Fever

BJ has been really lethargic today, heartbreakingly snuggly. All he wanted for much of the day was to be held in the rocking chair. He's now had his first true fever (if you don't count the postpartum hospital experience). Hard to believe that he almost made it to 3 years old without running a fever. Plenty of times I checked with a thermometer, but this was the first time it caused concern.

Only 101.5, so not too terrifying, but he was so out of sorts today. No appetite to speak of. And then this evening he told me, "Mommy there are things in my legs. They hurt." Kept walking around on tiptoe and complaining about his legs. Also said his forehead hurt. Probably typical aches and pains with a virus, I thought, but it's all so unusual for him that it merited a call to the Kaiser nurse line.

I am very happy to have this resource. It's far from perfect: the automated phone system is highly annoying, and I've occasionally received incredibly bad advice. They are abysmal with breastfeeding questions. The breastfeeding calls I've made were always about medication concerns when I was sick, and I've heard everything from "Oh, you can do whatever and take whatever, so long as it's over-the-counter," to "No, you can't take anything at all when you're breastfeeding. It just isn't safe for the baby." (This latter even about something that the doctor prescribed, knowing that I was nursing!) So these days, for the breastfeeding questions, I just consult kellymom and/or the LactMed database. But I never hesitate to call the nurse line when the kids are sick, because I've always received helpful and compassionate consultations when I call about the kids.

The nurse with whom I spoke this evening was just wonderful. She was reassuring and said it's probably a virus. Nice to have my suspicion confirmed. But given his aches and the rash he's had on his face, she also said we should be watching out for the possibility of meningitis. Nice to have my worries validated. So we now know what to look for. (If he starts throwing up, gets a "nonblanching" rash -- one that doesn't briefly turn pale when pressure is applied -- or has a stiff neck, then it's time to really worry.) No vomiting so far, and the ibuprofen definitely improved things this afternoon, so hopefully it's just a bug and will be gone in a day or so.

It was sooo nice to have everybody well again. Fingers crossed that we're not in for another round of sickness!!!