Thursday, December 16, 2010

A Pox upon Your House

I'm waiting for the locusts next. My house has been hit -- hard -- by multiple bugs of the viral sort. The bugs are breeding new bugs. It's not pretty.

I'm sick, and poor H has been struck, at ten-and-a-half months, with his first-ever bona fide illness beyond the occasional day-long sniffle. I don't know what planet I was living on, but I basically thought he would never get sick because, well, he hadn't ever gotten sick. I thought maybe the betamethasone shots he got in utero had given him a superhuman immune system. Magical thinking, anyone?

But of course it hit him (I mean, he sits there with other kids and licks already-licked toys -- this is not complex science) at the end of this week, coming on slowly with more frequent, messier dirty diapers and a horrendous diaper rash that had him writhing in pain on the changing table any time we dared put him down there. Some Triple Paste, per the smart recommendation of a friend, and some prescription anti-fungal cream at least has this under control.

By Tuesday afternoon, the poor boy was harboring a seal in his throat with a hacking cough and a fever, so back to the pedi's office we went. He's been running an on-again, off-again fever and had bad congestion and coughing ever since. And he just looks up at me with these sad, vacant eyes. Why don't they put a warning label about this in pregnancy and parenting books?

The pedi's office, enjoying -- I am sure -- the daily phone call (wish I were kidding) from yours truly providing a play-by-play on H's developing symptoms, has assured me that this is a garden-variety bug or set of bugs that will clear his system soon enough. But I, ever the paranoid, ever the neurotic, ever the over-thinking mom, am wringing my hands and wishing I could kiss it all away for my little boy.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh poor H. I hope he feels better soon. It will be awful if he's sick for his first Christmas.

Roccie said...

Oh the sheer terror of trying to determine if your child is "listless". What if the listlessness hit when s/he is sleeping??? Ha. There is a good one to add.

I hope you are all on the mend.

Anonymous said...

So sorry. when all is well, we should meet for coffee. fellow blog divas from boston with similar stories...
m

Paula Keller said...

I'm so sorry to hear that! Mine have had pink eye in the past few weeks, and it's so hard to see them so uncomfortable.

haha on the betamethasone cure all! Don't I wish! :)

Frenchie said...

Ugggg....poor little guy, and poor Mommy!! I remember when my son had his first really bad bug (around the same age as your H). Awful for the little one and awful for the Mommy who just wishes she could make it all go away!! Hang in there!

 
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