It’s no secret that this is my favorite time of year. But it seems like even every favorite comes with one drawback, and for our family, the negative side of fall is allergies.

I don’t mind suffering through it myself, probably because I’ve had so many years to get used to it. But I hate seeing my children feeling miserable, and it seems like it’s been especially bad this year. Poor Moose has suffered the worse–it seems like his nose has been running for the last month, and that, in turn, is making him cough. Generally, he feels and acts OK, but he sounds pathetic, and when you’re almost five, it’s no fun to stop what you’re doing every two minutes and blow your nose.

Things came to a head last night, though, when he started wheezing, and breathing rapidly. I spent all night wondering if those symptoms warranted a trip to the Emergency Room. I gave him some Benadryl, and figured I’d just keep watching him to see if he got any worse. He didn’t, so I decided he could wait until morning to see his doctor.

The doctor confirmed that his problems were coming from allergies. His airways were pretty blocked, though, so they had to give him a breathing treatment in the office.

Bunny even got to help out, holding the nebulizer, and getting “practice” for when she’s a doctor. What a good big sister!

He thought it was pretty cool. We told him he sounded like Darth Vader, and that seemed to amuse him. It must have made him feel better almost immediately, because he was actually willing to sit still and keep the mouthpiece in, and for Moose, this is nothing short of a miracle. We now have a prescription for similar home treatments, which is completely new to me.

It’s terrifying listening to your child having difficulty breathing in the middle of the night. I don’t think the same event during the day would have affected me so much. I am thankful, however, that I have the necessary resources to help in the middle of the night tonight, if I need to. I think we’ll all sleep a little easier knowing that!