Baby's 1st Fever
Well it was going to happen eventually! Especially with daycare and the start of cold and flu season, we knew it was coming. And we were prepared... or so we thought.
We actually were prepared to treat it, but were a little slow on noticing that it was here. Sure I told Tom that E seemed to be a little off that morning, a little more upset than usual, but we still packed him off and headed out for our normal Sunday.
And sure, he was super fussy and upset when he's usually calm and quiet, but we just comforted him and kept on with it. We left a little early, telling people "Oh he's just having a rough day" and got lots of nods of understanding and "Yeah, it happens." When we got home we thought he might be a bit gassy, and we walked him around the house, and bounced him up and down.
When we decided to take his temperature, it wasn't even because we thought he had a fever. But as the numbers kept climbing, it suddenly dawned on us - oh, he's sick! With a 101.2 temperature. Ooops, sorry Bubba! And then I noticed, oh yeah, he's definitely warm. And unhappy. A quick call to the doctor confirmed that his behavoir was textbook baby with a fever (down to the grunts the doctor made over the phone that exactly mimiced the sounds E was making at that exact moment).
So we hopped into action and got out the baby Tylenol, gave a cool bath, and took lots of naps and gave lots of cuddles. E was quickly feeling better (until the Tylenol wore off), and so we spent the rest of the day at home on the couch. Timing worked out so that Tom was off the next day, so we didn't have to worry about work schedules and keeping him out of daycare, and he was able to take him to the doctor to get a quick check.
He checked out fine, and was feeling better - all smiles and giggles, still eating as usual. So while I worked from home just in case, we sent him back to daycare the next day. I stayed by the phone and checked in on him in case he needed to come home, but he was happy and acting normal all day. We patted ourselves on the back for surviving baby's first fever, and had a fun afternoon with E.
And then.
As we were getting him ready for bed, Tom mentioned he thought E felt hot. "Nah, he seems fine" I said, but took his temperature just in case. And boy does Tom win the award - 102.5! The doctor was immediately called, Tylenol was given, and PJs stripped off. Apparently it's normal for fevers to spike around bedtime, but being that this was day 3, we were a little worried this fever was still sticking around - and getting higher at that.
So after a rough night with little sleep, Tom called into work sick the next day and E was brought back to the doctor - who sent them to the hospital! I'd gone into work and freaked out a little when I got that message, but it was mostly as a precaution. The doctor was pretty certain that E was fine (he was still acting mostly happy during the day), but she said she couldn't in good conscience send them home to stay the course without getting a few tests first. After some pretty traumatic fluid draws for E, we were confident there was nothing serious going on, though, and he was just fighting off a virus.
Which he then passed to us.
Hoo boy. Taking care of a baby while you have a 101.8 fever and your husband is pretty sure he's dying is... interesting. We had a rough 24 hours with Tom and I alternating symptoms and night duty, but I think we're finally on the other side, and things are getting better.
Our immune systems are going to be so awesome by the time E is in kindergarten!