I can be Charlie Brown in the Green House

Man, screaming yourself to sleep must be really fun for how much Holly is doing it lately. I'm glad we don't live in an apartment any more or everyone would think we're the world's worst parents.

Holly's cold has continued throughout the week, to the point where I had to take Friday off because her fever was too high to be at daycare, and I handle lack of sleep better than Jody. Not really bragging, I just do...to a point. I'm better at going at it stubbornly for sometimes days at a time and then crashing hard. Like when I fell asleep with the baby in my arms at the hospital after 36 hours of no sleep. Hey, I didn't have the hardest time that day, but man, my feet stunk after wearing the same shoes for that long. Holly was just so warm as newborn in my arms...one minute I was enjoying her and one minute later (by my perception) she was gone. I almost had a heart attack that I had dropped her until I was told she was taken out of my arms a few hours (!?) earlier.

Anyway, since Holly was still sick on Saturday with the infant Motrin having less and less effect, we decided to call the doctor. Since it's Saturday, we can only get the on-call doctor at the pediatric hospital. A couple hours later when they called back, they told us since her fever has been around for a couple days, and her behaviour is not normal, we should take her to the ER, since that's the only place open that can check her on a Saturday.

My kids will not get sick on a Saturday ever again. It costs much more to be randomly sick on a Saturday rather than a Wednesday.

So after a couple hours in the Emergency Room at the local hospital, where Holly is now in full spirits for the first time in days, we get in to finally see the final doctor. I love the 4 doctors who ask the same questions to make you feel like you're being serviced before you get to see the REAL doctor. Holly loved the hospital and was bright eyed for the first time in a week, and flirting with all the doctors, and generally looking not sick enough that we looked like paranoid new parents even though we were TOLD to take her there by our doctor, who wasn't working today. Now, even though her fever is up, it's not up enough for the doctor to be worried, and even though there's a rattle in her lungs, it's not rattling enough for the doctor to be worried, and we look kind of like dinks who are out $75 and 5 hours of their time. We at least got a prescription for a sinus infection drug that we got with a shrug and a "maybe this is the problem" look.

At least Holly had a good time. Then she promptly got hotter when we got home and spent 3 am to 4 am screaming at the top of her lungs.

Then she had the world's hardest poop. I would have screamed for an hour pushing that one out.

So it's time for prunes this morning and some daddy-baby adventures to places that are open early on Sunday so Mommy can get some quiet rest.

The moral of the story is that in the States, if you want more affordable health care, just, watch what day of the week your baby gets really sick on. Otherwise, you're surrounded by real emergencies and doctors rolling their eyes at you and your baby.