Summer Bugs

Little man is sick, again.  We were able to have an appointment with our own doc this past week instead of being fit into the schedule of whoever was available.  It was a good appointment in that we talked about the issues we had with fevers this past spring.  And we now have a game plan for the next couple of months and we will be monitoring the timing of illnesses a little more closely this summer.  If he does not have a fever in July then a couple of concerns are ruled out completely. 

Little man has been running a fever since Wednesday night.  When little man is running a fever he looks like this:

When little man isn't running a fever he is riding his trike and zooming around the house as a little super hero: 

We are giving this current bug until Tuesday to hit the road - and then back to the doc if the fever is still lingering.  Ready for little man to feel better!

That darn strep again . . .

Yup - little man has strep again.  His symptoms were mild this time but the test was positive.  We talked a LONG time with the doctor about our concerns.  Disco feels better, I'm still worried.  Basically, we treat with antibiotics again.  It is likely he is a carrier but we can't know for sure unless we test him randomly when he has no symptoms.  But there really is no use in determining whether he is a carrier or not because it wouldn't change the way we will treat any future symptoms.  And pretty much there is no way to sterilize everything or avoid getting strep from the environment or other kids - it is ubiquitous.  Any of you who regularly play with little man beware o' the strep carrier.  ;)

For now we are still "on watch" and continuing on the "wait and see" plan.  At least any time we have an inkling of concern over his mild symptoms (stinky breath, grumpiness, cough, lack of appetite, being clingy and sometimes a low grade fever) we are justified on taking him back to the doctor.  Sometimes it feels nice to know we aren't nuts for being concerned.

He really didn't want to go to the doctor today to confirm what we already suspected.  Little man said "i not sick, i all better now" over and over again.  So I told him we were all going to the doctor to get checked out.  He decided that big sis was going to take his medicine or shot for him.  I sure wish it worked that way - because I would take the shots or meds for him after seeing how upset he was over the whole experience!

More Strep?

Big sis . . . no fever, a worsening cough, poor sleep, just a few possible white spots on the tonsils, and definite attitude issues (teary/whiny, i don't feel good but don't really know how to express that attitude).  This morning she woke up at 5am and then didn't want to eat breakfast because "it hurt to eat."  Sigh.  So Disco checked her throat and it was questionable (definitely NOT as bad as little man's last week but a little concerning with the other symptoms).  Called the doc and he called in a prescription "just in case" since little man had a definitive case of strep last week. 

I really didn't want to send big sis today but I just couldn't bear to have her miss lunch.  So yeah, I'm THAT mom who sends her questionably sick kid to school anyway.  I know, I know.  Great parenting choice from an immunologist in public health.  But she was really looking forward to her Aunt K joining her for a special lunch date.  She made it through the day at school without any changes or additional concerns.  And she ate well at lunch.  I picked her up early anyway and we started meds. 

All I can say is hurry up spring - one beautiful weekend isn't enough.  My kiddos need to get outside to keep away from all these GERMS!

Strep . . . Again

Poor little man!  He has strep again.  Last time he had strep it took us forever to get rid of the darn bug.  So far we are outside of the recommendation limits for an ENT consult.  It just seems that every time he has a cold two weeks later we have strep in the house.  Coincidence?  Or is he a strep carrier and when things get out of whack does the bug then take the opportunity to rear its ugly head?  For big sis it was ear infections that popped up after colds (over and over and over again).  And once she got tubes it all got better.  For now we are on the "wait and see" plan.  A plan that in principle I agree with but when we keep dealing with a pitiful kiddo and awkward schedules it gets kind of old.  And of course the potential heart complications add more worry to the whole mix - especially since we don't head to the doctor's office as quickly as we could sometimes because we try to let things run their course.  At any rate, here we are again.  Hopefully by Sunday little man will be feeling better!

Sweet hair and sweet chocolate
milk'stash on a sweet little man :)

Darth Vader goes to the ER . . .

