Catch Your Breath

Today started out like any other day. Jack woke up at 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. for feedings. He went back to sleep and woke up around 9:30 this morning. It's not a bad schedule, really. I am very thankful that he sleeps so well. It's true that he still gets up in the middle of the night, but when he sleeps until 9-9:30 a.m., it's easy to catch up on my sleep. At any rate, this morning was normal, until around 10:00 a.m. That's when I noticed that he was having a lot of trouble breathing. He had just had a bottle and was very active, and his breathing is worse then. I watched him struggle for an hour, rasping and gasping, alternating being on his back and then his tummy. It was really kind of scary. He hasn't been like that since he was tiny and I had hoped that by now he would be growing out of it. He was actually distracted by his own breathing and refused to play with me. It's very disconcerting to see his chest caving in as he tries to take in air. So, I called the Pediatric ENT in Indy and got him an appointment for May 8. I didn't really want to take him down there, because I know that they will run tests on him that will be uncomfortable for him, but it can't be any more uncomfortable than not being able to take a breath when you need to. He may just have some congestion that is making it worse today, but I really was kind of frightened this morning. He's still struggling this afternoon, but not as badly. I'm planning to try and catch it on video so that the doctor can see when he is really bad. It really makes you think--there is so much we take for granted--like breathing. You don't know just how precious it is until you sit and watch your little one fight just to take one breath. Please pray for little Jack that he will get better soon!