This Cold We Could Do Without

Poor Baby B, she's had a rough couple of days so far. Yesterday (Presidents' Day) she started with a runny nose. Really runny. I was wiping it every couple of minutes and it started getting raw and obviously sore. By mid afternoon, she was really congested. She perked up on Tylenol so I took her to the mall for a walk. Patricia and Margaret were at Grandma and Granddad Downs' house for a sleepover, so it was just the baby and me. Brigid enjoyed walking (yes, walking) a little here and there. Her walking really took off yesterday despite her cold. So we did a little walking on foot and in stroller. We went to get Daddy at work to take him to Mangia's for dinner and by the time we got to the Press, Brigid was asleep in the carrier, so she slept through dinner until it was time to leave. Then she woke up and started crying with a sound that was so, "I'm-not-feeling-well." She ate a little there, but then we bundled her back up and I brought Jack back to work. The evening went downhill from there. I gave Brigid a bath, got her in her comfy jammies and gave her some baby Dimetap. She wouldn't settle down even though she was obviously tired. When Jack came home from work about 10 p.m. she was wide awake and playing with the magnets on the refrigerator. By midnight, she was in a full-out drug-induced hyperdrive. I couldn't settle her so brought her into bed with us whereupon she thrust herself and flailed about for an HOUR. She passed out just after 1 a.m. I transferred her successfully to her crib, where she slept until about 5 a.m. She woke screaming but managed to fall back asleep for about 20 more minutes. I got her up and she was boiling hot. I've been working on the sign for drink with her, and when I got her into bed, she wasn't interested in nursing, which really told me something, but she was giving me the sigh that she wanted a drink. I got her a sippy of water and she guzzled it down. She then fell asleep on me, a very unsettled sleep, until about 8 a.m. when I successfully shifted her down to the mattress on her own. She slept another hour but it was so fitful. She couldn't breathe, the poor baby. Her breathing is labored, her chest is rattling and she's started coughing now. I'm just about to leave for a 1 p.m. doctor's visit. I hope it isn't anything more than a cold, such as an ear infection or strep. She had a fever this morning, so something is going on. I hope to have some answers in a little while.