Friday, August 03, 2001

The day care place that we use sent out a memo to all the parents about roseola. No, they didn't mention Mia's name, but they did say the child affected was from the infant room.

In comparing notes with other people whose children are in day care, it does seem as if children get 'more sick', only because they're exposed more.
posted by Rick Umali 7:55 PM

Thursday, August 02, 2001

Mia was harder to get to sleep tonight than usual. We started in earnest a little before 8PM. She finally got to bed by 9:20PM. Our nerves are always worn after an overly-long bed-time routine. Jenn and I tag-team these routines: I rock Mia for twenty to thirty minutes, then Jenn. I am thankful that Mia typically sleeps through the night, but getting can be tough.
posted by Rick Umali 10:30 PM

OK. Mia is having roseola. Her fever is gone, but the rash remains. Thankfully, the rash is not contagious, so she doesn't have to skip day care, like she is today.
posted by Rick Umali 10:46 AM

Mia's sound asleep now. She has been since around 9PM.

Yesterday, Mia broke out in a huge rash. There were lots of tiny little red dots on her entire body (even on the soles of her feet). Needless to say we called the pediatrician, and they said that this was a positive sign: the fever is definitely on its way out; it sometimes leaves this rash (pronounced rose-a-ree-a; I couldn't get the spelling).

Mia seems her old self, except that she's been having an aversion to the bottle. She prefers nursing for some reason. Jenn has been doing a 'bait-and-switch' technique which at least has Mia finishing her bottles.
posted by Rick Umali 12:30 AM

Tuesday, July 31, 2001

Jenn called me at work, and asked me to come home so I could help with taking care of our sick Mia. We went to the doctor, and while Mia was feeling slight better, she was still sluggish.

By the early evening however, we were beginning to see signs of a healthier girl.

For the two of us, it was a long day, as Mia's naps were few and far between, and Jenn and I didn't get to bed until 2AM. Mia's crying was particularly piercing as her fever seemed to be breaking.

We're going to take her temperature tomorrow morning, and ideally, she'll be back to normal.

Caring for a sick baby is exhausting!
posted by Rick Umali 10:14 PM

Last night, Mia woke up around 12:30AM. She was very hot. We took her temperature, and it was 103 degrees. From bad to worse!

We acted as quickly as we could. First Jenn nursed her. Then a half a dropper of Tylenol. Then we got her a bottle, from which she gobbled up almost half (3 ounces). Then we called the pediatrician's office.

The night nurse who called us back (by this time, around 1AM) was quite calming. She said that at Mia's age and weight, we could probably give her a full dropper of Tyelonol. She also suggested a bath, and fluids. In parallel, Jenn and I consulted our books. A bath seemed in order.

By 1:15AM, we were cooling a confused Mia in her little tub. She was quiet, somewhat fussy, and definitely had a "what's going on here?" face. By the time we redressed her, the temperature had miraculously gone down to 99! The night nurse gave us a call back (it was so comforting to hear her say that she would call us back in an hour), and we reported the good news.

It was almost 2AM by the time we all went back to sleep. It's 7:30AM as I write this. Mia's head feels much cooler than last night. She sleeps on her left side now, and that's how I found her this morning.

She should be much better today (fingers crossed).
posted by Rick Umali 7:29 AM

Monday, July 30, 2001

Jenn took Mia's temperature yesterday, and it registered a frightening 102 degrees. She visited the pediatrician today, and was advised that this was a "viral infection" of some sort, and that Tylenol would be the best course of action to bring the fever down.

Mia's head was quite warm to the touch yesterday, but it seemed to feel a little better this evening (although the thermometer announced 102.2 today).

Mia is certainly a little off. She's much fussier than usual, and seems to cry more often. She's also got a runny nose (but Vaseline on her upper lip is keeping that area soft from all the wiping).

I had a chat with a woman in my office, and she said that a pediatrician in London told her that at this stage "we're practicing veterinary medicine." So true! Mia can get hot. She can sniffle. But she cannot tell us any other symptoms. I'm crossing my fingers that she'll get better soon.
posted by Rick Umali 8:38 PM

My parents came over this past weekend. Mia once again was treated to their attention. Jenn and I took the opportunity to eat at the Harvest, a restaurant we used to frequent back B.M. (Before Mia).
posted by Rick Umali 8:32 PM