So I posted a little too early today . . . little man ended up at the ER after a stressful naptime.  As soon as I got home from work he started sounding worse.  Disco was home with him this morning and little man stayed close to the couch and was much less active than usual.  By the time I took over little man was struggling when he breathed.  We set up an appointment with our pediatric clinic.  But we couldn't get in until 4:20 and by 1pm I just couldn't take the difficult breaths any longer!  Aunt K, who is a respiratory therapist, could hear that something wasn't right over the phone.  And by the time she got over here I was pretty much set to take little man to the ER unless she told me something different when she arrived.

Little man was a trooper the whole time!  But in true two year old form, little man refused to have his temp taken and fought the entire breathing treatment.  Otherwise he was pretty pitiful and pretty much all of the staff could hear him breathing/barking from the hallway.  About 30 mins before we were set to hear the word about whether we had to do a second treatment and stay over night the meds must have finally worked.  Because he started talking again and getting interested in eating and reading books. 

So we are home and somewhat healthy tonight.  Thanks to all our hospital friends who took my calls about the ER and Dr. B for bringing a lot of laughter and a familiar face with her down to the ER - I needed to laugh!

Disco filmed a "post-interview" with little man as I talked to him about his adventure. Little man did a lot of mumbling so I had to do a little interpreting:

Our Little Darth Vader

oh if we could get rid of croup in this house!  now little man has it.  he was a little hoarse yesterday.  but today he sounds like Darth Vader - even when awake.  poor little man!

big sis had the same thing last weekend.  they both ran a fever last Saturday so i thought little man had the same bug too - just with stomach issues on top of the snotty nose.  but alas, i was wrong.  because big sis had diarrhea on the way to Dallas and now little man has croup.  they just traded bugs over the course of the week.  guess they are getting really good at sharing and taking turns!

here's hoping little man gets over his congestion quickly!

A little delay . . .

Due to little man's return of "the fever" we will be postponing the next photo post.  He seemed a little out of sorts yesterday and we were concerned and then came "the fever."  Doctor's appointment tomorrow.

Big sis is adjusting well to her new situation with only minor issues (extreme exhaustion and lack of focus at the end of the day and a re-newed fear of being in ANY room alone - do you know how many ways that can impact your routine???).  But overall I have to say she is doing really well at the moment. 

The rest of us on the other hand . . . stress city!   Little man is pitiful when his fever spikes and all this illness is really wrecking his routine.  He is unsure of his new routine at school, gets anxious about going to daycare before we even leave the house, and then cries every day when we leave him.  Some days he is just fine after we leave and other days his teacher has commented that he "wasn't his usual self."  We know it is just a phase and that going on vacation, then being sick, then going back to school in a new classroom in a school without his big sis was just too much for our little two year old.  And obviously he STILL isn't 100% since his fever is back.

Little man's repeated illness issues are wearing me and Disco down as well.  It affects our sleep, our schedules (both work and school), and definitely our attitudes.  Both Disco and I are dealing with busy work schedules this fall and getting behind isn't helping either of us.  Plus classes this fall are already kicking my behind.  Teaching is going smoothly so far and the project team I work with is awesome - without those positives I don't know if I would have the energy to even show up every day!

I know these issues aren't big compared to what some of our friends are going through right now - my heart goes out to those strong women (you know who you are).  I know that these things will get better.  I know that I just need to say "NO" sometimes and simplify our schedules.  But sometimes I just want to document the realities of our current lives so that one day I can look back and think "wow, it wasn't really that bad" or "good grief, what was I thinking and how did I survive that".  I'm guessing it could go either way . . .based on my crappy attitude tonight!

Strep

Little man has had a fever off and on since last Wednesday.  Twice we thought he was totally better just to spike yet another fever moments later.  He was pitiful most of the weekend so we knew we needed to take him to see the doctor today.

We thought it might be little man's ears because he had no other apparent symptoms.  Disco and I had sore throats but didn't think much about it.  We were also grumpy several times and just completely out of energy - although I just thought that maybe I hadn't gotten enough calories in that day or enough sleep.  And Disco worked out in the heat some so we just wrote our energy issues off as "normal."  Big sis complained about a sore throat once or twice but continued playing like nothing was wrong so we just thought she wanted some extra lovin since little man was getting so much attention. 

