Guess who loves their nebulizer?

That’s right, Ella loves her breathing machine the doctor prescribed for her chest cold. It’s called a nebulizer. Much like hand and foot disease the nebulizer is just another bizarre thing that exists in this parallel universe where people with children live. Who knew?

Well apparently everyone with kids or grandkids. When I called my babysitter to tell her Ella was doing breathing treatments, she said “Oh yeah, we own a nebulizer.” Hmm. Another woman at work said, “Oh yeah, my son had to be on one of those for six months.” My mom also said she owns one too, adding that we could have it if we want it. Will I need a nebulizer again? The doctor actually sent us home with a machine that we rent from another company. But she suggested we ask them how much it is to buy, because she didn’t think they were very costly and insurance might cover it. But, again, this thing I’ve never heard of – do I suddenly need to own one now? It’s all very strange.

Anyway, when they brought this machine in with a gas mask looking attachment, I got a little bit worried. And sure enough, Ella screamed and cried when we put it on her. It makes sorta a low-pitched loud humming noise and steam rolls out of the mask. No wonder Ella’s scared as we cover her mouth and nose with it. The doctor assured us though that even if she’s crying she’s actually getting more of the medicine in, so all the better. But what about the emotional torture, I wondered. And she told us we need to do it THREE times a day.

So this morning I wasn’t looking forward to our first breathing treatment. I decided I needed to make a really nice atmosphere for us and the nebulizer. So, I got Ella’s blankie, turned on Ratatouille in her bedroom (yes, she’s got a TV in her room, it was really for me, for all those long nights of breastfeeding) and held her in her rocking chair. At first, she started crying again. So, I kept putting it over my face – the most sure way to get her to do anything. And sure enough, she let me put it on her face. And suddenly like something just washed over her, she just relaxed. We sat their for 4 or 5 minutes and she just breathed in the medicine and watched her movie. I was so glad. And after we stopped she investigated the machine for a minute, pulling out the cord and playing with the mask. She’s really interested in this new device.

And she was really improving over the course of the day. She sounds so much better than yesterday. Her second breathing treatment wasn’t as perfect, but she took in most of the medicine. And we’ll do another round tonight. I think she’s going to be all better tomorrow. I think I may just buy that nebulizer.