It's that time of year again

Ah, the season of runny noses. This will be our third stint through RSV/flu season and each time, I enter it with high hopes. The first year, we were in full lock-down mode as the girls came home from the hospital right before Thanksgiving, so we banned visits from all kids and most adults until spring and the girls got narry a sniffle. Last year was our first full exposure to the joys of the season and we learned that the girls both seem prone to picking up anything and everything that happens to be floating around, and that, most likely because of their prematurity and still somewhat immature respiratory airways, colds that other kids seem to shake off easily settle into our girls upper and lower airways and hang around for awhile. Runny noses get worse, fevers start, and within a few days we're off to the doctor to make sure they don't need antibiotics or steroids.

All things considered, it could have been much worse, but all parents know that any time their kid is sick is not a good time. Parents of more than one small child under the age of 3 know that it can be pretty awful.

This year, we're already under way with our first major cold. The sniffles we had a few weeks back came and went so quickly that I got cocky: "Maybe last year, they built up their immunity so this year they'll come out of this much more easily."

Ah, the naivete of a first-time mom.

Well, the sniffles came back. And they stayed. Isabelle seems to be doing okay running around with booger-nose, but Hannah is another story. Her congestion just kept getting worse and worse, and now she is coughing/spitting up mucous, not eating, not sleeping well, and all-around miserable. Off to the doctor we went; thankfully this time, no steriods or antibiotics were needed, just lots of fluids, TLC and tylenol to make her comfortable.

I just hope it passes quickly: we're all stir-crazy and sleep-deprived and looking forward to this weekend's visit with Grammie and Papa for some reinforcements and extra attention for the girls. Thank God for family!