(5 months 3 weeks 5 days)

Ashton got whatever cold that Riley started to have, then passed to Reese and then Ashton and Scott..... unfortunately for an almost 6 month old you can't take any sinus medications or anything to help ward off the all consuming infection until it gets SO bad that you have go on antibiotics.

He was such a champ yesterday at our Panther Pals Playgroup Valentine's Day party, and even got the CUTEST face during his Valentine's Day photos with a bit of a cough, nothing too alarming.... but as soon as he woke from his nap he was coughing pretty heavy, sneezing and started wheezing! It kinda freaked me out, but he seems ok after some Tylenol.... I told Scott about it and he looked at him when we got home and we knew we had to call Dr. K in the morning to try and get an appointment so off to bed we went.....

However, no slept was to be had.

It takes a lot to alarm Scott, and this obviously did because as soon as everyone woke this morning he told me to take Ashton to Children's as soon as Linda picked up the girls.

Poor Ashton, no sleep, horrible cough and running a low grade fever.

I got him checked in as the nurses took him back to weigh him.... 19 1/2 POUNDS!!!!!! Holy cow. Big ol' boy! And if you were wondering, YES, that is about 2 lb heavier than Reese AND Riley at this stage.... and proud to say, it's mamma milk! Though we were going to start solids this weekend, however, the ER doctor said to wait until next week to make sure that antibiotics are kicking in, so we'll start after his 6 month well check on Tuesday.

Anyway, we were taken right back to a room.... they've changed the way that they check us in, I LOVE IT! Very fast and effective, just like working with adults. All information is taken in the room while other nurses are working on hooking up monitors and taking history. One of the nurses grabbed out a kid gown which was about 300x too big for Ashton... so I joked he was wearing his first dress. He thought it was funny as the nurse was helping to undress him.... he's SUCH a flirt.

The nurse put on a band aid heart monitor on Ashton's big toe and mentioned she was going to get him a pair of socks, but I had already packed a pair just in case.... something told me he may need them, mommy's intuition strikes again.

Sorry, cell phone photo

He wasn't too amuzed, especially while trying to cough, sneeze and breath at the same time.... and remember he and I have had NO sleep.

We waited about another 5 - 10 minutes when the attending came in to check out Ashton's vitals, ears and chest/lungs. Definitely mucus in his lungs, I mean you can FEEL it when he breaths so even I knew that. Then the doctor looked in both of Ashton's ears. HE DID NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL. And yes, he did have an ear infection in his left ear. Poor guy. Then he checked out his belly and looking for rashes when he saw that I was using cloth diapers. He told me he'd never seen that kind before and gave me HUGE kudos for using them and thought that mine were "very cool!" Happy to report that in another 2 months of using them I've already recouped all money that I would have spent on disposables and wipes.... good news is, I'll never have to buy another diaper again! Well, unless I see some cute AIO's!

Another doctor came in to verify Ashton's left ear diagnosis and gave us a prescription for ammoxicillian for 10 days twice a day. Ashton is an awesome medicine taker!

What a day..... and we ended up coming home and I passed out on the couch for 30 minutes while he took about an hour nap.... nothing impressive, but then again, the doctor said it would be 24 - 48 hours before he would start to feel better.