40 weeks old: 9 months old and a visit to the doctor

I don't think Oliver is afraid of the swing anymore. We had a break in the rain one day and headed out for a walk and a stop at the park. Both kids had a cold but this was before it got really bad.

On day 8 of Oliver's illness we had his 9 month well child visit, and I was glad for the opportunity to have their pediatrician check them  both out. Eloise came down with similar symptoms about four days after Oliver and the pediatrician pronounced it bronchiolitis. A little research later revealed that Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) often affects kids birth to two years old in a hard way, and sometimes leads to more serious conditions like bronchiolitis or even pneumonia. Adults can get RSV, too, but in that case it's often experienced as very mild cold symptoms. That explains why I am not sick myself. The pediatrician advised to keep both kids home through the end of the week. Eloise got worse and developed a fever but Oliver avoided a fever and has been improving the last couple days. They both still have very runny noses. Oliver does not like to have his nose wiped or the bulb syringe used to suck the snot out of his nose. When he sees a tissue or the bulb syringe coming at him, he shakes his had side to side and puts his hands up trying to avoid contact. Other than the bronchiolitis, Oliver is developing on track according to the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and is following his growth curve. Here are his stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 2 oz (23%)

Height: 28.6" (61%)

Head circumference: 18" (71%)

I cleared our schedule and we laid low for the next few days after we left the pediatrician. While it's hard to see my babies not feeling well, I did enjoy the snuggles and embraced the quiet time with them. Oliver is great at paying attention to reading books and Eloise enjoys reading to us. She remembers the gist of the story and retells it.

With a stuffy nose, Oliver had a hard time eating and especially nursing. He would bite me some of the time and get frustrated and not latch at all. That's not a good feeling to see him crying because he's hungry but having a hard time latching. He did much better with a bottle for some reason, so about half his feedings have been by bottle. My how the tables have turned since the days when he rejected a bottle! In the last day or two he is feeling better and is back to nursing. 

Oliver is now eating three meals and one snack per day. Each meal is a puree that he is spoon fed and a finger food. Eloise often wants to eat his puffs or yogurt bites but I save them for Oliver. Here is a video of Oliver eating yogurt bites and Eloise "helping" pick up (and eat) one he dropped on the floor. The password is Oliver2015.

Oliver Yogurt Bites from Sarah Zuber on Vimeo.