Every year my family has a big reunion in southern Illinois. It is about four hours (with no stops) from our home. I was excited to take baby girl, but dreading the drive. She JUST turned 7 weeks old. We planned on the trip actually taking 6-7 hours. The night before we left baby girl developed a cough. It didn't seem serious so we just went to bed to prepare for our busy day. That night she was up numerous times coughing, she was really congested, and she was choking on what she had coughed up. I don't remember hearing her choke, but I remember jumping out of bed and flying across our room to check on her. She ended up clearing her airway on her own and we fell asleep. The restless night continued....
We eventually got out of bed and decided to finish packing and keep an eye on her. If it got bad we would stay home. She was doing well, so we headed out. We figured with a sick baby the journey would take even longer. I was not looking forward to it.... however, during the entire drive we stopped once. That was only so I could eat. We fed her while we were there and then headed out. The entire ride she didn't cry. I was amazed. That night she discovered the mirror. Daddy held her in front if it and she saw me. She thought it was amazing. Then, she saw daddy and got the most confused look on her face. I couldn't stop laughing. She would look back at my reflection and become confused when I started to talk. She saw the baby and screamed at it. I was almost crying I was laughing so hard.
Later, we were outside hanging out with my sister and baby girl coughed. The problem this time was that she couldn't clear her airway. Her eyes started to roll back and I pictured my sister all over again...
Here is where I should explain that situation. When my sister was about 15 months old we walked into the kitchen to fill her cup. She wanted juice, but I was giving her water. She was holding my hand the entire time. When I handed her the water she inhaled and held it like she was going to throw a fit. I told her I wasn't dealing with it, walked into the living room with her, and she flopped down on the couch. I walked back into the kitchen to grab something when I noticed she still hadn't screamed. I ran to her, knelt down, and rolled her over. She was stiff and her eyes had rolled back. She was beet red. I screamed for my dad and handed her off to him. As I did she went completely limp. She was dead weight. As my mom laid her down to start CPR I called 911. My sister did start to breathe on her own. The ambulance arrived and took her to the hospital. I drove there with my other two sisters. The entire night all the nurses and doctors told us was that it was my fault and I wasn't watching her. She choked on something and I was to blame. I remained adamant this wasn't possible since she had my hand the entire time. She isn't tall enough to hold my hand and bend over and grab something to choke on. She didn't have anything in her hand to start with. It wasn't possible. All they kept saying was that I should have paid attention. After over two hours of these accusations, they finally ruled that out. They discharged her the next day saying it was simply a stuffy nose.
Anyways, my sister and I relived it in the parking lot of a cheap motel. She finally started getting air and I just sat there saying I couldn't go through that again. She is almost healthy now.
Saturday we drove over an hour to meet with my aunt and uncle from the other side of my family and once again not a peep. That night there was a big storm and she was fascinated by the lightening. She absolutely loved the sights and sounds before the rain came. When the rain did come, it was brutal. I wasn't sure how she would handle it being so loud. I looked down and there she was....out cold. She couldn't keep her eyes open to save her life.
Sunday was the actual reunion and then we headed home. The ride home was as amazing as the ride down. The kid whimpered once. That was it. She was so good it actually worries me that she is just storing evil for later in life.
Through the entire illness, this girl has been a champ. She isn't fussy or whiny because of it. She just coughs and moves on. However, the cough has taught her one thing. When she coughs, she gets attention. Now, if I go too long without talking to her or touching her she fakes it. She is horrible at faking it, but its so cute how could I ignore her??? And as soon as I give her attention the cough magically vanishes. I actually think it is one of the funniest things she does.
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