We got back home at 2am and left William sleeping in his car seat in our room. We are all pretty exhausted but thankful that it is nothing serious. I guess William wanted to be one of the first children to ever step foot in the new hospital, and his mommy and daddy will always remember this!!

 Cooing up a storm in the ER

In the ER room