I don’t take Olivia to the doctor very often. She goes for her well-child checks (obvi), she went for follow-ups after her two ER visits (one for a stomach bug and one for pneumonia), once for a rash on her booty, and maybe twice for respiratory symptoms. Maybe it’s the nurse in me, and obviously, we’ve had luck with no strep and only one ear infection, but I just don’t take her because everything has always been managed at home.
Friday the 7th, she woke up from her nap with a fever and seemed out of it that night. The next day she was feverish, tired, and threw up once. She just seemed “sick.” My first thought was that this seemed reminiscent of her before she was diagnosed with pneumonia back in December. She wasn’t congested or coughing, and I was keeping a close eye on her respirations, but something was up, beyond “just a cold.” I got her into the bath to try to bring down her fever and that seemed to take a lot out of her. I ended up giving her Motrin that night to help her sleep. We never took her temperature, but I would guess it to be as high as 103.
Sunday, she was perfectly fine. Happy, fever free, doing well. Which was good because I was meeting a friend for coffee the next day and I was really hoping she’d be OK for daycare. However, Monday night she spiked another fever and started getting really junky in her chest, with a lot of coughing.
Last Tuesday, we spent the day at home, but she was even all right to go run a few errands. She didn’t have another fever but was pretty congested in her chest — way more than her usual cold/cough. I went back and forth and decided to call for an appointment. Her usual nurse practitioner wasn’t in Wednesday, and my own doctor (whom she’s seen a few times) was booked, but we sent off a message to see if she’d squeeze her in.
On Wednesday, she was pretty much unchanged, and my doctor said her lungs sounded pretty good, except for her right lower lobe that sounded congested. Her right ear was dull but didn’t look infected. Olivia was a champ, telling anyone who would listen that “a bird POOPED on Mama!” Which was completely true — it happened when we were going outside to water the garden that morning. My doctor said she wasn’t convinced so far that Olivia needed antibiotics and I agreed. If this was viral, it wouldn’t do any good. And while she hasn’t gotten better… she also hasn’t gotten worse. I took the prescription and we agreed if she got worse I’d let her know and we’d start it.
Thursday, she was pretty good. I was with her all day and night as Chris has a work function that night, and while we had our moments (including in the morning when she “painted” herself while I was fighting trying not to puke in bed: feet, hands, face, shirt, chair, windows, floor, her lovey, her other chair, coffee table, and dining room table) we made it. I even took her to the library because I was going stir-crazy after a while and that went well even though she was telling all the other moms that she was sick and would do an impressive wet cough into her arm, causing all of them to look over at me and frown.
Friday, Chris realized he was down for the count with whatever plague she had. I didn’t really feel bad for him when he said staying out bar-hopping until 1:00 am on a Thursday night probably tipped his immune system to the wrong side, and luckily, Olivia was healthy enough for daycare which was good because I needed to get some work done.
Saturday, Chris popped some Dayquil and we headed out to Mall of America for a Father’s Day celebration. I wanted him to pick something out there for his gift because I didn’t have time to get him anything with being on survival mode the last week with Olivia. But that didn’t happen, because we did all the kid-friendly activities including the Crayola Experience, the Disney store, and several toy stores. That night, she went to bed fine, but woke up at 10:00 pm and wouldn’t go back to sleep. She told me once her ear was hurting and I decided that it was time to fill the prescription the next morning. By 11:30, she was still awake, upset, but saying things like “I need someone to sleep with!” which is nothing new; she’s been saying this stuff for the last two months. Chris ended up sleeping with her until 1:00 am even though he wasn’t feeling the best. And then she woke up at five for the day on Father’s Day. And Chris, bless his heart, let me sleep until 9:00 while he sat downstairs with her. He told me later she had told him her “ear was hungry” and I said I was pretty sure this is now an ear infection. So we filled the antibiotic and gave her the first dose on Sunday morning.
Chris went to go sleep for a few hours and I helped Olivia paint a mug for him for his Father’s Day present. She was so excited to give it to him. I baked it while we played Jenga and Hi Ho Cherry O and then put her down for a nap around noon. I was exhausted being well, pregnant, so I joined Chris for a nap for a bit. She ended up sleeping two and a half hours which is long for her and when she woke up happy, I decided to go ahead with going to celebrate Father’s Day with my family. Olivia gave Chris the mug and a card, and then she and I left for my sister’s for dinner.
All in all… well it was a Father’s Day to remember. Chris is still sick, Olivia is doing great and her congestion is improving. At least she’s more willing to cough for me and will take her antibiotic with bribes. I’m the only healthy one who pretty much crashes into bed every night exhausted, so hopefully, the end is in sight. We have no other pictures other than this, and the blogger in me is kicking myself, but seriously, the sickness between these two is unreal.
