The Hall Memo: Having Sick Kiddos is Awesome. Said nobody…EVER.

We started off the weekend having a blast. We went to Oktoberfest at Traderspoint Creamery on Saturday. We love Oktoberfest stuff. Ok, let’s be honest… we like the beer. And Sun King was there with their awesomeness that is their Oktoberfest. The kids love cows, being outdoors, and pumpkins (or pinecones as Braden calls them). So it was a win-win for everyone. The boys wouldn’t eat the sausage or the potatoes, but go figure, they devoured the sauerkraut. Super weird.

We went on a hayride through the grounds and Braden shouted “look Mommy – piggies! Oink Oink!” I looked around, didn’t see any pigs, so I’m thinking that my kid is seeing some imaginary pigs. Low and behold, about 30 seconds later, we pass some pigs. The kid has laser vision…for now. I hate to say it, but he is doomed to a life of glasses or contacts given the fact that his genes are not in his favor. I have horrible eyesight and literally cannot see anything without contacts. Kevin wears them too, but luckily his vision isn’t terrible, so hopefully our kids will get Kevin’s genes in the eyesight department.

Anyway, back on track…

Sunday was great too. We went to church, came home, and had some great family time. Watched the Colts game, but we won’t get into that. Monday started off great. It was Columbus Day which equals a day off in the world of banking, so Kevin was home with us. Monday is when it started heading South. I made pancakes for breakfast. Our kiddos Love pancakes. Probably more than any food ever. Logan had about 2 bites. Warning sign #1. He was a little cranky that day, and had a slightly elevated temperature. I quickly determined he was teething. Yes, he's 15 months old and has a whopping 2 teeth on the bottom. However, there are at least 3 on the top that should be pushing through at any moment, so it was a logical conclusion. I gave him some Tylenol which did not seem to make much difference. Warning sign #2. He didn’t nap well that day and didn’t eat well either. He was a mess that evening, so we decided to put him to bed early. He fell asleep in my arms. At first I thought it was really sweet. Then the sad reality hit me… he hasn’t fallen asleep in my arms in MONTHS. He wants to be in his bed with his blankie to fall asleep. Hmm, something isn’t right. Warning sign #3. Sadly, I was right. He woke up that night with a 103 fever. On Tuesday, Kevin took Braden to daycare in an attempt to keep him away from the germs and I stayed home with Logan. Poor guy was pitiful and miserable. He wanted to be held all day and slept on me off and on. Of course, working in an ER, you think of all the potential horrible causes for his illness. Let that swirl around in your head combined with the fact that his belly seems to hurt, and he can’t tell me what hurts, and it warrants a call to the pediatrician. They assured me that he is still a bit young for appendicitis. Phew. I was concerned. They told us to alternate Tylenol and Motrin, keep fluids in him, etc. They want to see him if the fever persists for 72 hours. We made it through the day, barely. That night he woke up about 1 am with a fever of 105. Yikes. I stayed home most of the day Wednesday too. Motrin is the miracle drug. It makes him feel like a rock star for about 40 minutes. He will walk, talk, play, etc. Then he crashes HARD. Long story short, the Motrin brings the fever down to a relatively normal level, but then it sky rockets when it wears off.

So, that brings us to today. He has been fairly symptom free with the exception of the fever, not eating, and being exhausted and weak. However, he woke up at 3am last night with a fever of 105.3 and then threw up all over me. Getting puked on really sucks. Getting puked on at 3am, in the dark, takes it to an entirely new level. And to top it off, he was digging in his ears, and not able to get comfortable. Fantastic. Kevin took today off work to stay at home with him so I could go to work. I called the pediatrician as soon as they opened today to get an appointment for this morning. I love our pediatrician so much that I can’t bring myself to find one closer to our new home. Soooo, Kevin gets to trek up to Carmel with a sick baby today. I’m fairly confident he has the flu. That doesn’t worry me that much. The fever is high, but not to the critically high point, so that doesn’t even worry me too much, but it has been going on since Monday. I am worried that he has an ear infection now.

Braden has been at daycare all week in an attempt to keep him away from the germs, but there is only so much you can do. I have a terrible feeling we are going to be in this position with him next week. You feel bad for them because there isn’t much you can do. Then you feel bad for yourself for not sleeping and having to call off work. Then you feel guilty for feeling bad for yourself. It’s a vicious cycle.