Hot child in the city

Still running a fever, but not
so bad she couldn't go shopping :)

A hot little number

Emme and I got to spend the day together, unfortunately because she is sick and running a fever.  The daycare called me yesterday when I was already on my way to pick up; Emme had a fever and was fussy and uncomfortable.  She slept well last night and napped more than usual today.  I've only given her two doses of medication today when she seemed inconsolable, but she's pretty much running a fever otherwise.  I don't take her temperature as it's pretty easy to tell whether she's normal, a little warm, or really hot, and without other symptoms, even the level of really hot doesn't make me too worried.  I'm on fall break, which means I don't have classes or meetings today like I normally would.  The flip side is that I'd planned to spend the day getting ahead on work and instead spent the day basically holding and rocking the baby.  Not a bad way to spend the day, I think, but still.  She's staying home again tomorrow, and I'm hoping she'll feel enough better to sneak out for a few errands.  Really important things, like checking out the new Nordstrom's.  

Bugged out

Everyone finally seems to be bug free at our house.  Wes got the bug late Monday night, and he and I spent most of Tuesday home on the couch while the kids were at daycare.  When I went to pick them up early that afternoon, I learned that Emme had been tired and fussy all day, just not herself, and had recently spit up and was running a low fever.  By the time we got her home she was burning up, and after some Tylenol, she slept 4:30-8, and then 9pm-6am.  She stayed home from daycare Wednesday and Thursday, with the help of a babysitter on Wednesday and Grandma Kay on Thursday afternoon, so that I could go to class and teach class, respectively.  She had a persistent fever on Wednesday, helped only with Tylenol, and refused any baby food.  On Thursday, the fever was gone, but she was still clearly uncomfortable and only started to take a little baby food in the afternoon.  She was pretty sad the whole time.  If I put her down, she either cried to be picked up or just sat on the floor looking around, zapped of any energy to crawl.  She snuggled happily and pretty much wanted to be with me all day -- clearly a sign she wasn't feeling well!  I wasn't sure if I would send her Friday, but after it took me five minutes to get her diapered and dressed in the morning (owing to the fact that she wouldn't lie still) and she did a lot of smiling and cooing, I decided to send her on so that I could finally get some schoolwork done.  She made it through the day fine, though she was clearly worn out afterwards.  She has had several nasty poops since then -- not clear if they are simply a return to breast milk poop since she refused baby food for so long or a sign that the bug is still there a little bit.  She also has a pretty nasty rash all over, though the worst on her diaper area, but Wes says it's just an after effect of the fever.  I'm hoping it clears up in the next day as it looks kind of uncomfortable.

We have done lots of laundry this week.  I've also made sure that all the hand soap in the bathrooms is antibacterial.  I still need to Clorox doorknobs and wipe down some toys, but otherwise, we've hopefully staved off a return of this thing.  With the temperatures being up and down like they have in the last week, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone is sick with a respiratory infection or some such thing, but I'm hoping we can all get a little rest and relaxation before that happens.

Bugged

It seems we have a bug in our house.  A small one, I think, but definitely moving around.  Two of the babies in Emme's room at daycare on Friday had multiple runny diapers.  Then on Saturday, Oliver had several very large, very runny stools, followed by a long nap (almost always a sign that he is not feeling well).  He seemed somewhat better yesterday (though he napped again), and his appetite and energy never diminished significantly like it has in the past with more serious illnesses.  Emme has thus far been spared this bug, for which I am especially thankful.  Unfortunately, though, I have not been spared the bug myself.  I woke up this morning with a queasy stomach and all that goes with that, and have just in the past half hour been visited but the ghost of breakfast past.  Wes is at home with the kids today because I have class all afternoon.  I am reluctant to miss at all as I am scheduled to be out in late October for a trip.  The down side is I'm spending a cool, rainy Labor Day away from my family, sitting in a very chilly office on campus trying to do some reading while feeling horribly.  The up side is I'm not trying to take care of my two very mobile children while feeling horribly.  I guess I'll take it.

And another thing

Thanks to a series of episodes that necessitates its own post on the other blog, this has not been a great week at, or more specifically for, our house.  And just when we thought we had gotten to, while not the worst it could get, the worst it was likely to get without a true tragedy befalling us, we got this: the rotavirus.  Oliver came home seemingly fine, then had a very weird diaper before bedtime, and now, two hours later, has been bathed in whole or in part twice and been through two sets of bed linens.  He is now resting, hopefully comfortably, one some plastic gymnastics mats.  I'm sitting upstairs in the nook working on a paper, so I've heard both upchucks from the other side of the door.  I can hear him in there now with his strange, short breaths, almost a little whimper.  At almost 37 weeks pregnant, I'm really hoping not to catch this things, especially since I need a few more hours to get my final paper done and turned in!

Wash, wash.

A Shetland pony walks into a McDonalds...

But then I'm sure you've heard the rest.  I am completely hoarse right now, so all of you out there who had been waiting until today to call me and tell me how much I mean to you -- please wait a few more days.  It seems that some special kisses from Oliver transferred his runny nose/bit a cough/sleepier than usual germs to me, and I've mostly ended up with a slightly sore throat/complete hoarseness/bit a cough.  I don't know if I can blame the sleepiness completely on him.  So he's at daycare today, since I can neither reprimand him for climbing on the table nor read to him, his one great passion these days.  Instead, I am home, about to do some weeding, then vacuuming/ironing, then extended time on the computer.  I am going to his potluck at daycare tonight, hoping that I can just smile and nod a lot.

