Sickness

Since Jackson started daycare at 8 weeks, I was anticipating the cough/cold/snot to be a regular visitor at our house.  Dr. Wilson told me that about every 2 weeks, he would probably have something, and that's been very accurate.  His last cold, which also happened to be his first ear infection, was January 12th, so I was waiting for something at the end of January, but he was fine.  And he stayed fine for six weeks, so that's a pretty good record! 

Last Thursday night, he woke up congested and couldn't breathe.  We plugged up the humidifier and waited.  The next morning, his fever was 99, and I could tell he didn't feel good, but we went ahead and went to school and work.  I knew they would call me if his fever went up, so I was prepared to leave work at any minute.  I was going to get him early anyway since I had to go to Sherwood and sign taxes and pick up pizza for Friday night's dinner with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Josh.  Sure enough, the daycare called around noon saying his fever was still 99, but he was really fussy and pulling at his ear.  I went to get him and immediately made an appointment with Dr. Wilson.

We ran our errands, and rode around so he could finish his nap, and then went to the doctor's office to hang out.  By the time we got back to see the nurse, his fever was up to 101.  They gave him some IBP and tested him for RSV (which he was NOT happy about the qtip up his nose).  Luckily it was not RSV, but Dr. Wilson said that his ear was a little pink, but not infected.  She said to watch the fever over the weekend, and if it wasn't better by Monday, to call back.

So we had to cancel dinner with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Josh that night, and we stayed in on Saturday.  Every time his IBP wore off, the fever would come back up, and by 5 p.m. that evening it had gone up to 103.  Poor baby, you could tell he didn't feel good.  That night, I had helped plan a Valentine's Party for our Lifegroup, and had to go up to the church to help set up.  Brent stayed home with Jackson, and I enjoyed the few minutes of visiting that I got to do.  Right as I was sitting down to eat, Brent called and said his fever had gone up.  So I grabbed some to-go plates and headed back home.  He needed his mama, and Brent needed help.

After a lukewarm bath (which he was also not happy with), and some more Tylenol and IBP, we settled in for the night.  He woke up just about every time the medicine wore off, and we are not used to the up in the night anymore.  Of course on Sunday morning, we stayed in and he had a really good morning.  I thought, "hey we might have just had a little virus", but oh no.  About 11 a.m., the fever came back and we were right back where we started.

Monday was President's Day, which I was already off, so Jackson and I got to spend the day together.  I had to buy some groceries and then we went back to see Dr. Wilson that afternoon.  Four days of constant fever was an infection in my book, not just virus.  Sure enough, his left ear (which was the ear that was infected the last time) was red and draining.  She gave us a prescription for Augmenten, but also recommended a probiotic to go along with it.  This probiotic is the smallest vial you've ever seen, and it's very expensive ($20), but it keeps them from getting diarrhea with the strong antibiotics.  He takes it once a day, and he's not had any tummy trouble.  Whoo hoo! 

Because he did have some fever on Monday, I decided to keep him home on Tuesday as well.  He didn't run any fever, but he was still cranky.  By the time his daddy got home that evening, I think we were both tired of each other.  I truly believe that God has not called me to be a stay-at-home mother, and I am perfectly fine with it.  I enjoy my flexibility that my work provides to take care of him as needed, but I am a people person and need to be around other adults and have interaction.

Anyway, he went back to school on Wednesday, and I think he was very glad to see his friends. They even went for a buggy ride because the weather was so nice. 

Guess he was good if he got to sit in the front.  

I was very frustrated on Monday, but then I thought about how parents have to deal with long-term sickness in children.  I said a prayer for those people, and thanked God that Jackson has been healthy since his arrival.

Somebody has learned to cheese it when I snap a picture.  I'm such a proud mama! 

And he likes to hang onto the end table in the living room.  We're waiting to see how long it takes him to decide to take a bite out of it. 

I am Mother of the Year.  When recovering on Tuesday, I let him watch as much TV as he wanted.  Thank GOD for the Baby Channel on DirecTV.  It's age appropriate and educational.