The last 2 weeks have been pretty hectic, which explains the hiatus in posting. Last weekend I put up the Christmas tree. Alaina hasn't really seemed to notice it much, though. We also got her stocking in; it matches mine and Chad's. So cute.
Sunday, Alaina tried peaches for the first time. We tried them in the morning but I mashed them instead of pureeing. She wasn't sure about the texture.
I went ahead and pureed them and tried again in the evening and she LOVED them. Maybe even more than pears.
However, Monday morning I noticed she had developed spots all over her legs. The left leg had more than the right. This sent me off on a googling expedition to figure out what could be causing the spots. They weren't bumps, just red spots. We hadn't changed soaps, detergents, lotions, etc. We checked to make sure her bath tub was good and clean (no mold or mildew). The most likely culprit was either they were a virus (but she never had a fever) or an allergy to the peaches (but usually that presents as a rash on the face or diaper area). I knew we were going to the doctor on Wednesday so I just stopped giving her peaches and waited to ask. She seemed totally fine and the spots weren't bothering her.
The spots were pretty much gone so I just showed the doctor picture. She thought the rash might have been erythema multiforme--from a virus. She wants us to try peaches again though. I looked up erythema multiforme and didn't really think that's what the spots looked like. However, Alaina got peaches for breakfast today so we will see if they come back.
Unfortunately, the cough and congestion seemed to get worse after we stopped the antibiotic--it was always there but just seemed to get worse on Sunday. Sunday night was awful--she kept waking herself up coughing. The same thing happened at daycare during her naps on Monday and Tuesday. We both agreed that it seems unlikely that this has been a virus that has lasted since the end of August. The allergy medicine didn't help (though Benadryl seems to). She listened for wheezing because she thought she might have heard a little wheezing but, upon further listen, Alaina's lungs sounded fine. I asked about breathing treatments so the doctor said we could try albuterol to see if it is asthma-like coughing. She said it might not work and just using benadryl could be fine. When Chad went to pick up the prescription, we discovered our insurance wasn't really doing a very good job covering it. I spent most of the morning on the phone today trying to figure out what that was about. Apparently the inhaler itself is covered, but very poorly so. It's still $50 out of pocket for us. However, because she's still a baby, we would need an aero-chamber with a mask, which insurance does not cover and is an added $53. Clearly if this will help her, we would definitely do it. However, given this is not a certain diagnosis and it would just be a trial run of the medicine, I just don't know if it's worth it. Especially since the albuterol can cause a number of side effects--one of which is hyperness/jitteriness that causes irritability and difficulty sleeping. That's the last thing Alaina needs. I gave her benadryl Monday and Wednesday evenings and that seemed to help. Last night she didn't cough at all. I called her pediatrician and she said let's just try the benadryl and see how it goes.
The other big news is that we have officially weaned. She's doing totally great and while I've had moments of sadness, I'm surprisingly okay. She is still getting some milk that was frozen. So she will get some milk at least past the eight month mark. Not that it really matters, just saying. And we are having pizza for dinner.
Chad has a cold. Boo.
So that's the latest. So excited the weekend is finally here!
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