Ollie and I did have fun yesterday on our Summer of Fun, Day 1.  My friend Melissa met us in the morning, and we took both Ollie and Lucy to Centennial Park for a big walk, including visits with duck and geese, and playing on the playground.  We read some books back here before Melissa took off and Ollie had lunch and a nap.  After nap and snack we played a bit in the house and then took off for another park we'd never visited before, down Granny White.  It was unshaded, so hot in the sun and hot on the plastic slides.  We stayed for 45 minutes before we came home, where Wes was awaiting our return.  We had dinner (Oliver had his first hamburger, eating in 3 parts: bun, bun, meat + cheese), then went to Maggie Moos for ice cream.  I fell almost asleep on the couch by 10pm but slept poorly.  Oliver, worn out from all the fun and his cold, slept until almost 8am.  

He's supposed to stay home again tomorrow, for Summer of Fun, Day 2, but that might have to be delayed if I don't get my voice back.  I love him, and he's pretty well behaved, but there's only so much fun mom can make without any voice at all.

Sick and sicker

Oliver is sick, once again. It seems he's suffered an endless string of colds, fevers, and diarrhea since starting daycare five weeks ago. Not unusual, but challenging in the best of circumstances and even more so when mom and dad are both working and going to school, and neither is in a situation conducive to calling in sick if necessary. Fortunately, I had anticipated this and set up several sitters for different days of the week if Oliver needed to be out.

Ollie got sent home from daycare last Thursday with a fever. It was only 102, but that's high enough to have to stay out for 24 hours. He was home with a sitter on Friday (someone who, we learned last time, knows my sister and brother-in-law -- what an amazing coincidence is that). Erin is a wonderful sitter, very competent with sick ones. She even has a carseat in her car should something come up that required her to haul Oliver. She mentioned that he'd been very still on Friday, sitting with her a lot. That's very out of character for Oliver, so I knew he really wasn't feeling well.

Yesterday morning he played with less vigor than usual. But the Tylenol seems to mitigate his symptoms enough for him to be up and about some. After his morning nap, though, he was a different patient. He barely ate any lunch and spent the next 2-3 hours sitting in my lap or lying on Wes's chest -- not sleeping, just being still. He took a four-hour nap after that (from which I roused him as the evening wore on). He woke up very sweaty, so he got a bath, then ate a bit more for dinner, and was in bed two hours later.

He's showing more life this morning, but the runny nose and cough are still bothering him, and he's still on a four-hour dosing schedule of Tylenol or Motrin (we try to wait to see if he really needs it, but so far, he does). We have a date with a friend to the zoo today, but I fear we might need to cancel. He's also supposed to start his first day of his new daycare tomorrow, but I'm thinking that probably won't happen. I don't want to mix him still feeling poorly with a new day at a new place. I'd rather shell out money for a sitter than have him suffer through that, even if he's not running a fever by then.

Nobody wants a sick kid, but I must admit I'm enjoying my few moments of snuggling with Ollie. He's never been big on being held -- at least not since he could move much at all -- so I have to get my fill when he's compliant.

Sick

It's hard to tell from looking at him, but Oliver is officially sick for the first time. He has what Wes believes is the croup, but at the very least is a nasty cold. He has a mid-grade fever, a runny nose, and a nasty barking cough that is classic of the croup. He's been in pretty good spirits all things considered, but he's obviously uncomfortable and cries when I try and clean out his nose. His appetite is somewhat diminished, and he's pretty tired. Fortunately he's done okay at night.

For now we're listening to make sure his breathing doesn't speed up and he doesn't develop a stridor -- two indicators that he needs to see a doctor. Wes is working all weekend this weekend, so it's me and Ollie hanging out and trying to stay warm -- sometimes hard to do when I have to take the dog out (though one website said that those brief outings can help with any swelling in his airways). His cough is the worst -- just so hacking, and I don't know what to do for it. We don't have a humidifier, but we do put him in his carseat in the bathroom when we shower and let him nap in the carseat as it helps to keep him upright.

Thankfully I have a long weekend this weekend, so I can be with him and monitor how he's doing. If he's still nasty by Wednesday, Wes and I will split the workday so that our sitter doesn't expose her son to him. For now, lots of hugs and cuddles and Kleenex!

Ollie's Journal, Weeks 9-12

Things I did (so much!):
1. Took my first big trip. I was so good on the plane and didn't fuss at all.
2. Had my first babysitter (and my second, the lady who is keeping me when mom and dad are both at work.)
3. Visited with Grandma N. while mom returned to work. She was sad to be away but happy for the adult conversation -- at work and with Grandma. (Evidently my increasing cooing, while adorable, is not enough to sufficiently engage her brain each day.)
4. Went to some work functions for mom and dad. Mom found that holding me during parent-teacher conferences really cut some of the tension out of the equation!
5. Fought the sniffles. If only I knew how to blow my nose already.

Right now:
Sleeping in the stroller after a brief outing with the dog. I don't nap real great, so mom just lets me sleep whenever she can get me down!