Teething, illness & jet-lag... oh my.

My snotty-nose 15-month-old.

It has been a rough couple days and nights in the Saigh household. We got back to Minnesota from Singapore on Sunday, and after the 19-hour flight, the three of us were pretty jet-lagged. My parents took Linna for the night, so AJ and I could unpack, nap, and get the house organized. Between Linna getting her molars, her cold/cough, and her lack of sleep, my parents had quite the night.

Linna normally sleeps from about 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., but my parents said she was up almost every hour coughing and crying Sunday night. When I picked her up on Monday, she still wasn't feeling very well. She had a runny nose, had no appetite, and was just plain crabby! I took her temperature, and it was normal, but when I got her home her cough got worse and worse. Linna literally sounds like a 95-year-old smoker. Trying to get your baby back on schedule after a 19-hour flight is one thing, but add teething and illness on top of it, and we were in for an exhausting couple days and night ahead.

Linna has been so tired, but Monday night and Tuesday during the day, she had a really had time falling and staying asleep because she was so plugged up and couldn't stop coughing. I think laying flat was rough on Linna, so we spent a lot of time during the day watching her TV shows and cuddling upright on the couch. On Wednesday afternoon she slept for 4 HOURS! Nighttime has been the worst though. Since we got home from Singapore, Linna falls asleep around 5 or 6 p.m., and I'm so exhausted that I fall asleep around 6:30 p.m. She gets up at 10 p.m., Midnight, 1:30 a.m., 3 a.m., and usually just cries and stands up in her crib, until I go in an lay her back down and rub her back. It's like having a newborn ALL OVER AGAIN! The last two nights, however, she stood up in her crib and whined, but went back to sleep without me having to go in there. She pretty much did this same thing when we arrived in Singapore (minus having a cold/cough) and it lasted for two weeks. Arg:( Tuesday morning she "woke up for good" at 4 a.m., and Wednesday she was up at 5 a.m., and today is was 4 a.m. This is NOT the 7:30 a.m. we're used to! Mama Saigh is tired.

Sick baby snuggling on the couch with Mama.

She is feeling a lot better today, but Tuesday she was in SUCH rough shape. She would cough so hard that she would almost throw up. I was very close to taking her in because I thought she might have the flu, but after looking up flu symptoms online, it sounded like she just had a really bad cold (flu coughs are "dry", and Linna's is "wet"). Between running her humidifier, giving her Infant Ibuprofen around the clock (every 4-6 hours), children's cough medicine (we use Hyland's Baby Cough Syrup), and lots of cuddles and love, I think Linna is on the mend. Her appetite has returned, however, her runny nose has gone from clear to green, and today it's back to clear. Although she woke up this morning at 4 a.m., it's currently 6:30 a.m. and she is down for a nap:)

Painful molars popping through Linna's little gums. Poor baby!

Linna and I also took a liquid over-the-counter melatonin (our pediatrician said it was fine to give Linna 1mg per day) last night and Tuesday night to get back on schedule, and although we're not 100% there yet, it does make a difference. When I didn't take the melatonin on Monday night, I went to bed at 7 p.m. and was completely awake at 1 a.m. Tuesday night I took it at 6 p.m., went to bed at 6:30 p.m., and didn't wake up until 3:30 a.m. Same situation last night. That's a little progress, right?!

Although we're all exhausted, it is getting better. My parents are just down the road to help out, but eventually we'll get back to normal. Please send us healthy, restful, positive thoughts... and wine;)