When I Said I Wanted to Move Back to the East Side

This wasn't exactly what I meant.

Although our room did have a view . . .

Because posterity theoretically cares if I document these things, Evelyn was in the hospital for a day earlier this week. We went to the pediatrician on day 4 of a fever+cough and got sent to the ER for chest X-ray and more breathing treatments. (We have a nebulizer at home and typically end up on albuterol at home when she gets colds due to wheezing). The doctor said her lungs were crackling as well as wheezing (like breathing Rice Krispies?), and her oxygen levels were too low.

In the ER, her oxygen levels got worse instead of better after a treatment or two. The chest X-ray came back negative for typical pneumonia but with a pattern that showed compromised lung function due to either a virus or walking pneumonia. They kept her overnight because often oxygen levels drop even further while sleeping, and they thought she might need supplemental oxygen during the night (she was on oxygen on and off in the ER). Since she also had an ear infection, they also put her on an IV antibiotic for the ear infection and the possible walking pneumonia.

Her oxygen levels stayed high enough overnight that we were able to go home the next day. By the time we left, she was also fever free. We had a slight setback when she vomited up the oral antibiotics every time I administered them, but we eventually got a new prescription, and she doesn't seem to be any worse for the experience. We're still on breathing treatments at home, but luckily she finally learned to hold the mask herself during our February cold (as distinguished from the March cold that landed us in the hospital - the two colds were separated by about 1 week of healthiness!). So, she's been doing a lot of this,

which she actually loves since she gets to watch a lot more Sesame Street than I usually allow. Every time I try to administer the antibiotics, she tells me she wants a breathing treatment instead.

* * *

Visiting the hospital isn't the only thing we've been up to lately. We went to Boston to visit Laurel for two days toward the end of February. It rained most of the time we were there, but we didn't care because Laurel borrowed a car to chauffer us around in style. Most excitingly, we went to an indoor water park to help hold Evelyn over until summertime. Her favorite part? "Swimming" in the foot or so of water at the bottom of an out-of-order waterslide.

Yes, summertime is still months away, but that hasn't kept Evelyn from eagerly anticipating its return every time she dresses herself. Unfortunately, she seems to be under the impression that diaper covers are shorts. We're going to need to work on that.