It's 8:10pm and here I am in bed, laptop on my belly, next to a sleeping sick 2 year old (almost 3). It was suppose to be a pleasant 3 day weekend, where I was suppose to catch up on cleaning, have a play date with my God daughter, and go to a hockey game that was going to be followed by family ice skating on the rink. Instead, I've spent the last 5 days playing a real life Doc McStuffins to my sick child. I was sure she had the flu, but she didn't, what she had really surprised me. See if any of these symptoms sound familiar to your child.
Timeline and Symptoms
Wednesday - Low Grade Fever, Low Level Restlessness: So it started last Wednesday night, Victoria was a little fussy at night. She had a low grade fever of 100 degrees. Thursday morning she woke up fine, no temperature, in a good mood. I asked her if she felt well and if she wanted to go to school (daycare). She responded a happy, "si."
Thursday - Isolation, High Fever, & Loss of Appetite: I picked her up from daycare and her teacher told me she was not her usual self. The teacher expressed that she just wanted to play by herself, away from the rest of the kids. I asked her if she had been coughing or sneezing since I knew alot of kids were going around sick. She said no. Ok I thought, but knew she might be getting sick since this wasn't normal for her.
When we got home we had dinner (not much), she seemed tired. We usually read at night before or after bath but this night she just wanted to play with her legos. Soon it was bath time and that's when I knew she had a fever. I knew a warm bath would make her feel better and would help lower her temperature. After her bath I took her temperature. Woah, 104 degrees. I gave her Tylenol and she went to bed.
Friday - Fatigue, Runny Nose & Cough, Low Level Restlessness: She woke up a little tired but no fever. She did wake up with a cough and runny nose. I didn't send her to daycare. I thought she was getting a cold (like any other time) and figured just some rest would be ok. We spent the day doing a whole lot of nada. We managed to go outside for fresh air even rode her tricycle for about 15 minutes. She didn't eat much but drank lots of fluids and ate fruit. Friday night she was a little restless waking every few hours but no fever.
Saturday - Sneezing & Clumsiness, Fatigue, Low Level Restlessness: She had a full blown cold I thought. She had a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, but despite it, she was still in good spirits just a little cranky, clumsy, and a little tired. She had no fever, but I called the doctor to see if I should bring her in. She told me not to bring her in if she didn't have a fever because her office was full of kids with the flu and it sounded like a cold and not the flu. She was drinking lots of fluids and eating a bit more than previous days. We did crafts, puzzles, even managed to take a quick family photo. Saturday night I put Vicks on her back, chest, and feet and put the humidifier. It was similar to Friday night she was a little restless waking every few hours but no fever.
Sunday - Aggression, Incoherent Speech, High Level Restlessness: Who is this child? From the moment she woke up she was super cranky, extra whiny, angry, and even aggressive, but no fever. Everything was looooong and whiny "NOOOOOOO!!" She was rude, mean, wanting to hit us, and even pull her hair out of rage. Donde esta mija? What have you done with her? My husband and I were beyond frustrated, NOTHING we did or said could change her mood. We knew she was sick but thought she didn't have to be such a pain in the rear. However, in my gut I knew something was off. Sunday night was horrible. Nobody got any sleep. She kept waking up crying talking jibberish, coughing, more jibberish but NO FEVER, still I got very worried and knew to call the doctor first thing.
Monday - Fatigue, Moderate Fever: She woke up tired and weak with a fever again. At 9:00am I called the Doctor to make sure they were open since it was a holiday (or take her to ER) and I took her in. Doctor asked me a list of questions. Here I thought for sure she's going to tell me she has the flu and I'm in borderline panic mode, um seen the news? She checked her nose, throat, ears, and belly. Diagnosis...Ear Infection. Say what? Como? Not once did she pull on her ears.
Her doctor said that it started as a cold and progressed into an ear infection, which is why she was seemingly getting better and then worse. She told me her aggressiveness was her way of communicating with us telling us she was in pain or uncomfortable, because it's hard for them to describe this type of pain. Ok here comes the mom guilt and feeling like s#!t for not knowing this and thinking she was just being extra bratty. She prescribed antibiotics and Tylenol or Motrin for pain.
I thought for sure Victoria had the flu and with all the news stories my mind immediately went there. She didn't, but this ear infection has been one of the worst times she's been sick. My advice to you mamás listen to your gut (not your husbands), sorry dads. If you see or feel something is off with your child don't just brush it off, your mami's instincts are more powerful than you think.
I've spent the last few days simply cuddling, hugging, and loving my lil girl while she's whined, cried, and whined some more. Victoria is on her way to recovery, our home is a mess, I've got loads of emails to catch up on, and backed up work, but none of that matters. All that matters is that my lil girl gets through this and knows that her mami will always be there...and I suppose Mr. Monkey too ;)
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