103.9

103.9 is the number I saw on the thermometer this afternoon.

Clare has been congested since Saturday, nothing major but a cough and runny nose.  Typically her temperature is a high 97 degrees, so when I saw 99.2 early in the week I wasn’t too concerned, Dr. Dan doesn’t consider it a fever until it reaches 100.4.  Monday I received a call from Karen, she wanted to let me know that 2 of the other kids had been diagnosed with RSV over the weekend and to keep an eye on Clare.  I called Dr. Dan’s office and asked what I should be on the lookout for, they weren’t too concerned and said to call back if she ran a fever, had labored breathing, a whistling sound to her breath or became lethargic.  I decided to not worry about it and just keep her happy, which wasn’t hard.

Sleeping is one of Clare’s strongest skills; she sleeps like a champ.  Last night when she woke up three times I knew something wasn’t right.  She was able to fall back asleep without too much trouble, but she clearly wasn’t sleeping well.  When she woke up at 4:30am (when I woke up to the sound of Kai getting sick downstairs) her temperature was 99.6, so I gave her some Motrin hoping that it would help.  This morning when she woke up her temp was 99.2, not that different than the day before.  Both Jeff and I had busy days so we figured we’d take her to Karen’s and one of us would pick her up as soon as we could, I told Karen I’d be there by 1pm. 

Karen called at 9:30 but I missed her call, she called again at 10 to tell me that her temperature was 102.3.  I quickly worked to get things covered at work and went to pick her up.  When I walked in the door she was having a bottle, but wasn’t much interested.  Her face looked so sad, her eyes were watery; cheeks were red and was very tired.  We gathered our things and headed to visit Clare (the NP) at Dr. Dan’s office.  On the way there Clare fell asleep in the car, her breathing sounded so labored, it broke my heart to listen to her trying so hard just to breathe. 

Clare came in and instantly knew that she had bronchiolitis, the sound of her cough was all she needed to determine it.  Clare pointed out that I could read up on Bronchiolitis on their web site (you can check it out here).  The nurse ran a test of her oxygen level and it was 98%, a good sign.  Clare also discovered that both of Clare’s ears were infected, mildly in the right and moderate in the left. We were given a prescription for amoxicillin and told that the cough should clear up but could linger for up to 2 weeks.  So, off we went to Target to fill our first prescription. 

When we got home she felt hot to the touch, so I took her temperature, 103.8 is what it read, so I did it again, 103.9.  We got some Motrin and amoxicillin on board and took a few short naps while waiting for Jeff.  Jeff is the official napper of the house, so we all tried to take a nap; Jeff was more successful than Clare.  Fortunately she was able to sleep some off and on, but she was a pretty sad case.  She was burning up, I can only imagine how awful she felt L She did eat some dinner, yogurt and banana, but wasn’t interested in any goldfish. 

She’s in bed now, and has been asleep for a little over 2 hours.  Before going to bed she took a cool bath and had some more medicine, fortunately her temperature was down to 99.6.  I hope she’s able to sleep tonight and that the fever doesn’t come back.  I’ll be staying home with her tomorrow, I’m happy to stay home with her; I hope I can help her fell better.

Having a sick baby is no fun; I wish I could make her feel better with the snap of a finger.  I hope she doesn’t experience too many illnesses, it’s awful to watch her so miserable. 

Bunny has a tough job, she's been in Clare's hand since she got home this afternoon.