Our sick bunny

Sophie's sick :( And I hate it. I hate that I can't do anything to drain the phlegm from her windpipe, I hate that I can't soothe her throat that must be hurting from the coughing, and I hate that I can't communicate to her that the medicine she resists taking will make her feel better.

More importantly, I'm incensed at the first pediatrician we visited on Wednesday when Sophie first showed signs of a cough. She prescribed a whole cocktail of medications that made me feel like our daughter was deathly ill and used a bunch of obtuse medical terms to describe a condition I'm quite sure Sophie didn't have. We were nervous enough as it was, and really didn't need to be made more anxious by the doctor's need to show us that she can use big words. Our daughter expresses one cough every three hours- does she really need an antihistamine? And not only did Sophie not get better, it's almost as if her cough got worse after. After a full day of hacking, phlegmy cough and several bouts of crying yesterday, we decided to get a second opinion this morning. Lo and behold, we were told to literally throw away half the medicines we now have! It turns out that Doctor #1 is quite the alarmist and prescribed meds more suited for a chronically asthmatic child with allergies. Our daughter just has a cough!! Today, we got just good ol' cough syrup and something for her phlegm, were told she'll continue to cough over the next couple of days to expectorate the phlegm and clear her throat, and were thoughtfully and sensibly assured that she'll better on the mend in no time. Thanks Dr. Hew- you were always good with Sam and now Sophie loves you too.

In the meantime though, we've had to postpone our flight back to AA. We were supposed to leave on Monday but it would be 1) tough on Sophie, and 2) nerve-wrecking and socially irresponsible of us to travel when both Sophie and Jude are ill. Also, in light of tighter TSA regulations, who knows if we'll be able to bring Sophie's meds on board so we'd rather her be well before the flight. We're crossing our fingers that this 27-hour journey will be as relatively painless as our last...

Having a sick child at home is no fun, having a sick child and a sick husband, even less so. But at least we're with family and there's plenty of care, cuddles, and homemade barley water to go around... :)

[Oh, and world, Sam says hi! :)]