My kids are sick :(

Pooopy! My kids are sick, like not just a cold sick but really sick, for the first times ever.  Lauren made it til exactly 20 months old before needing antibiotics.  Kaelin just 7.5 months.  I am thankful that they have been healthy thus far, but this sick stuff and medicine stuff is the pits.  Both girls have been super congested and coughing for MONTHS.  I mentioned this to the Dr. both at the end of January and end of March at the girls' well checks but he just blew it off as a common cold and teething.  I told him they have had these symptoms since December.  I was finally fed up yesterday morning.  Tuesday, Lauren came home from school with a fever and then Kaelin felt warm all day Wednesday.  By Wednesday night I noticed her right ear was draining.  She woke up Thursday morning with another fever, not super high but still a fever nonetheless.  I called up the nurse and she said since it had been going on for a while that I should bring them in.
When we got there, they took us back immediately (that NEVER happens).  The nurse that saw the girls jaw dropped when I said they have been dealing with this congestion and and coughing for MONTHS and that they had been seen twice by the Dr. already.  She repeated back to me and said "MONTHS?" and I said.."yes, Months!"   She said "okay, I will go get the Dr." 
The Dr. came in and was there for all but 5 minutes.  Long enough to hear the wheezing in Kaelin's chest and the gunk running out of her ear.  It was determined that she had an ear infection and bronchitis.
Lauren isn't too fond of the doctor and screamed the whole time.  She clinched down and refused to open her mouth.  He managed to listen to her chest.  At that time he said to me "Does asthma run in your family?" .  I said that my younger sister was always using nebulizer treatments for bronchitis/asthma but other than that I didn't know of anyone else that had issues.  He never really said what Lauren had, but because of her cough, and congestion and recent fever, he put her on the same meds as Kaelin. 
Now...I am happy that they are soon to be on the mend because of the meds but kinda annoyed that it took the doctor 4 months to actually do something about it. 
Now the next hurdle I am trying to jump is how to get Kaelin, my baby, to take her meds.  Walgreens said that she was not old enough to have flavoring added to hers.  Lauren's meds are the same exact thing but have cherry flavoring and she takes them like a champ.  No issues there.  Kaelin's meds however are so bitter and nasty! It's straight up medicine. YUCK!  I've tried putting it in her food and what not, and she refuses to eat it.  Not to mention the dairy in her formula makes her produce more phlegm which makes her cough and throw up her bottle.  It has not been fun in our house the last few days. 
Finally this morning I just held her down, squeezed her cheeks and forced the medicine in her mouth.  She had an empty stomach, so I knew that she wouldn't have anything to spit up if she did gag.  I figured out that if I blew in her face it would cause her to swallow.  I'm going to try it again tomorrow morning before her bottle and hope that she takes it again.  Only 3 more days of this stuff after today and I hope that they show signs of improvement. 

Anyway, I am going to rest while both girls are napping.  It is such a gorgeous day out.  I have the windows open and it feels amazing.  I might just have to lay down and nap too :-) I hope everyone has a great weekend!