Doc says strep.  So both kiddos are on antibiotics and are likely not to be back at school until Weds (although I could send big sis back at lunch tomorrow since she will be on meds for 24 hrs by then).  At some point Disco and I will get our own meds worked out too.  Happy Monday to us!!

Sorry for exposing everyone this weekend . . . be on the lookout for symptoms if you spent any time with our strep infested family ;)

The Curse of the Tummy

Poor Aunt K. Every time she sees us lately she risks acquiring random bugs the kiddos pick up from school. We called her yesterday because we were bored and turns out she was sitting at home bored at that moment too. So she headed our way - all of us unaware that little man would be up all night puking. Sigh . . . I won't blame her if she avoids us because we carry THE PLAGUE this fall and winter. I can't remember a time when we haven't been sick every two weeks - maybe 2005 BEFORE we started this process called "building our family".

Little man is doing a bit better this morning. I love him! He has been playing on the couch next to me for 30 minutes while I take care of some work issues. It is wonderful when little things like the clutter covering our couch can be so entertaining. Soon he will be getting tired and need some more cuddle time. But for now we are just enjoying the company while we each complete our "tasks" (he reminds me every once in a while that his are more important).

We love you Aunt K! Sorry we exposed you, once again, to the curse of the tummy!

Poop-spective

The B-M household has lived up to its name lately - little man has been sick for almost a week and a half. And big sis performed an impressive exorcist baby act tonight at Aunt K's house. There is a reason Aunt K only invites us over once every six months . . .

At this point, Disco and I are tired, frustrated, and ready to be past whatever this bug is! But even after all of the chaos the past two weeks - we are very thankful for our health. One of the women in my bunco group has a 9 year old son in the hospital recovering from some painful side effects from his last chemo treatment. Right now their goal is to have him home by Christmas Eve. He is making some progress this week and last we heard that may be a true possibility.

His mom is a ROCK and handles all of this with such faith and strength. We all know she must have some painful private moments, as anyone could more than understand. But I have to say I am truly amazed. And what their family has gone through has given me some perspective about the really really really small setbacks in our own household.

So we will get past the poops and pukes. And hopefully our friends will be able to celebrate Christmas at home. If you are a blood or platelet donor, please don't forget how important that gift can be to individuals and families facing health issues this time of year. The need is always there.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Happy 8th Anniversary

Well, it was a rocky start to our 8th Anniversary - still not much sleep last night. After bedtime Disco made a quick trip to the grocery store and I ended up with two crying kiddos - one whose fever came up again and the other who just really needed to be held because he just didn't feel good. Little man is doing great during the day but at night he is just not comfortable. And big sis did so well yesterday until naptime when her fever returned and couldn't be controlled without medicine for the remainder of the night (thanks Dr. B for answering my questions - you definitely calmed our nerves!!). I can't remember the last time I actually got to sleep in my own bed . . .

This morning we found out there is a confirmed case of flu in big sis' class at school. And the kiddo came down with it about the same time big sis started running fever . . . no confirmation for our house yet.

Regardless of the illnesses and chaos these past two weeks - it has been a great 8 years! And Disco is a great partner in life! Even during a less than perfect night with two sick kiddos, he remembered to pick up some roses to celebrate our anniversary this morning. It was a nice surprise!

So happy 8th Disco! Hopefully we can plan an anniversary celebration in November. Maybe camping this year????

Silent Sunday

Last week started with little man having pink eye. By Wednesday I started feel a bit worn down myself but thought it was the stress of the week. Thursday night I felt worse but again explained it by long hours and final preparations for the upcoming weekend.

Thursday night big sis also seemed to be feeling a bit icky. In the middle of the night she had what sounded like the beginnings of the seal-like bark of croup. By Friday morning she had a fever. And so far only medication seems to keep the fever under control. She has been coughing/barking, sleeping, and watching Dora with her choo-choo blankie all weekend.

Friday afternoon little man had a check up and we found out he had a pretty substantial double ear infection. Which explains the lack of sleep lately. He continues to be overrun by snot and a bit more clingy and grumpy when he is tired.

I worked throughout the day Saturday and my voice just got worse as time went on. By Sunday, I was down to a whisper. This is going to be a long week as we all recover from whatever this is. And Disco hasn't even been sick yet . . .