Sicker than Sick

So...we seem to have caught a seriously horrible case of the flu bug around here. I should say, Nathan has caught a seriously horrible case of the flu bug, as Jonathon nor I have come down with anything (yet...I am sure I just jinxed it!).

Last Friday evening, Nathan was sitting there, playing with stickers, and he threw up a little. He turned to me and asked "what'd he do Mommy". 30 seconds later, he threw up again...A LOT. Then proceeded to throw up every two hours for the next 12! Poor little guy was so ill. He didn't have a fever until the following mid-morning, when the throwing up seemed to stop (he didn't have anything to throw up...and the dry heaves were awful for him!), then he started burning up. He proceeded to just lay on the couch all day long. Poor little thing...

I was hoping that he would start feeling better the following morning (Sunday), but he was just the same as the previous day, except instead of throwing up, it decided to RUN out the other end like a faucet! It was like a newborn all over again, except even worse! I would change him, and as soon as I would get a clean diaper on, it would run out again. He stopped drinking anything, he didn't eat for three days...by Sunday night, I was getting pretty concerned. I can handle the throwing up and the diarrhea...I was just really concerned about him getting dehydrated.

Then, at about 8pm Sunday, he perked up...played cars...and chatted...for about an hour, and then it was downhill again. Needless to say, he woke up Monday morning in much better spirits and he has been doing okay ever since. He is still very weak, and he walks a little funny...as if it hurts (someone please tell me that that is just him being weak and recovering from getting hit by the flu bus for three days. If that isn't normal, PLEASE TELL ME! I am worried that maybe this wasn't the flu, but something worse...BUT, I might be being a little dramatic - I am the mother, I can do that!). He still hasn't eaten much at all. Just little nibbles here and there. He is very clingy and wants to be held most of the time. At least he isn't throwing up or running out his diaper anymore though!

Rash Update

Well, after five days of Nathan having a rash, I thought I should take him to the Doc, just to ease my mind that I wasnt giving him something that would cause it (selfish...right?). Anyways, the Doc still hadnt a clue as to what the rash is. The redness of the rash has gone away, but the rash itself hasnt. His normally very smooth, soft, baby skin is now like sand paper. And when I say sand paper, I really mean...it feels like sand paper. The Doc though that maybe it was just a side affect of the cold that he had...which, by the way, has settled into his ears and he now has ear infections.

Lovely. It is a good thing, though, that Nathan seems completely oblivious to all of this. His disposition has not changed at all! He doesnt pull at his ears at all, he doesnt even seem to notice the infection.

So, yeah, antibiotics for 10 days, and hopefully he will be a perfect bill of health at his 18 month well check. :)

We Have a Rash...

So...out of nowhere, Nathan has come down with some sort of rash. It all started on Wednesday evening after we got home from Nan and Paps' house. That night he barely slept (me too!) because his nose was real stuffed up and he couldn't breath. It has continued off and on for the last couple of days. It isn't clogged, as the box of Kleenex that we have gone through proves that he is not "stopped up" (as they say around these parts). I have just assumed it is a very minor cold, or just something due to teething or the extreme cold that we have had the last few days. Well, today he woke up with a tiny resemblance of a rash, and it has progressively gotten worse as the day has gone on. This picture is from this evening, around 7pm. The rash is on his back and on his chest...it does not go down his arms or legs at all, and isn't on his face. It does look much like the rash he had a few months ago ("strep")...but I don't honestly think he has "strep" again, if he even had it last time. He does not seem to mind the rash...as he still manages to run around and is in good spirits. Though, I do not think he FULLY feels up to par, as he has been pretty clingy and whiny (hahaha, that isn't new! ;)) today. No fever.

So yeah...that's what it is...or isnt...or...I don't know. To those parents' of kids that we have been around the last few days...keep an eye out. I am sorry if your child caught it from Nathan, as we had no idea anything was sprouting.

Any idea what the rash may be? Nothing serious, I am sure...and no need to call Dr. Abbott. I am just going to let it run its course. Hopefully it won't take long to get rid of. :)

Update: So in doing some research, the rash that he has is a cross between:
roseola - causes high fever for 3-5 days and then once the fever goes away, small red bumps appear on the trunk that spread all over the body. Though, Nathan has not had a fever at all.

fifth disease - causes red cheeks and then a fine lace-like red or pink rash on the arms. I have noticed the last few days, in the evening, his cheeks have gotten real red for some reason. Though, his rash is not on his arms.

keratosis pilaris - causes small pinpoint size red bumps and rough and dry skin on the cheeks and the back of the upper arms and legs. I noticed yesterday that the back of his arms were real dry, and his cheeks have been getting real dry as well. Again, I just chalked it up to it being winter.

What Strep Looks Like

After picking Nathan up from Nan's and Pap's house last Monday, I noticed that Nathan was "just not himself". He was drooling like crazy (which was fairly normal because I do think he is teething...this was just REALLY excessive), he seemed uncomfortable and just irritated. I chalked it up to teething, because it was somewhat similar behavior when his upper molars were coming in. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, his behavior remained the same, just odd. He would eat certain things and cry because they seemed to sting his mouth...this included Tylenol, Motrin and Orajel. He never had a fever. On Thursday night he slept as if he were stuck on "snooze"...he woke up every 15 minutes. He would wake up just screaming in pain. He was so uncomfortable! So...I decided the best thing to do was to take him to the Doctor (which was more for me so that I knew what I was dealing with). Well, Dr. Abbott took one look at him and said "he does NOT feel well". You could see it in his eyes. He had also started to break out with a rash...over his entire body. It didn't seem to bother him...and again, no fever. Dr. Abbott did some cultures to test for Strep, and they came back negative, but she was pretty sure that that is what he had.

Needless to say, he is well on his way to getting better. He is in much better spirits, except he doesn't seem to have much of an appetite. The rash is still very much present, and last night it got extreme...it LOOKS painful, but it doesn't hurt or bother him at all. All very bazaar!

So...the above is what a Step virus looks like...:)

Mommy, I don't Feel Very Good....

Last Friday, Nathan woke up from is afternoon nap as usual, and was a little fussy and within 20 minutes he had thrown up a few times and was extremely clingy and lethargic. All he wanted to do was sit on my lap and play with the phone. The duration of the evening consisted of him throwing up a couple more times, acting like he was feeling better, eating a little bit and throwing up a couple more times in his crib. Saturday he didnt throw up any, but just wasnt hungry for anything...and you could tell was just a little under the weather. Poor little guy had a little stomach bug. Luckily he is on the road to feeling better and is eating normally for the most part and is back to his goofy self :)

As a mother, it was very hard to watch your child throw up and be scared like he was. He had no idea what was going on...and I remember being young (not that young obviously), and being scared of the whole throwing up thing and the ONLY thing that made it better was my Mom being there. Even now, my first instinct when I dont feel very good is to call my Mom and get some Mom Sympathy. How awsome it is to now be on the other side of that...and comfort instead of being comforted.