It's Never Good When Daycare Calls

It was 1:30 pm on a Monday afternoon. I was on the phone with my boss when the call waiting started to beep.

Willowcreek Academy.

It was James' daycare. And you know a call from daycare in the middle of the day is not good news.  I quickly clicked over and heard the Director on the other side of the phone tell me that James had a 104.1 fever and that I needed to get there ASAP.

104.1

That was the only thing that I heard.

Of course I grabbed my keys, raced to the car and flew to grab James.  Luckily, the daycare center is just 3 minutes away so he was in my arms within 5 minutes.  I couldn't believe how warm he was and how quickly it came on.  He was screaming (naturally) and I did all I could to make him comfortable.

We were at the doctor 30 minutes later where she confirmed pretty much nothing.  Ears were fine.  Lungs were fine.  His throat was red, but that was all she saw.  She said it was viral so she sent us home with instructions to administer Motrin every 6 hours to bring the fever down and make him comfortable.

The minute we got home, I gave him the meds and laid him on my chest.  He passed out immediately.

Over the course of the next 5 days his fever went up and down.  He developed lots and lots of congestion and a wicked cough that kept him (and us) up at night.  We spent lots of time in a steamy bathroom to help him breathe and we've used lots of saline drops to soothe his nose.

By Saturday morning, he was no longer taking his bottle or any other form of liquids and did not have a wet diaper in 8 hours.  It was off to the hospital we went.  We saw nurses and doctors, had a chest x-ray and dined on some Pedialyte.  After 4 hours we left with a prescription for amoxicillan for his double ear infection and instructions to keep him hydrated and comfortable so that the RSV does not get worse.

It amazes me how hard this virus has hit him and how it has completely disrupted our lives.  We had to take days off from work that weren't planned and had to get used to sleeping in 2-3 hour shifts - similar to when he was first born.

But through all this mayhem, there has been 1 silver lining.  We got to slow down and snuggle with our little man.  All he wants to do is lay on us or next to us and snooze.  And that is all right in our book.  We are hoping that this nasty virus leaves our house soon - especially since Santa is expected.  But we do hope that our snuggly little guy sticks around.

Stupid Summer Cold

There is nothing worse then having cold in the summer.  The itchy eyes, runny nose, annoying cough all while it is 98 degrees out.  Blah!  What's worse is being a 4 1/2 month old baby with a cold.  That's right ~ the germs of daycare have struck and our little guy is now experiencing his first full on cold.

He's got the runny nose...the hacking cough...the watery eyes and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.  Poor kid is too young to take meds so we have to work with the old fashioned remedies.  And let me tell you ~ he LOVES them. We have the humidifier running...we sit in a steamy bathroom with him to help loosen up the snot.  And his ultimate favorite - when I stick the bulb thing up his nose and suck the snot out.   He's a BIG fan of that one.  Can you sense the sarcasm?!

But at this point, we will try anything to help the kid breathe.  Luckily, he is taking it like a champ and is still the happy go lucky kid we have come to know and love.  We still even manage to get him to giggle despite the snot. :)

Sicky Pants

I know that I am WAY behind with my posts, but I promise I have a really good excuse. I'm sick. I'm sick and pregnant which is the worst combination because there really isn't much you can do about it other than drink lots of tea, suck on lots of halls and rest as much as you can.


The first 2 items are definitely working out. That whole rest thing...not so much. Who can rest after the amazing weekend that just took place (baby shower - details to come) and the fact that I'm in the New York office not only for work, but for another amazing baby shower (I seriously work with the best people!). Rest will come later this week and weekend ~ especially since I am scheduled for a prenatal massage on Saturday morning. Can we say YUM! Thank you Ed for my gift card! Once I am home and back on my feet I promise to let you all in on the baby shower details, Lucy's recovery and all other fun stuff that is going on in the life of Being Mangiaracina. In the mean time, I'm going to go make another cup of tea.