It Wasn't Chicken Pox

So it wasn't chicken pox. Well, we don't think it was chicken pox. Apparently, chicken pox is a lot harder to diagnose in this era of the chicken pox vaccine. (Bird has not been vaccinated because he will not be old enough to get the vaccine until he is 12 months old.)

It could have been roseola or maybe the dreaded hand, foot, and mouth disease. Then there's measles. Have you ever looked up "rash" in a baby book? The entries read like some kind of bad made-for-tv thriller about viruses that bring Armageddon.

Bird's virus started as a fever -- his highest recorded to date -- that lasted more than three days. Lucky for us, he's a champ at tolerating the rectal thermometer. He peed on me only three times and the poop incidents were kept to a minimum. After the fever, the rash appeared. Well, a new one appeared. He had been sporting a rash under his chin before the fever even appeared. The fever lit up this rash and then also brought a new one along for the party.

I know that all of this is part of Bird going off into the world and meeting new people and new superbugs. Women I know who also put their children into daycare situations to return to work all say the same thing...."Oh yes the germs! They get sick and you get sick and it's awful. But think of it this way, now they're gaining immunity!"

Immunity? So we won't have another fever and rash attack? We won't get pink eye again? How about that nice upper respiratory thing from earlier this month? Hell, even if this was a mild case of chicken pox, it was likely not "strong enough" to give him natural immunity. I am glad Bird has faired relatively well in terms of fighting these things off, but the "benefit" of immunity seems small in the face of the panoply of germs and viruses out there.

I started this entry on October 19 -- Bird had been home from daycare a full week and a half. He went back on Monday. On Wednesday he had is first field trip -- to a tiny pumpkin patch! (More about that later.) He had started to master solid foods too (well, "Stage 1" solid foods) -- bananas, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and carrots.

On Wednesday night he threw up the carrots and breastmilk. Then he threw up again and got rid of what was left and cleaned out his sinuses as well. Believe me, it was a lot grosser than it sounds. So we've now had a few days of vomiting, a slight fever, pedialyte, thrown-up pedialyte, changes of clothes, changes of bedsheets, and meticulous investigations of diapers in hopes of discovering urine. Ack.

I hate throwing up. I hate watching Bird throw up even more. I am shocked at how much Bird has taught David and me about being sick. We can both detect even a slight fever and are getting good at predicting the actual temperature. Last night at 4:00am I woke up at the sound of Bird's stomach and was ready before the vomit actually came up. Of course, he still managed to nuke my pillow.

We are all tired. Our second floor smells sour. We have piles of laundry. I want to wash everything -- including each of us. I want two whole weeks of health. I know, I know this is all a part of being a parent. Would I be going too far if I send Bird back to daycare in a biohazard suit?