This article is a continuation from Premature Anguish - A Repeat Performance

Lori and I crawled in bed exhausted from a long, emotional day at the hospital with Caitlin. Neither of us had gotten a good night sleep in six days, so even though I was worried about our little girl I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

A few hours later, I was awakened by the sound of our son Ty coughing and whining in his bed. I knew that Lori needed to sleep - she did have a baby just a few days ago. I also knew that our in-laws were exhausted - they had been watching Ty the past several days. I didn’t want to wake them either, so I jumped out of bed and stumbled over to Ty’s room.

When Ty isn’t feeling well, he likes for me to lay down next to him and snuggle. I was tired, so I didn’t even try to pat him back to sleep. I laid down and he snuggled into my chest. Then, he started coughing again. And again. And again, more violently.

I tried to rub his back but that only seemed to make it worse. I tried to sit up with him - no luck. I tried singing to him - he smacked my face…in between coughs. I tried everything - nothing worked. After twenty minutes or so, he finally coughed so much that he gagged and threw up all over me and his bed.

I rushed Ty downstairs to clean him up and make sure he was OK. I got him a drink of water to clear his throat. I washed off his face and arms, and I changed his clothes.

A few minutes after we got downstairs, he was fine. He actually wanted to play. He was asking me questions. “Daddy, what doin’?” he said. “Cleaning up,” I said. “Tommy?” he asked. “You want to watch Thomas [the train show]?” I asked, a little surprised but too tired to wonder why. “OK!” he said happily and started to dance around. I had to smile, as I turned it on. It was 3 a.m.

I finally got everything in Ty’s room cleaned up and remade for sleeping shortly after 4 a.m. I got the laundry going too, so that nothing would stain or smell. I washed Ty and myself off, but I couldn’t completely get rid of the puke smell. I wasn’t about to get in the shower though.

I took Ty’s temperature, and it was completely normal. I gave him some cough medicine, and then I laid down on the couch with him and turned the TV off. He coughed a few times, but I was able to get him back to sleep. I put him in bed at 5 a.m.

Saturday morning came fast. You know how it feels when you wake up and it seems like your head just hit the pillow? You slept several hours, but it only felt like a few minutes? That’s how I felt Saturday morning. I had bags under my eyes, and my ass was dragging. No amount of coffee was going to help me, but I drank several cups anyway.

Lori appreciated that I got up with Ty. She gave me a big hug and kiss, “Thanks honey! How do you feel?”

“Great!” I said, jokingly. “Ready to go!”

The reality of needing to get back to the hospital set in quickly. Both of us wanted to get an update in person from the doctor. We were fortunate to have Lori’s parents helping us watch Ty, so that we could go to the hospital together.

I gave Ty a kiss goodbye, and he said, “All better!” He was sitting at his indoor picnic table, watching one of his shows. He smiled and said, “Bye! See you later alligator!”

It was really cute, and I hoped that he wasn’t getting seriously ill. Maybe it was just allergies? It’s hard enough having one kid sick at a time, let alone one in the hospital and one sick at home.

When we got to the NICU, Caitlin’s nurse seemed particularly perky. “Hi guys!” she said enthusiastically. I felt like smacking her. Why was she so chipper? Didn’t she know that our little girl was extremely sick? Didn’t she know that our son was up most of the night? Didn’t she know that I was on the verge of a physical breakdown (and mental meltdown)?

What the hell was she so happy about? …….

I’ll post more about our story soon. In the meantime, feel free to get caught-up by reading the Related Posts below and see pictures of our baby girl Caitlin Arielle.

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