The last couple of days have been pretty hard. I think I wrote in my last post that I thought Annabel would be well enough to go to daycare the next day. Well, she wasn't, and in fact she seemed to be getting worse. By Thursday, she was on her 5th day of not eating, and though the vomiting and diarrhea were gone she still carried a small fever and incredible lethargy. Derek stayed home with her that day, and took her to the doctor. It had just gone on too long for our comfort. Also, her breathing has been awful and no amount of treatments was helping relieve her. She also has a cough that would scare any parent. It is very painful for her and she starts crying and shaking after she coughs. 

So he took her to the doc and was kind of discouraged when he left. They gave her 2 additional breathing tx's and an order for a chest x-ray. But really no other information, and no change of prescription on her breathing meds. 

Friday I took her to the hospital to get a chest x-ray and it was so sad! I don't know if any of you have ever seen a baby get this done, but they put them in this clear plastic cylinder with their arms up...kind of looks like a torture devise! I found this picture on the web, which is pretty accurate!

They asked me to stay out in the hall while doing this procedure, but I was like...."uh, no." At the risk of being a pain in the butt parent, I never feel comfortable leaving my baby in the care of strangers, even medical professionals and even for a few minutes! So anyway, after pestering the doctor's office all afternoon for results, he told me there wasn't too much in her lungs and it was probably "early stages of viral pneumonia." And since I have no idea what that means, and getting an explanation out of a doctor is like pulling a crocodile's teeth by hand, I have been doing my own research on webmd and other reputable sources:) Right now she's taking a steroid and an antibiotic.

As a parent, you just know when something is wrong. My baby is lethargic, apathetic, and has no light in her eyes. She's so weak she can hardly walk across the room and her hands are shaking.  Her skin is so sensitive to touch and I can tell her whole body aches. And today, Saturday, is her 7th day without eating. I shouldn't say that - in the past 2 days she has had a few bites of applesauce, 1 or 2 raisins and a spoonful of peanut butter. My mom came up this weekend and I think that has helped raise her spirits. She has smiled more and attempted to play a little bit. What a relief! I hate seeing how skinny she has gotten. Her fat rolls on her legs are completely gone and her face is thin and pale. :(

I bought a new camera battery-charger on ebay this week, so hopefully I'll get it today and I can take some pictures of her. However, I don't know if I want to remember her like this!