We made it through the month of January completely congestion free. And then it started with a dry cough. One that woke Shelby up every three or four hours...which meant John was up every three or four hours...which meant that eventually, for some reason, he would wake me up every three to four hours. (I'm sure all of this can be explained through extensive therapy) I won't even begin to add Ana's interrupted sleep schedule to the mix. We've been the walking dead family for over two weeks! Just a few days ago, Shelby's cough produced a snotty nose, and an even snottier than usual attitude to go with it. What can I say, the kid has always been into accessories. After 3 days of a rattling chest, more coughing attacks, and an appetite exclusively reserved for sugar, we agreed it was time to see a doctor. I settled on the Walk In Clinic because of its location-I can't shop at any stores near the pediatrician's office. We were told it was a 40 minute wait so we signed in and then walked over to the ice cream store. Upon returning for the second time, the nurse instructed to have a seat and the doctor would be with us shortly. I sat there with my two kids and watched every college kid enrolled in the EMT paramedic program at the local college come in for a drug test. Conversations about parties, roommates and the latest class assignments were everything to keep me from remembering that I'd been kept waiting for over an hour now with TWO kids! Isn't there a law about that? We'd already used up all the dixie cups for the water cooler, the floor couldn't be any cleaner where Shelby decided to do tummy slides until the dust had cleared from the linoleum, Ana had spit up on all of us and the chairs we sat in. Come on people, patience can only last so long in this situation. "Shelby,we're ready for you." Oh, FINALLY, music to my ears. It took us a lifetime to pack up the kid toys, blankets, car seat, clothes Shelby had stripped out of while we waited, and the trash we'd accumulated while shredding paper and "crashing up" the dixie cups. When we made it to the waiting room, the nurse weighed Shelby and then asked a few questions. I don't know why they do this because inevitably, the doctor comes in and asks the same damned questions. And then, she says, "If you'll just return to the waiting room until we can find a space for you to see the doctor..." WHAT??? Go back out there? I had just started breast feeding Ana, so with my one free hand (and no help from the nurse, thank you very much) we once again loaded up all of our crap and awkardly lumbered back out to the waiting room...for another half an hour!!! Well, when we finally got in to see the doctor I had settled on letting Ana cry it out in hopes that her noise would speed up our progress through this hell hole. And after all this, you guessed it, the doctor gave Shelby a clean bill of health (aside from the common cold and equally common toddler tantrums she is suffering from). I was so frazzled by the end of this ordeal we came home and holed up in front of a movie for the rest of the afternoon. Mommy needs some quiet time.
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