Tobey: Upgraded to a nebulizer

As if an initiation into the male Lih asthmatics club, Tobey got a nebulizer this week for his Albuterol.

His latest cold yielded a lot of short and labored breathing that just wouldn't go away for more than an hour at a time with puffs of Albuterol from his inhaler. Tom called for an appointment with Dr. Moore and we took him in on Monday.

This was actually the first appointment ever that I've missed, of Tobey's or Eli's (or of pregnancy, obviously). I was in the car letting Eli sleep and since Tom was on top of this cold as much or more than I was, he went in with Tobey.

Forty-five minutes later, they walk out with a box in Tom's arms and I knew it had happened. The nebulizer. The good news is, Dr. Moore said we were right to come in, thus putting to rest the uncertainty I had of whether we needed to bring him in to be seen. Apparently Tobey was breathing 60x per minute or faster which was bad. After expressing our uncertainty, Tom said Dr. Moore said we are always right on with our kids' health. Always nice to get a pat on the back from someone we respect.

So speaking of respect, Tom said Dr. Moore was awesome in introducing the nebulizer to Tobey. He made it sound super exciting, calling it the astronaut mask and playing scratch-n-sniff stickers with him during his 5-minute treatment to try to get him to take deep sniffing breaths. It was also impressive that he stuck around at all as when I had the nebulizer once at urgent care several years ago, the doctor stepped out and came back 10 min. later, not that I needed to be entertained by scratch-n-sniff stickers. Tom said the only embarassing part was that Dr. Moore would hold up a sticker of SpongeBob and say, "Ooo, Tobey, who's this?" (Silence. He doesn't know SpongeBob.) And then a sticker of Maya & Miguel and say, "Who's this?" (Silence.) And on and on. Tom said Tobey didn't even react to Curious George whom he does know. Maybe Tobey was just not feeling great that day.

On a related note, the nebulizer box wasn't the only thing that Tom and Tobey walked out of the doctor's office with. Tobey also walked out with a LOLLIPOP in his mouth. Whenever Dr. Moore brings out lollipops and stickers at the end of a visit, I've always either axed the lollipops before they came into view or quickly redirected Tobey to the sparkly stickers. But Tom said this time he caved. Great. That means a struggle (or a lollipop) each time we go to the doctor's now.

Well, that's okay. The fact that Tom took off work early for Tobey's appointment (and how involved and concerned he is whenever our kids are sick) makes up for the lollipop.