Sick Baby

Well we made it through our late January sickness. I don't know what it is but every single year we go through a really bad sickness at the end of January/early February. This was the first time in 4 years we haven't had to get someone on antibiotics though so maybe we're improving. :P 

Peaches came down with an extra nasty cold and ended up staying home and missing school and all activities for a full week. We pushed the vitamins hard and no one else seemed to get it. Then on Saturday at the basketball games Lou's nose started running like a faucet. I must have wiped it two dozen times. 

She continued to drip for the rest of the day and felt slightly warm that night so Daddy stayed home from church with her the next day. She had a good nap, but when Grandma and Grandpa came over she definitely wasn't feeling great. She kept going over to Grandpa for snuggles and back-rubs. 

 

If he put her down she would just toddle right back and lift her arms up.

 

The guys headed outside to work. Lou brought Grandma books to read.

And wanted lots of snuggles.

She did perk up enough to get into the pantry while I was making dinner. :P Apparently I wasn't making it quick enough for her.

She got feverish again Sunday night and Monday woke up very warm. She ended up being completely lethargic for the next three days. :( All she did was sleep or lay in someone's arms. The girls had spent Sunday night at Noni's since Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. day and when Noni brought them back Lou wanted nothing but to lay there and look around.

Thankfully she nursed really well, for longer periods, and had an extra feeding each of the three days. She slept long hours in her bed, and then would wake up and eat and I would hold her and she would fall right to sleep again. Poor baby. :(

Right when I took these pictures the big girls ran loudly through the house. She didn't open her eyes, but you can see her little furrowed brow.

Day 5 she was still completely laid out. I had been holding her any waking minute. If I had to do something that required two hands Boo would hold her for me.

She'd been hovering between 101-102 for the three days and then at the end of the third day she jumped up to 103 so we started Tylenol and I put a cooling patch on her head. She was still falling asleep at the drop of a hat. It was so sad to see her feeling so poorly. :(

Once the Tylenol kicked in she perked up a bit and even wanted down to play. She had been so lethargic and sick that she couldn't even get enough balance to stand. She sat and played with blocks for a few minutes.

And even gave us a half smile! It was so nice to see her looking better!

Unfortunately as soon as the Tylenol wore off her fever went right back up.

T had been texting with one of the PA's at the hospital and he figured it was viral and nothing could be done so we didn't take her in, but on Thursday she woke up at 4:30 in the morning completely inconsolable. The only time she wasn't screaming was when she was nursing. It was awful. She was screaming so loud and would reach for me, but as soon as I picked her up and tried to hold her she would throw her head back, pushing away, arching her back, and screaming like we were trying to kill her. Nothing I did (besides nursing) could calm her, and that only lasted so long. We gave her more Tylenol and she finally cried herself to back to sleep for an hour. 

As soon as the clinic opened we went over and they squeezed her in. I thought surely she must have an ear infection with all that wild banshee screaming. I was surprised to find out that she didn't have an ear infection. Her fever had finally broken at that point...day 6.  

The doctor said he had to really listen, but heard a tiny bit of fluid in her right lung. He gave me the option of getting her swabbed for flu, and getting a chest x-ray. He explained that the swab is very invasive and they don't like to expose them to the x-ray radiation unless absolutely necessary. Since she was already improving on her own her suggested we give it a little more time. We kept a close eye on her for the next 24 hours and she continued to improve slightly and the fever never went above 100 so we stuck with the decision to let it take it's course.

She wasn't as lethargic but she definitely wasn't happy. She just kind of zoned out and started crying at the drop of a hat. I was kind of happy that she felt well enough to be fussy though. She had been so quiet and still for the three days before.

The other thing bad thing was that she lost a full pound from her last visit in November. Thankfully she didn't cross any growth lines, but we have to go back next week to make sure she's gaining it back again. 

She ate about two bites of food that entire week. I kept trying to tempt her with her favorites but she wouldn't even touch them.

The only nice thing about her illness was she was way more snuggly and sweet than usual.

Friday (day 7) she was SUPER fussy and I was trying to clean the house in preparation for the double birthday party the next day. It seemed like one thing after another was going wrong. I went to take out the garbage and someone needed something so I put it down. It tipped over and dumped garbage, egg shells, blobs of frosting, and a full bowl of soggy Cheerios all over the floor.

 

Lou wouldn't let me put her down hardly at all that day. 

Peaches was getting things out faster than I could put them away. Bug was so helpful and made the birthday cakes for me, but that meant instead of being able to clean the kitchen it was getting messier by the second. 

All this on top of being cooped up in the house for a full two weeks (with Peaches sick the week before) had me about at my whit's end. I admit my attitude was just about as bad as Lou's. Our Youth Pastor's wife texted a funny Never Have I Ever - Mom version game to our bible study group and after responding and reading everyone else's funny answers I felt so much better. 

It's amazing what a few smiles, and camaraderie can do to improve one's mood. T was also so helpful during our confinement and several times left work just to come home and pick up one big girl or another and take them to basketball practice or dance and then went back to work. It was definitely a rough two weeks that I don't want to repeat any time soon, but we made it through just like we always do. A great reminder that this sinful world is not our home.