The Complete and authoritative guide CARING FOR YOUR BABY & YOUNG CHILD

If you have children you know you need help understanding all the medical issues that come with them.

With 4 kids you can bet this book is always on hand

Last night after a long visit to the ER which begun at 11:00pm and didn't end until the wee hours of this morning we pulled out this lovely book to look up

PNEUMONIA

here is what we learned:Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung.[1] Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid. (The alveoli are microscopic air-filled sacs in the lungs responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere.) Pneumonia can result from a variety of causes, including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and chemical or physical injury to the lungs. Its cause may also be officially described as idiopathic—that is, unknown—when infectious causes have been excluded.
Typical symptoms associated with pneumonia include cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty in breathing. Diagnostic tools include x-rays and examination of the sputum. Treatment depends on the cause of pneumonia; bacterial pneumonia is treated with antibiotics.

Yup, Baby C has it! Here is what the book doesn't tell you:

**You will be up all night... not only because his breathing will be so loud you can't sleep for fear of well...you know, but because you will be in the ER getting X-rays, Suction & Respiratory therapy

** You will not be catching up on sleep the next day either.....you will be at the Doctors office ( not doubt getting more scared than you already are), the IHC medical equipment store learning how to use a Nebulizer (a nebulizer is a device used to administer medication to people in forms of a liquid mist to the airways .Also called "atomizers", they pump air or oxygen through a liquid medicine to turn it into a vapor, which is then inhaled by the patient), & at the pharmacy picking up medicine for the Babe who has already been poked and proded enough for an entire life time... in one night!

** You will be very very engorged because.....the sick baby will not want to nurse because lets face it HE IS TIRED from all the tests, poking, and such

** You will try to convince your 3 other children that watching a movie is just as good as...... doing pretty much anything else ( something you swore you would never do, let your tv baby sit)

** You will also have a Mom & friends who lend you an ear while you come totally apart, then help if with nothing but kind words and understanding......IT WILL HELP (thanks....you know who you are)

**You will wish you were the kind of MOM that was always calm and collected

** You will have a husband who even though he is Extremely busy, will do everything he can for you and your Family & will give your little babe a blessing ( which will be the only time you relax)

I hope you never meet my definition of pneumonia, but if you do have this experience......you are not alone!

Thanks to American Academy of Pediatrics for making these health issues a little more understandable

****Note From the Author***

Baby C not only charmed the ER Doc with his coo's and smiles, he won the hearts of every ER nurse with his dimples, Always the Cassanova