Springtime sickness

Yesterday was certainly an adventure in the way of health. Caleb has been a bit off the past week or so, but we thought it was a cold that we've all been getting. Well, yesterday, he started running a fever of 101 in the morning. I gave him some medicine and it seemed to help, though he went down for a very early nap in the afternoon. When he got up, he was hot again, so I checked his temp--104.4! I don't know that it's ever been that high, even when he had viral meningitis and pneumonia. I gave him more medicine, took off his pants (just the pants, not the diaper!), and watched him closely. Forty-five minutes later, it was down to 103.2. Better, but not as low as I would have liked. I gave him a bath, and that brought it down to 102.8. An hour later, though, it was back up above 103.

Matt came home from work around that time, and we decided to see how Caleb did after getting some sleep, since the medicine did take it down some. Besides, he was really tired. So, we ate a little dinner, then got him dressed for bed. I took his temp one more time. This time, it was up to 105.0! I KNOW he's never had a fever that high before. Both Matt and I were rather concerned about it.

It was early enough that the doctor was still open, so we decided to take him in. Actually, we hadn't been to this doctor's office before, but a mom from school recommended them because they speak English. So, we loaded Caleb in the car, and I made for downtown to see the doctor (an adventure in and of itself, I assure you!).

Turns out, Caleb has ulcers on the back of his throat (which he's had 2 or 3 times before, though neither of the other kids have had them. Weird) and a double ear infection. So, I guess it's not too surprising that his fever went up. He's now on 2 different antibiotics (one for 3 days, one for 5) and the Tylenol equivalent we had been giving him (but a higher dosage than normal, to help with the pain).

Thankfully, he slept soundly all night, but woke up crying this morning, and very out of sorts, not that I blame him. It took some doing, but I managed to get the meds into him. He wouldn't touch his oatmeal, though he normally devours it, and then wanted to be held by me until we left to take Asher and Lydia to school. Once we came home, though, he was able to eat a little more, and is now taking a morning nap (an almost never occurrence). I'm just praying he'll sleep this afternoon, too. That's really what it will take for him to feel more up to par.

I have to say, though, with all the drama, this is a good distraction for me. You know, we're down to days before the birth (well, of course it could be a week or more, but I'm still thinking days). When it's down to the wire like this, it's hard to be patient. However, I don't want to have the baby right now, until Caleb is feeling better and able to handle being with someone else. That makes it easier to handle the wait. So, praise the Lord for that! Also, even though I had to carry Caleb a lot yesterday, my back is still feeling okay today. I'm so thankful that it's healed!

So, Caleb getting better and then, at some point, the new little one arrives. Seems like it will be a busy week or so!