Somehow, by the grace of God, we made it an entire year without so much as a low grade fever or ear infection. It seems Everett has my immune system (thank goodness because Brett’s is crap) and aside from two tiny colds, he was the epitome of good health during his first 12 months on earth.
What’s that saying….all good things must come to an end?
Tuesday night Ev woke up coughing around 10:30pm and while we would normally just let him put himself back to sleep, I decided to check on him. This is what we call mother’s intuition, folks. He was burning up and running a fever of 101.3. We gave him Tylenol and I rocked him in his rocking chair, singing You Are My Sunshine over and over again. He put his head on my shoulder, which he rarely does anymore, and I reveled in the late night cuddles remembering how good it feels to hold my baby against my chest.
Ev and I stayed home yesterday, canceled both of our play dates (sorry Benjamin and Rainier!), and the fever stayed around 103. Aside from the fact that his skin was hot to the touch and he took extra long naps, you wouldn’t even know he was sick. Most of the day we played with his blocks and cars on the floor and watched Elmo. And that is what I love the most about Everett, at this stage when there is so much to love and yet so much love to be discovered, that he can be rocking a 103 degree fever with a giant smile on his face as if nothing is wrong.
Brett came home from work with a new expensive thermometer and a fresh bottle of Tylenol, ready to take Ev straight to urgent care. I was shocked he wasn’t wearing a cape the way he flew through the door like Super Dad. Brett always errs on the side of caution, especially when it comes to Everett. Watching him google the nearest urgent care facilities with a furrowed brow reminded me of the time we went to a concert when I was pregnant and Brett was convinced we had done serious damage to Ev’s ears. He’s a worrier alright. But I guess one of us has to be, and better him than me.
The advice nurse said we don’t have to come in unless his fever gets to 104, so we’ll stay home again today and monitor his temperature. Please send prayers, ice cream, and any DVDs that aren’t Elmo.
Mommas, any advice on home care? We’re giving him Tylenol as needed, but we haven’t done much else….